Founding Engineer
Company websitegetclera.com (Clera, opens in new tab)
Base salary $175K to $225K
Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in San Francisco, CA
You apply on the employer's own site. Six Figure Work does not handle applications.
- LocationSan Francisco, CA
- WorkplaceOn-site
- Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
- Last checked (5 min ago) · observed since
About this job
About the Role
Join an early-stage consumer AI startup as a Founding Engineer — a rare 1-of-1 role working directly alongside the founding team to shape both the product and engineering culture. This company is building a real-time AI-enabled platform designed to digitize human connection, making AI interactions feel genuinely present and personal. You'll help lay the technical foundation from the ground up in a fast-moving, high-ambition environment.
What You'll Do
Build across the full application, collaborating closely with the founder, design team, and other engineers.
Design and implement systems for memory, retrieval, proactivity, and AI responsiveness.
Integrate real-time video generation and audio synthesis models — both internal and third-party.
Set the bar for engineering quality and play an active role in recruiting world-class talent.
Extensively use the product yourself to ensure real user value and quality.
What We're Looking For
Required: Computer Science degree from a top university.
Required: 2–7 years of professional software engineering experience (not a new grad).
Required: Strong CS fundamentals and a track record of technically complex side projects.
Required: High energy, entrepreneurial spirit — prior startup or fast-moving environment experience strongly valued.
Required: Proficiency in Python, including typed scientific Python.
Bonus: Experience with real-time media, vision/video model training or deployment, memory systems, or audio synthesis.
Bonus: Familiarity with agentic coding or AI-assisted development workflows.
Compensation & Benefits
Salary: $175,000 – $225,000 USD annually
Visa sponsorship available
Location
This role is fully on-site in San Francisco, CA. Candidates must be willing and able to work in-person full-time.
Source: Clera on Ashby · View original posting (opens in new tab)
This listingFounding Engineer$175K to $225K
Founding Engineer, Infrastructure$175K to $300K
Founding Engineer (Full-Stack)$175K to $200K
Mid-Level Platform Engineer, Biotech$180K to $240K
Head of Engineering$180K to $220K
Founding Forward Deployed Engineer$180K to $250K
Founding Engineer$180K to $250K
Chart as a table
| Role | Published base |
|---|---|
| Founding Engineer (this listing) | $175K - $225K |
| Founding Engineer, Infrastructure | $175K - $300K |
| Founding Engineer (Full-Stack) | $175K - $200K |
| Mid-Level Platform Engineer, Biotech | $180K - $240K |
| Head of Engineering | $180K - $220K |
| Founding Forward Deployed Engineer | $180K - $250K |
| Founding Engineer | $180K - $250K |
Observed changes
- Began meeting the published-salary criteria
- First observed on the employer's board
- Observed since
- Employer-stated posting date
- 2026-06-03
Where this pay comes from
Location as the employer wrote it: San Francisco
- Salary: $175,000 – $225,000 USD annually
- Method
- Employer text, read with fixed rules and re-verified
- Checked
- Rule set
- us-base-v2
The pay passage appears in the employer's own job text. Fixed, deterministic rules located it, and the passage below was checked against the stored copy of the posting.
What we verified
- The pay figures come from the employer's own listing, quoted exactly above.
- The pay is an annual base salary in US dollars with a minimum of at least $100,000.
- The role was publicly listed on the employer's job board when last checked.
We do not verify what the employer will actually offer, whether the employer is still recruiting for the role, or anything beyond what the employer published. Full methodology.