Founding Engineer

HHM Talent is assisting a venture-backed startup in San Francisco in their search for a Founding Engineer.

Position Overview

This role will focus on building systems that automatically identify, diagnose, and resolve software issues in production environments. The position sits at the intersection of AI, infrastructure, and systems engineering, with a strong emphasis on real-world impact and product ownership.

This is a high-ownership, hands-on role suited for someone who thrives in ambiguity, enjoys solving complex technical problems, and wants to help shape foundational product architecture.

Key Responsibilities

• Build systems that analyze production telemetry to identify root causes of failures
• Design and develop automated debugging and error analysis systems
• Develop and scale telemetry pipelines across logs, traces, and deployments
• Build instrumentation to track system behavior and preserve context across services
• Contribute to AI-driven systems that generate and validate root cause analysis
• Improve developer tooling, observability systems, and internal SDKs
• Collaborate on system architecture and foundational product decisions

Qualifications

Required:

• 5+ years of software engineering experience
• Experience applying AI/ML to real-world, production-level problems
• Strong ability to operate independently and take ownership of projects
• Background in systems, infrastructure, or full-stack product development
• Strong communication skills and ability to simplify complex concepts
• Willingness to work onsite in San Francisco

Preferred

• Experience with observability or developer tooling (Datadog, Sentry, Grafana, etc.)
• Background in distributed systems or telemetry platforms
• Experience with TypeScript, Node.js, AWS, or similar technologies
• Experience building or working with multi-agent systems

Benefits

• Base salary: $250,000 – $400,000
• Equity: 0.25% – 2%
• Fully covered relocation
• Visa sponsorship available (H-1B transfer, OPT, TN, E-3, O-1)
• Unlimited PTO
• 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k)
• Pet insurance
• Team events and meals