Founding Engineer, AI — Shiplight AI

Praxis, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Shiplight AI is seeking a founding engineer to build core systems that enable autonomous testing and reasoning for complex applications. You’ll prototype agentic browser and device automation components and collaborate with the founders on architecture, roadmap, and culture.

Ideal candidates are hands-on builders with 1–3 years startup AI experience, eager to grow into technical leadership, and comfortable working across backend, frontend, and AI interfaces.

Qualifications

• Mission-driven: help shape the next era of AI-powered software development.
• Curious and resourceful: solve hard, open-ended problems.
• Hands-on builder: thrive in early-stage environments with speed and uncertainty.
• Collaborative: value teamwork and open technical debate.
• 1–3 years of startup experience in the AI domain.
• Eager to grow into a technical leader and make a massive impact early.

Responsibilities

• Build core systems that enable AI agents to autonomously test and reason about complex applications.
• Design, prototype, and ship agentic browser and device automation components.
• Work directly with the founders to define architecture, roadmap, and company culture.
• Experiment with cutting-edge context engineering techniques to improve reasoning and adaptability.
• Move fast — from prototype to production — with high ownership and autonomy.

Skills

Engineering fundamentals

Python

TypeScript

Context engineering

Prompt-based reasoning

Browser automation

Full-stack experience

Job description

Founding Engineer, AI — Shiplight AI

• Do you agree we’re living through the AI revolution?




• Do you want to be part of it — and run ahead of the curve?




• Are you ready to help 100x productivity?

If so, join us.

At Shiplight AI, our mission is to build the foundation for enterprise-scale automation powered by intelligent agents. We believe every organization should have AI systems that can understand context, take action, and collaborate seamlessly with humans — transforming how work gets done across the enterprise.

Our first mission: fully automate software quality assurance. We’re building state-of-the-art agentic QA systems that integrate deeply into the software development cycle — empowering every product manager, developer, and tester with their own AI QA engineer that validates work in real time.

You’ll be joining a small, mission-driven founding team led by industry veterans, working at the intersection of AI agents, system engineering, and real-world developer productivity.

What You’ll Do

• Build core systems that enable AI agents to autonomously test and reason about complex applications.




• Design, prototype, and ship agentic browser and device automation components.




• Work directly with the founders to define architecture, roadmap, and company culture.




• Experiment with cutting-edge context engineering techniques to improve reasoning and adaptability.




• Move fast — from prototype to production — with high ownership and autonomy.

Who You Are

• Mission-driven — you want to help shape the next era of AI-powered software development.




• Curious and resourceful — you love solving hard, open-ended problems.




• Hands-on builder — you thrive in early-stage environments with high speed and uncertainty.




• Collaborative — you value teamwork and open technical debate.




• You have 1–3 years of startup experience in the AI domain.




• You’re eager to grow into a technical leader and make a massive impact early.

Ideal Skills

• Strong engineering fundamentals and product mindset.




• Proficiency in Python and TypeScript.




• Deep understanding of context engineering and prompt-based reasoning systems.




• Familiarity with browser automation, mobile automation, or QA tooling is a plus.




• Comfortable working across the stack — backend, frontend, and AI interfaces.

Location

• San Francisco Bay Area — hybrid preferred.




• We move fast, iterate face-to-face, and believe early teams build the strongest culture.

Why Join Now

• Join at the earliest stage as the first founding engineer.




• Shape both the product and technical vision.




• Work directly with founders who’ve built successful systems and products before.




• Receive generous equity and play a defining role in the company’s success.