Founding Engineer (SWE) – Godela

Godela (YC X25); San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

A cutting-edge tech startup is seeking a Founding Software Engineer to build systems that leverage physics-informed models. The ideal candidate will have strong software engineering skills, experience in ML/AI application development, and a mindset geared towards ownership and innovation. This is a full-time position located in San Francisco, California, with a competitive salary ranging from $120,000 to $180,000 per year.

Qualifications

• Track record of delivering high-impact systems in fast-moving environments.
• Experience scaling ML inference systems is a plus.
• Familiarity with engineering domains such as simulation or scientific computing.

Responsibilities

• Build robust, user-facing systems that expose physics-informed models.
• Own end-to-end delivery: prototype → product → production.
• Translate ML research into usable, scalable tools.
• Design APIs and services for training pipelines and customer-facing interfaces.

Skills

Strong software engineering fundamentals — Python

Backend frameworks (FastAPI, Flask, etc.)

Experience building and shipping applications that integrate ML/AI systems

Comfort working across the stack (infra, APIs, data, UI)

Hands-on cloud experience (AWS/GCP/Azure)

Containerization (Docker)

Orchestration (Kubernetes or equivalent)

Mindset: ownership, urgency, and comfort with ambiguity

Tools

CI/CD pipelines

Infrastructure-as-code

MLOps frameworks

Job description

We’re building the first Physics Foundation Model, an AI system that learns from simulation, experiment, and equations to instantly predict and simulate physical behavior.

Our vision is audacious: to make the universe computable. Every pattern of nature, every equation, every experiment, instantly at your fingertips.

We’re looking for a Founding SWE who thrives on building systems end-to-end: someone who can take cutting-edge ML models and turn them into production-ready applications, iterate quickly with users, and lay the foundation for a category-defining platform

What You’ll Do

• Build robust, user-facing systems that expose physics-informed models as real applications.
• Own end-to-end delivery: from prototype → product → production deployment.
• Translate ML research and novel Models into usable, scalable tools
• Design APIs and services that connect training pipelines, inference engines, and customer-facing interfaces.
• Shape the culture, architecture, and trajectory of an early startup.

Must-haves

• Strong software engineering fundamentals — Python, backend frameworks (FastAPI, Flask, etc.), and experience with front-to-back product development.
• Experience building and shipping applications that integrate ML/AI systems.
• Comfort working across the stack (infra, APIs, data, UI) with a bias toward execution.
• Hands-on cloud experience (AWS/GCP/Azure), containerization (Docker), and orchestration (Kubernetes or equivalent).
• Track record of delivering high-impact systems in fast-moving environments (startup or equivalent).
• Mindset: ownership, urgency, and comfort with ambiguity.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience scaling ML inference systems (multi-GPU, distributed serving).
• Familiarity with engineering domains (simulation, CAD, scientific computing, or physics-heavy problems).
• Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, or MLOps frameworks.
• Experience with interactive scientific/engineering applications (visualization, CAD, web apps).

Why Godela

If you’re someone who craves autonomy, who wants to actually own the product, the roadmap, and the culture you’re building, this is the place. We’re not a giant company with layers of process; we’re a small, mission-driven team where your ideas and your work will directly shape what Godela becomes.

Base pay range: $120,000.00/yr - $180,000.00/yr

Seniority level: Mid-Senior level

Employment type: Full-time

Job function: Engineering and Information Technology