Founding Engineer & Head of Engineering

ABOUT THE ROLE This is a rare founding-level engineering leadership opportunity at a seed-stage AI agent marketplace. As Founding Engineer & Head of Engineering, you'll own the full technical vision — from agent infrastructure to full-stack product — while building hands-on alongside a small, fast-moving team. You'll be early enough to define the engineering culture, practices, and standards that shape the next 50 hires. This role is on-site in San Francisco, CA. Candidates must be eligible to work in the United States without visa sponsorship and must be local or willing to relocate. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Own the agent infrastructure and the full stack end-to-end (React/Vue frontend, Go/Node.js/Python backend, MySQL, Redis). - Make the big architecture calls: database design, scalability, uptime, and system reliability for a production platform. - Build AI-assisted engineering into team culture — establish prompt libraries, skill templates, and code-review standards so the whole team benefits. - Engage directly with users to distinguish technically sound ideas from ones that only sound good on paper. - Set the engineering direction and culture as the team scales — your decisions today become the foundation for future hires. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR Required: - Proven track record of shipping a product or system 0→1 — end-to-end, from concept to production launch. - Experience leading engineering teams or setting engineering direction at a founder-stage or early-stage startup. - Hands-on full-stack capability: frontend (React or Vue) and backend (Go, Node.js, or Python), plus solid database experience (MySQL, Redis). - Comfort designing scalable architectures, database schemas, and systems with real uptime and scale requirements. - Eligible to work in the United States without visa sponsorship. - Able to work on-site in San Francisco, CA (local candidates or those willing to relocate). Nice to Have: - Previous experience shipping an AI-native product or initiative. - Active contributions to open source projects. THE OPPORTUNITY The company runs an AI agent marketplace where agents compete to complete tasks, backed by Tier 1 VCs and a strong network of angels with deep expertise in AI and decentralized infrastructure. The platform already has a meaningful and growing user base. You'd be joining at a pivotal moment — early enough to leave a lasting mark, but with real traction behind you. This role is best suited for someone who wants to do their best work on something that will genuinely get used — not just shipped and forgotten. LOCATION & WORK ARRANGEMENT - On-site: San Francisco, CA (relocation or local residency required) - Visa sponsorship: Not available — candidates must be authorized to work in the United States