Founding Software Engineer (PhD)

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

Benefits offered by this job

Equity stake

Job summary

Mentor Talent Acquisition is seeking a Founding Software Engineer to build products from zero in an applied AI research lab based in New York. You will turn raw research concepts into functioning systems, co-author papers for top conferences, and contribute to open-source projects.

This role comes with real ownership and equity reflective of the early-stage nature. Candidates should be pursuing a PhD or hold one, with hands-on building experience and a track record of research publication.

Qualifications

• PhD in progress or completed is required.
• Must have hands-on building experience and product delivery.
• Experience publishing research findings is highly valued.
• Ability to collaborate with PhD researchers on AI/ML and databases.

Responsibilities

• Build products from zero in an applied AI research lab.
• Co-author papers for top scientific conferences.
• Contribute to open-source projects.
• Publish research findings with the team.
• Own features from design to deployment.

Skills

PhD in progress or PhD completed

Hands-on building experience

Open-source contributions

Publication mindset / experience

Collaborate with PhD researchers

Education

PhD in progress or PhD completed

Tools

Open-source projects

Job description

We're an AI lab built differently. We work where database systems meet interoperability, and our direction comes from the actual problems our enterprise partners face.

We're drawn to work that's difficult, purposeful and fun all at once. Our best days start with a hard problem on the whiteboard, run through stretches of coding and testing ideas and end with an empty pizza box and a solved problem. At our core, we're people who build because we enjoy it, chase problems that haven't been cracked yet and always end up thinking past what was originally asked.

About the Role

We're bringing on a Founding Software Engineer to build products from zero and turn raw research concepts into functioning systems. The work spans product development, co-authoring papers for top scientific conferences and contributing to our open-source projects.

This role comes with real ownership. You'll be part of building an applied AI research lab from the ground floor, and the equity reflects that level of responsibility.

People who:

• Are currently pursuing a PhD or already hold one. We operate as a research lab, so every technical hire is expected to publish;
• Bring hands-on building experience, from hackathons to side projects to products actually shipped (extra credit if it scaled);
• Generate ideas nonstop. Give them one feature to build and they'll return with three more suggestions unprompted;
• Are drawn to collaborating closely with PhD researchers on new directions in AI, ML and database systems;
• Take full ownership of what they build from start to finish.

Who We Are

• Growing quickly: pre-seed round closed, partnerships secured with leading universities and a major enterprise client signed, all inside a few months;
• Operating from two well-regarded academic campuses;
• Founded by a technical lead holding a PhD in computer science from a top-ranked program;
• Focused on publishing at major scientific venues multiple times per year, crediting every technical team member as an author.

A PhD in progress or already completed is required for this role. As a research lab, we expect every technical team member to publish.