Founding Software Engineer (Palo Alto)

Socket.dev; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Socket.dev is seeking an experienced Founding Engineer to lead full-stack and ML development, bridging backend systems, ML pipelines, and data engineering. You will mentor a high-performing team, shape technical strategy, and drive scalable, enterprise-grade solutions to support rapid growth.

You will own architecture reviews, collaborate with Product and Design, and explore LLM fine-tuning and serverless deployments on platforms like Railway or Vercel to stay ahead.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of professional software development experience, including leadership roles.
• Deep Bun (TypeScript) and React.js expertise.
• Experience integrating ML into production environments.
• Exposure to startup/VC-backed environments a plus.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership, design reviews, and strategic planning for the team.
• Architect, develop, and maintain server-side features with Node.js (TypeScript) and React.js UIs.
• Oversee on-call rotations and robust debugging to ensure reliability.
• Translate product requirements into scalable technical designs with cross-functional collaboration.
• Explore trends like LLM fine-tuning and serverless deployments to maintain competitive edge.

Skills

Bun (TypeScript)

React.js

Node.js

ML systems

Team leadership

Architecture & design

Tools

OpenAI prompts

LLM fine-tuning

RAG pipelines

Northflank

Postgres

AI SDK

Railway

Vercel

Job description

About the Role

We're seeking an experienced Founding Engineer to drive our full-stack and ML development efforts and champion innovative, scalable solutions. This is a hands-on leadership role for an individual with a strong background in Bun (TypeScript), and machine learning, who can bridge backend development, ML systems, and exceptional data engineering. In addition to coding expertise, you'll lead design discussions, mentor a high-performing team, and shape our technical strategy as we scale our enterprise-grade products to support triple-digit growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership & Strategy: Guide our technical vision with systems design, architecture reviews, and strategic planning while mentoring and leading a team of talented, ambitious builders.
• Full Stack Development: Architect, develop, and maintain server-side features using Node.js (TypeScript) and deliver scalable, user-friendly interfaces in React.js.
• Operational Excellence: Oversee on-call rotations, troubleshoot issues promptly, and implement robust debugging strategies to ensure continuous service.
• Product & Design Collaboration: Translate product requirements into scalable technical designs, collaborating closely with product managers, designers, and stakeholders.
• Innovation & Emerging Technologies: Explore industry trends such as LLM fine tuning, OpenAI prompt engineering, and serverless deployments on platforms like Railway or Vercel to drive our competitive edge.

Nice-to-Have Skills

• Experience in creating and optimizing OpenAI prompts for AI-powered applications.
• Proven track record of fine-tuning large language models (LLMs) for industry-specific applications.
• Prior experience with VC-backed startups or contributing to zero-to-one projects in large tech companies.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of professional software development experience, including leadership or tech lead roles
• Deep expertise in full stack development with strong proficiency in Bun (TypeScript) and React.js
• Expertise in developing RAG pipelines for citations and similar use cases
• Experience integrating ML solutions into production environments (Northflank, Postgres, AI SDK, or similar)
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills, with a passion for mentoring and leading technical teams
• Entrepreneurial mindset with an interest in startups and innovation (bonus points for aspiring founders)5