Founding Engineer (Software)

Covalent Recruiting; California (MO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Covalent Recruiting is helping a high-growth manufacturing startup recruit for a role building a full-stack platform from scratch. You will architect and scale systems spanning supply chain, pricing, and shop-floor execution while collaborating closely with hardware teams.

The role emphasizes hands-on development of geometry, CAD, and real-time telemetry tools, with direct impact on product design cycles and manufacturing throughput.

Qualifications

• 2+ years shipping production-grade software at scale.
• Experience building complex relational systems from scratch (ERP/MES/logistics).
• Bias for action, high agency, rapid iteration in high-autonomy environments.
• Want to solve real-world physical engineering problems with operators on the shop floor.
• Interest or background in CAD, computational geometry, telemetry, or model post-training is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Architect and scale an end-to-end operational platform from scratch across supply chain, pricing, and execution.
• Develop automated geometry, CAD, and physics simulation tools for design and validation.
• Build high-throughput factory automation pipelines with live sensor data for real-time maps.
• Spend time on the shop floor with operators to identify friction points and deploy fixes.
• Own product and architectural decisions in partnership with hardware engineering teams.

Skills

Full-stack development

TypeScript

Python

Go

Relational systems

Autonomy

CAD/geometry interest

Job description

Our client is a high-growth advanced manufacturing startup building full-stack hardware and software infrastructure from scratch to modernize physical production.

By creating custom operating software, geometric simulation tools, and real-time factory data systems, the company bridges the gap between digital systems and real-world shop-floor execution.

Key Responsibilities:

• Architect and scale an end-to-end operational platform from scratch, managing complex relational workflows spanning supply chain, pricing, and execution.
• Develop automated geometry, CAD, and physics simulation tools to accelerate product design and validation cycles.
• Build high-throughput factory automation pipelines that ingest live sensor and telemetry data to maintain a real-time digital operational map.
• Spend direct time on the shop floor collaborating with equipment operators to identify friction points and deploy rapid fixes.
• Take end-to-end ownership of product and architectural decisions in close partnership with hardware engineering teams.

Qualifications:

• 2+ years of experience shipping production-grade software at scale, with strong proficiency in modern full-stack technologies (Frontend: TypeScript; Backend: Python or Go).
• Experience building complex, relational systems from scratch (such as operational platforms, ERPs, MES, or logistics networks).
• Demonstrated bias for action, high agency, and rapid iteration in high-autonomy environments.
• Strong desire to solve real-world physical engineering problems and work directly alongside operational teams on the factory floor.
• Background or strong interest in CAD, computational geometry, high-bandwidth telemetry, or model post-training/quantization is a plus.