Member of Technical Staff (Founding Engineer, AI Agents)
Quick facts
- Pay
- $160,000 to $210,000, plus 1–2% founding-team-level equity
- Type
- Full-time
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
- Skills
- Python
- Industry
- Information Technology — 671 open jobs
- Visa in listing
- H-1B, OPT
- Apply
- Free to apply — never pay anyone for a job offer or visa sponsorship
Job description
This is a rare opportunity to be a founding engineer at an early-stage consumer AI startup backed by top VCs and operating out of IDEO. If you want greenfield ownership in building adaptive personal AI agents that help people navigate everyday life, and you thrive in fast-moving, high-ownership environments, read on.
What You Will Do
- Build the agent harness, simulation, and evaluation environments to enable long-horizon agent behavior and learning.
- Design and implement the memory layer and retrieval systems that underpin the agent’s ability to remember, reason, and adapt.
- Develop conversation design systems for a consumer-facing AI product that sits between an assistant and a friend.
- Own core backend and AI infrastructure across multiple product domains, with hands-on responsibility from design to deployment.
- Shape the technical roadmap, company culture, and the founding team alongside the CEO.
What Is Expected
- You have 5+ years of backend software engineering experience, ideally with a focus on AI agents, memory/retrieval systems, simulation environments, or evaluation frameworks. Exceptional candidates with less experience will be considered.
- You are highly proficient in Python and have built LLM agents or similar AI systems.
- You bring depth in backend and distributed systems (Postgres, orchestration, infrastructure) and have built consumer-facing products.
- Early-stage startup experience (Series D or earlier) is strongly preferred.
- You hold a CS degree or have equivalent technical expertise.
- You are able to work in-person, full-time, 5 days a week in San Francisco or New York.
- You communicate at a native level in English.
What Is Offered
- Salary range of $160,000 to $210,000, plus 1–2% founding-team-level equity.
- Visa transfers supported (OPT, H1B) for candidates already authorized to work in the US.
- The chance to define the technical foundation and culture of a new AI company, with massive ownership over product direction.
- Backing from leading venture firms and the resources of a studio-in-residence at IDEO.
Visa sponsorship record
No public sponsorship records foundWe didn't find H-1B, H-1B1, E-3 or green card (PERM) filings under the name Jack in the Department of Labor and USCIS data. That doesn't mean the job can't be sponsored — the company may file under a different legal name, be new to sponsorship, or sponsor a visa that isn't in these datasets (for example H-2B or J-1).
Tip: ask the recruiter early, in writing, which visa they sponsor and whether they cover the legal and filing fees.
Which visas can work for this job
Occupation: Software Developers (SOC 15-1252).
- Mentioned in the listing
H-1B, OPT
- H-1B cap-exempt employer
Regular cap-subject employer — a new H-1B needs to win the lottery in March (unless you already hold cap-counted H-1B status).
- TN (citizens of Canada and Mexico)
This kind of role may fit the USMCA profession “Computer Systems Analyst (or Engineer, for engineering-degree holders)” — it depends on the actual duties. No lottery, no cap; you need the matching degree or license.
- E-3 (Australia) and H-1B1 (Chile, Singapore)
Same degree requirement as H-1B, but no lottery and a separate quota that is rarely filled.
- O-1 (extraordinary ability)
For candidates with awards, publications, press, a high salary or critical roles at distinguished organizations. No cap, no lottery; the employer files a petition.
- STEM OPT extension (F-1 students)
Requires an E-Verify employer. We didn't find this company in the E-Verify list — ask HR.
Salary vs prevailing wage
Level I (entry)Software Developers · San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. Annual prevailing wages set by the Department of Labor (OFLC).
| Level | Prevailing wage | H-1B lottery odds* |
|---|---|---|
| Level I | $137,093 | ~15% |
| Level II | $165,131 | ~31% |
| Level III | $193,149 | ~46% |
| Level IV | $221,187 | ~61% |
This job pays $160,000–$210,000 a year — that's Level I (entry). In the wage-weighted H-1B lottery a Level I registration gets 1 entry; estimated selection chance about 15% — below average.
* Odds are DHS projections for the FY2027 wage-weighted lottery (actual results vary by year and employer). Since the FY2027 cap season the H-1B lottery is weighted by wage level: Level I = 1 entry, II = 2, III = 3, IV = 4. The level is set by the offered wage against the prevailing wage for the occupation and worksite. Separately, a $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions for workers outside the US was announced in 2025; as of September 2026 a federal court ruling keeps it unenforceable while appeals continue — check the current status.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor OFLC disclosure data (H-1B/H-1B1/E-3 LCA, PERM), OFLC prevailing wage data, USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, E-Verify participating employers. Data loaded: LCA FY2024–FY2026, PERM, USCIS Data Hub, OFLC wages; updated 2026-10-03. Employers are matched by name, so records of companies with similar names can occasionally be mixed up. This is general information, not legal advice — talk to an immigration attorney about your case.