Founding Engineer & Head of Engineering
Clera · San Francisco, California, United States
Technology, Information and Internet · 2-10 employees
About the role
You will own the full technical vision and agent infrastructure while building hands-on with a fast-moving team. You are responsible for setting engineering standards, architecture, and culture as the company scales.
What they look for
Requirements
Candidates must have a proven track record of shipping products from 0 to 1 and experience leading engineering teams at early-stage startups. Proficiency in full-stack development and scalable system architecture is required, along with the ability to work on-site in San Francisco.
Full description
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
