Founding Software Engineer - AI/DB Systems

Mentor Talent Acquisition; New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Mentor Talent Acquisition is seeking a Founding Software Engineer to build products from the ground up and turn early stage research ideas into working systems. You'll contribute to product development, co-author papers submitted to leading scientific conferences and advance our open-source efforts.

This is a true owner-operator position, shaping a new applied AI research lab from its earliest days, with substantial equity upside to match the responsibility.

Qualifications

• PhD candidate or holder; strong research background.
• Proven builder experience from hackathons, side projects, or shipped products.
• Strong ideation skills and ability to propose multiple features.
• Interest in AI/ML and database systems; ability to work with PhD researchers.
• Desire to own features from concept to deployment.

Responsibilities

• Build products from the ground up turning research ideas into working systems.
• Contribute to papers submitted to leading scientific conferences and help drive open-source efforts.
• Collaborate with PhD researchers and product teams on new ideas.
• Own features end-to-end from conception to deployment.

Skills

Builder mindset

Idea generation

End-to-end ownership

Collaboration with PhD researchers

AI/ML & database systems interest

Education

PhD degree or in progress

Job description

Mentor Talent Acquisition is seeking a Founding Software Engineer to build products from the ground up and turn early stage research ideas into working systems. You'll contribute to product development, co-author papers submitted to leading scientific conferences and advance our open-source efforts.

This is a true owner-operator position, shaping a new applied AI research lab from its earliest days, with substantial equity upside to match the responsibility.