Lead Software Engineer

Refactor.•San Francisco, CA

6d•Onsite

About The Position

A small, Y Combinator-backed technology company in San Francisco is seeking a hands-on full-stack engineer to take ownership of its core software platform. The company is building a data and analytics platform for agriculture that processes operational data to help farmers make better decisions. The role offers significant technical ownership and involves working directly with the founders in an early-stage environment. The engineer will build and operate production backend systems in Python, develop JavaScript/React applications, design and optimize PostgreSQL databases, and build automated data pipelines for complex datasets. The role also owns cloud infrastructure, CI/CD, and production reliability, and includes making architecture decisions, shipping features end to end, and helping shape the company’s technical direction as it grows. The position is based in San Francisco and requires four days per week onsite. Agriculture experience is not required.

Requirements

At least 6 years of software engineering experience.
Strong full-stack ability across Python and JavaScript.
Deep understanding of databases, data pipelines, and infrastructure.
Experience building and shipping products from 0 to 1.
Strong engineering fundamentals; experience in a technically demanding organization is ideal.
Curiosity, independence, and comfort working without constant direction.
Practical experience using AI development tools such as Cursor or Claude.

Nice To Haves

Previous Founding Engineer or early-stage startup experience.
Experience at a strong engineering organization such as Google, SpaceX, or a similar company.