Founding Systems Engineer

Ground Game LLC; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Ground Game LLC is hiring a Founding Systems Engineer to lead the data and systems architecture behind our AI-enabled platform in commercial real estate. You will own relational data schemas, build reliable data pipelines, and enable APIs for AI agents with trusted, high-quality data.

You will directly guide contractors and partner teams, setting engineering practices while staying hands-on with high-risk components, and helping shape a small future engineering team.

Qualifications

• Deep hands-on experience with SQL and relational data architecture, including production schemas and migrations.
• Strong backend and systems experience across APIs, integrations, data pipelines, cloud infrastructure, permissions, and production operations.
• Track record of designing, building, shipping, and maintaining critical production systems.

Responsibilities

• Design and improve shared relational data architecture, schemas and data quality rules.
• Build integrations and data pipelines across platforms (Yardi, Argus, Supabase, SharePoint, Microsoft 365).
• Develop APIs, views, and permissioned access for consistent data used by applications and AI agents.
• Establish standards around schema changes, validation, testing, monitoring, security, backups, and recovery.
• Review and strengthen existing prototypes and contractor-built tools.
• Translate business priorities into technical architecture and implementation plans.
• Direct technical contractors and partners while remaining hands-on with critical components.
• Contribute to building and leading a small technical team.

Skills

SQL and relational data architecture

APIs and data integrations

Data pipelines and cloud infra

Production systems design and shipping

Leadership of engineers/partners

AI-enabled systems

Tools

Claude Code

Codex

Cursor

Job description

We’re looking for a Founding Systems Engineer to become the first full-time technical hire within a growing organization in the commercial real estate investment space.

This is a highly hands-on role for someone who can take ownership of the data and systems architecture behind an established technology platform and AI agent ecosystem. You’ll determine how information is structured, connected, trusted, and used across applications, integrations, and AI-enabled systems.

What You’ll Own

• Design and improve shared relational data architecture, including schemas, models, relationships, data quality, and source-of-truth rules.
• Build reliable integrations and data pipelines across platforms such as Yardi, Argus, Supabase, SharePoint, and Microsoft 365.
• Develop APIs, views, and permissioned access that allow applications and AI agents to work from consistent, trusted data.
• Establish standards around schema changes, validation, testing, monitoring, logging, security, backups, and recovery.
• Review and strengthen existing prototypes and contractor-built tools.
• Translate business priorities into technical architecture and implementation plans.
• Direct technical contractors and partners while remaining hands-on with critical and high-risk components.
• Help establish engineering practices and eventually contribute to building and leading a small technical team.

What We’re Looking For

• Deep hands-on experience with SQL and relational data architecture, including production schemas, migrations, data integrity, and performance.
• Strong backend and systems experience across APIs, integrations, data pipelines, cloud infrastructure, permissions, and production operations.
• A track record of personally designing, building, shipping, and maintaining important production systems.
• Experience leading complex technical initiatives across changing requirements and dependencies.
• Experience directing engineers or technical partners while remaining close to the technical work.
• Hands-on experience with AI-enabled systems, including agent orchestration, LLM-powered products, internal tools, or AI development tools such as Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or similar platforms.
• Strong ability to translate business requirements into practical technical decisions.
• Comfortable working with high ownership and moving projects forward without perfectly defined requirements or mature processes.

Startup or other high-ownership experience is preferred. Experience in commercial real estate, investment banking, private equity, financial services, or another complex financial environment is a plus, but not required.

Why This Opportunity

You’ll join at a stage where real systems are already in production, important architecture decisions are still ahead, and significant growth is creating new technical challenges. As the first full-time technical hire, you’ll have meaningful influence over the architecture, engineering practices, and future shape of the technical team.