Founding Engineer On-Site $200,000 - $250,000

Fuel Talent; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Fuel Talent LLC in San Francisco is seeking a Founding Engineer to own core technical decisions from day one, building backend systems to ingest PDFs and develop AI agents for compliance workflows.

You will ship across frontend, backend, infrastructure and AI, using Kotlin/Spring Boot, React/Next.js, Postgres on GCP, and Terraform, shaping a zero-to-one startup in a rapidly evolving AI-driven space.

Qualifications

• Proven ability to ship products used by real customers.
• Demonstrated ownership and rapid decision-making from day one.
• Strong bias to shipping, with pragmatic tech choices.
• Experience with reliable, production-grade tech stacks.

Responsibilities

• Build backend systems ingesting and processing hundreds of PDFs from ERP/CRM sources.
• Develop AI agents that auto-complete complex, multi-page compliance documents.
• Ship across frontend, backend, infrastructure, and AI systems.

Skills

Builder mentality

Owner from day zero

Bias to action

Pragmatic engineer

Tools

Kotlin

Spring Boot

React

Next.js

Postgres

GCP

Terraform

Gemini

Anthropic

Job description

# Founding EngineerApplyApplyPosted about 1 month agoShareFull TimeSan Francisco, California$200,000 - $250,000 Annually## About Our ClientOur client is building AI agents for the food manufacturing ecosystem — a ~$750B industry still heavily reliant on email, fragmented software, and manual processes.They believe AI agents will transform knowledge work over the next few years and are earning trust with executives at leading U.S. food manufacturing businesses by deeply understanding industry-specific workflows and building agents that drive revenue and reduce direct costs.Examples of problems they’re solving include:* Identifying potential sales opportunities using web scraping and semantic analysis* Building RAG systems to make manufacturer catalogs instantly searchable and usable* Automating end-to-end compliance workflows by ingesting emails, identifying required documents, and completing them using AI agents* And much moreThe founding team brings 10+ years of experience in the food industry combined with multiple successful tech startups. They are backed by $1.8M in initial funding from top-tier venture and angel investors across food and technology.---## About the Role – Founding EngineerAs a Founding Engineer, you will be involved in nearly every major technical decision the company makes. You’ll work directly with the founders across a wide range of problems and have true ownership from day one.On any given week, you may:* Build backend systems that ingest and process hundreds of PDFs from customer ERPs and CRMs* Develop AI agents that auto-complete complex, multi-page compliance documents* Ship across frontend, backend, infrastructure, and AI systemsThis is a hands-on, zero-to-one environment. If you enjoy operating in ambiguity, moving quickly, and solving real-world operational problems with AI, this will feel like home.---## What They’re Looking For**Builder mentality** You’ve shipped products used by real customers — at a startup, company, or your own project. You can articulate what you built, your tradeoffs, and what you’d improve.**Owner from day zero** You don’t wait for perfect requirements. You identify gaps, propose solutions, and execute.**Bias to action** You prefer shipping at 80% and iterating versus over-optimizing too early. You understand which decisions are reversible and which are foundational.**Pragmatic engineer** They intentionally use proven, reliable technologies. This is not an environment for ideological debates over frameworks — it’s about picking the right tool and delivering results.They care far more about what you’ve built and how you think than where you went to school or how many years of experience you have.---## Current Tech Stack (Evolving)These are directional, not rigid requirements:* Kotlin + Spring Boot* React & Next.js* Postgres* GCP + Terraform* Gemini + Anthropic* Budget for the coding agent of your choice## ApplyDrop files to attach,orbrowseBrowse to attach file for Resume Upload. Allowed file types: .pdf,.docx,.doc