Lead Software Engineer

Prevail Recruiting • Los Angeles, CA

2d • Remote

About The Position

This is a full-time founding engineer opportunity at an early-stage aerospace engineering software company building an AI-powered platform to help hardware teams move from concept to manufacturable design faster. The role begins with a one-month paid working period, followed by a full-time offer. The successful candidate will be the company’s first technical employee, work directly with the founder, and own building and shipping the platform. The founder provides product vision, aerospace hardware expertise, and customer feedback; the engineer brings software depth, architectural judgment, and execution. The initial emphasis is backend development, with work also spanning frontend functionality, deployment, and overall product delivery. The engineer will help establish an AI-enabled software development process and will have substantial freedom to select and build agentic coding tools. The role offers significant ownership and growth potential in an evolving early-stage environment. It is fully remote and based in the United States; U.S. citizenship is required. Occasional meetings in the Los Angeles area are a plus but not required. The role requires a full-time commitment, with flexibility and heavier periods around SBIR and customer milestones. Communication includes daily asynchronous updates, three to five short meetings per week, and a weekly written summary. Base salary is $150,000–$190,000, depending on experience and final role scope. Expected equity is 1.0%–2.0% on a fully diluted basis, normally vesting over four years with a one-year cliff. The paid working period is compensated at the monthly equivalent of the agreed base salary. The initial paid period is a direct agreement between the company and the individual; the full-time offer will specify employment structure, benefits, equity terms, and start date.

Requirements

• Production experience designing and shipping software systems.
• Backend engineering depth and judgment across the whole product lifecycle.
• Python experience; Python is the primary language currently used.
• Ability to translate user problems into data models, interfaces, runtimes, deployments, and measurable outcomes.
• Strong product and architecture judgment, including the ability to assess whether the team is solving the right problem.
• Experience using AI coding agents to produce high-quality, understandable, scalable software and reviewing and verifying their work.
• Hands-on experience developing, deploying, and operating LLM-powered applications and agentic workflows.
• Strong understanding of reliability and verification in mission-critical settings.
• Ability to work independently with a technical founder, turn incomplete direction into recommendations, explain tradeoffs, and own outcomes.
• Full-time availability and U.S. citizenship; based in the United States.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in a regulated industry such as aerospace, defense, medical technology, or financial technology.
• Prior early-stage startup experience.
• Availability for occasional meetings in the Los Angeles area.

Responsibilities

• Build and ship the company’s software platform, taking ownership from initial concept through delivery.
• Lead backend development, with responsibility extending to frontend functionality, deployment, and overall product delivery.
• Translate user problems into data models, interfaces, runtimes, deployments, and measurable outcomes.
• Make product and architecture decisions that balance speed, reliability, maintainability, and customer value.
• Iterate based on customer needs and demonstrate progress through working software.
• Work directly with the founder to establish an AI-enabled software development process.
• Select and build agentic coding tools to support the company’s growth.
• Develop, deploy, and operate LLM-powered applications and agentic workflows, with attention to reliability and verification.
• Communicate recommendations and tradeoffs clearly and provide a weekly written summary.

Benefits

• Meaningful equity expected as part of the full-time package, with an expected range of 1.0%–2.0% on a fully diluted basis, normally vesting over four years with a one-year cliff.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed