Founding/Early-Stage Software Engineer

Continuum Resource Network • New York, NY

4h • $175,000 - $275,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Continuum Recruiting works with a portfolio of venture-backed AI and technology companies hiring exceptional Founding, Early-Stage, and high-ownership Software Engineers. We are interested in meeting strong engineers for multiple current and upcoming opportunities rather than a single specific opening. These companies range from very early founding teams to rapidly scaling startups. While the exact stack and product vary, the common denominator is a need for well-rounded builders who can take ambiguous problems, make sound technical and product decisions, and ship production software end-to-end. Many of the opportunities are AI-native and involve applied AI, LLMs, agentic systems, developer tooling, data infrastructure, or AI-enabled vertical software. Others are broader product and platform engineering roles where strong software fundamentals and 0-to-1 execution matter most.

Requirements

• Strong professional software engineering experience with evidence of shipping production systems.
• End-to-end ownership: you can move from an ambiguous problem to a working production solution without requiring a detailed specification.
• Strong backend, full-stack, product engineering, or systems engineering fundamentals.
• Experience with one or more modern production languages such as Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, Go, Java, or Rust.
• Comfort working across multiple layers of a product rather than being limited to a very narrow specialty.
• High agency, strong problem-solving ability, and comfort operating in fast-moving environments.
• A track record of meaningful technical impact, rapid growth, entrepreneurial work, strong startup experience, or other clear signals of engineering excellence.
• Clear communication and the ability to explain technical decisions and tradeoffs.

Nice To Haves

• Founding Engineer, Early Engineer, Product Engineer, Full-Stack Engineer, Backend Engineer, or Staff/Senior Software Engineer.
• Experience at an early-stage or high-growth startup, or evidence that you can operate effectively in a startup-style environment.
• 0-to-1 product or platform development.
• Production AI/LLM or agentic-system experience.
• Python and/or TypeScript/React experience.
• API integrations, distributed systems, data infrastructure, or developer tooling.
• Daily use of modern AI coding tools such as Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Codex, or similar tools.
• Entrepreneurial experience, meaningful side projects, open-source work, or previous founder experience.

Responsibilities

• Own products, features, or core systems from initial concept and architecture through production deployment.
• Build across the stack, including backend services, APIs, data infrastructure, frontend/product surfaces, and cloud systems.
• Develop AI-native products and workflows using LLMs, agents, tool integrations, retrieval systems, and modern AI development tools where relevant.
• Make pragmatic architecture and product decisions in environments with limited process and incomplete requirements.
• Work directly with founders, customers, and other stakeholders to identify problems and translate them into shipped software.
• Build integrations with external APIs, business systems, data sources, and third-party platforms.
• Establish engineering patterns, tooling, testing, observability, and best practices as teams scale.
• Help shape engineering culture and, in some roles, mentor or lead engineers who join after you.

Benefits

• Competitive base compensation , with many opportunities ranging from $175,000–$275,000
• Meaningful equity ownership with the opportunity to participate directly in the company's long-term growth and success
• Comprehensive health benefits , typically including medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) retirement plans , often with employer matching
• Ground-floor impact and ownership — join an early-stage or rapidly scaling company where your work can directly influence the product, technical architecture, and engineering culture
• Career acceleration through the opportunity to solve difficult 0→1 problems, build new systems from the ground up, and help shape the direction of a growing engineering organization

What This Job Offers

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