Founding Machine Learning Engineer Software company San Francisco, California $175k to $300k USD base a year

raydar; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Raydar is recruiting for a founding ML Engineer to own a brand-new product and the infrastructure behind it in San Francisco. You will design an AI agent layer, build secure connectors, and create developer tooling to modernize older codebases, while working closely with customers to guide technical direction.

Ideal candidates have foundational ML experience, a track record of shipping production code, and hands-on work with LLMs and AI platforms.

Qualifications

• Foundational machine learning experience.
• Track record of shipping production code.
• Experience with large language models and AI platforms.
• Coordination of multi-step AI agent systems.
• Regular use of AI tools in daily work.

Responsibilities

• Design an AI agent layer with built-in review/validation before outputs reach users or systems.
• Build secure connectors and a runtime to interpret enterprise environments.
• Create developer-facing tooling and code-analysis capabilities for modernizing legacy codebases.
• Set up low-latency model serving with monitoring of usage/performance.
• Move language-model pipelines and retrieval-based approaches from prototype to production.
• Collaborate directly with customers on high-impact projects.
• Help shape engineering bar, culture and product roadmap.

Skills

Large language models

Agent frameworks

Retrieval-based

Production code

AI platforms

Enterprise AI

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science or ML

Tools

Agent orchestration framework

Code analysis tooling

Job description

# Founding Machine Learning EngineerSoftware company* LocationSan Francisco, California* TypeFull-time* Posted21 October 2026Apply for this roleTalk to us firstYou apply on Workable, where Raydar manages applications.The role, as published## About the companyOur client is a software company.## The roleRaydar is recruiting for this role on behalf of our client. Take ownership of a brand-new product and the infrastructure behind it, building AI-powered systems that run reliably in production. Partner directly with customers and help set engineering standards, team culture and the technical direction.## What you'll do* **Design an AI agent** layer with built-in review and validation steps before outputs reach people or other systems.* **Build secure connectors** and a runtime that can interpret complex enterprise software environments.* **Create developer-facing tooling** and a code analysis capability for modernizing older codebases.* **Set up low-latency model** serving with detailed monitoring of usage and performance.* Take language-model pipelines, information retrieval and light model tuning from prototype to production where they add clear value.* Collaborate directly with customers on high-impact projects.* Help shape the engineering bar, team culture and product roadmap.## What we're looking for* Experience working on enterprise or B2B AI products.* Foundational machine learning experience, whether from research, school internships or full-time work.* A track record of shipping production code in a shared team codebase.* Experience with large language models and AI platforms, including building agent frameworks and evaluating models or agents.* Hands-on experience coordinating multi-step AI agent systems and retrieval-based approaches.* Bachelor's degree in computer science or machine learning from a top-tier university.* Regular use of AI tools in daily work, with practical views on how they can improve engineering and operations.* Strong ownership, clear communication and comfort deciding with incomplete information.* Ability to move quickly and carefully, and willingness to pick up new technologies.## Bonus points* Software engineering experience at high-growth technology companies or startups.* Published machine learning research.* Familiarity with an agent orchestration framework.* 2 to 4 years of experience is the ideal range.## Location and work model* San Francisco, CA, United States* On-site, 5 days per week in office* Full-time## Compensation, as the posting describes it* EquityPay$175k to $300kUSD base a year