Founding Engineer

Clera

San Francisco, CA

On-site

Who this role is best for

Strong fit for full-stack engineers who have worked in startup environments and have experience with AI or LLM products, particularly in manufacturing or traditional industries.

Best fit for

Full-stack engineers with startup experience and a track record of shipping customer-facing features.
— “demonstrated ability to ship products or major features used by real customers matters more than a specific career path”
Candidates comfortable with Kotlin and familiar with AI agent development or unstructured data processing.
— “Strong engineers with other stacks should be comfortable learning Kotlin”
Individuals who have taken on increasing ownership in fast-moving environments.
— “A track record of increasing ownership and delivering practical solutions in fast-moving environments”

Things to consider

On-site work in San Francisco is required, limiting remote flexibility.
— “On-site in San Francisco, California. Candidates should be based in the Bay Area or willing to relocate.”
Equity is offered but not guaranteed, and the role is not a stepping stone for visa sponsorship.
— “Visa sponsorship is not available”

How to stand out

Highlight end-to-end feature ownership and customer feedback integration in your resume and interviews.
— “Ship quickly, learn from customer feedback, and adapt priorities as the company grows”
Showcase experience with AI agents, LLMs, or unstructured data processing in your application materials.
— “Develop AI agents that complete complex compliance and food safety documents”
Emphasize your ability to work across product engineering, infrastructure, and application development.
— “Contribute across product engineering, infrastructure, and application development as needed”

Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · MediumAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

ship products or major features used by real customers
prior founding engineer or early engineering hire experience at a startup

Typical background

full-stack developmentAI/LLM product development

Skills & requirements

Required

Backend SystemsFrontend DevelopmentRelational Database DesignAILLM Products

Preferred

KotlinSpring BootReactNext.jsPostgreSQLGCPCommercial LLM Providers

Stack & domain

KotlinSpring BootReactNext.jsPostgreSQLGCPCommercial LLM ProvidersLeadershipCommunicationAILLMAutomationBackend SystemsFrontend DevelopmentRelational Database DesignPDF ProcessingUnstructured DataWorkflowsManufacturingSupply Chain

About the role

Original posting from Clera via Ashby

ABOUT THE ROLE
Join an early engineering team building AI software for industrial ingredient manufacturers. Working closely with the founders, you will help shape the product and build systems that turn messy business documents into useful workflows.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Build backend services that ingest and process documents from customer systems and inboxes.
Develop AI agents that complete complex compliance and food safety documents.
Own features end to end, from backend services and data models through to the user interface.
Ship quickly, learn from customer feedback, and adapt priorities as the company grows.
Contribute across product engineering, infrastructure, and application development as needed.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
Experience may range from 1 to 10+ years; demonstrated ability to ship products or major features used by real customers matters more than a specific career path.
Prior founding engineer, founder, or early engineering hire experience at a startup is strongly valued.
Strong full-stack skills, including backend systems, frontend development, and relational database design.
Experience building production AI or LLM products, agents, retrieval systems, or automation is a plus.
Relevant technologies include Kotlin, Spring Boot, React, Next.js, Postgres, GCP, and commercial LLM providers. Strong engineers with other stacks should be comfortable learning Kotlin.
Experience processing PDFs, unstructured data, or workflows in manufacturing, supply chain, or other traditional industries is helpful.
A track record of increasing ownership and delivering practical solutions in fast-moving environments.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
Base salary is $160,000 to $200,000 annually, plus 0.5% to 2% equity. Visa sponsorship is not available.
LOCATION
On-site in San Francisco, California. Candidates should be based in the Bay Area or willing to relocate.

Source: Clera careers (Ashby)