Founding Engineer San Francisco •

Nerve, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

In-person SF four days a week

Job summary

A tech startup in San Francisco is seeking a founding engineer who is passionate about building and scaling an AI-powered platform. You will own projects from conception to delivery and work closely with the founders. The ideal candidate has 2-6 years of experience, a strong foundation in Python and full stack development, and enjoys tackling challenging problems. This role offers a unique opportunity to shape the company's culture and direction while working in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• 2-6 years of engineering experience with a focus on full stack development.
• Experience with Python and async systems.
• Ability to ship user interfaces using React, Next.js, and Tailwind.
• Previous startup or fast-growing company experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own big projects end-to-end from idea to shipped product.
• Build and scale an AI-powered platform.
• Tackle interesting problems related to real-time AI integrations.
• Help shape company culture and direction.

Skills

Python

React

Next.js

Tailwind

Asynchronous programming

Frontend

Backend

Job description

We’re Nerve, and we’re building the AI “supercomputer coworker” every startup wishes they had. We’ve seen firsthand from our previous jobs (Brex, Coinbase, Box, YC startups) how hard it is to scale a company from a handful of people to hundreds. Our answer? Give every team a ridiculously smart AI that drafts docs, answers questions, and lets humans focus on the stuff only they can do.

We’re a tiny, talent-dense team in SF, and we’re looking for a founding engineer who wants to build, own, and ship product fast. You’ll work shoulder-to-shoulder with the founders, have a say in everything, and get to shape the company from day one. If you want to level up your technical/leadership game (maybe even start your own thing one day), you’ll get autonomy, mentorship, and a front-row seat to the early-stage chaos.

What you’ll do:

• Own big projects end-to-end, from idea to shipped product (and sweat the details).
• Build and scale our AI-powered platform: backend (Python, async jobs with Celery/Airflow), frontend (React, Next.js, Tailwind).
• Tackle hard, interesting problems (high-throughput, real-time AI integrations, etc.).
• Help set the culture and direction as we grow.

You might be a fit if:

• You’ve got 2-6 years of engineering experience and love building across the stack.
• You know your way around Python and async systems.
• You can ship beautiful UIs with React/Next.js/Tailwind.
• You’ve worked at a startup or fast-growing company before.
• You’re curious, hungry, and want to work in-person (SF, 4 days a week).
• Bonus: You’re into AI/ML (or want to be).