Opportunities / Selected search
Founding Engineer
A founding engineering role combining applied research, technical depth and forward-deployed ownership at an early-stage deep-tech AI company.
Active searchLast updated: September 23, 2026
Confidential Deep-Tech AI StartupSan FranciscoIn-person$200K–$300K
Every introduction is reviewed by NXT. Your information is not sent to a company without a conversation first.
- Company
- Confidential Deep-Tech AI Startup
- Focus
- Applied AI / Deep Tech
- Stage
- Pre-seed
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
- Work model
- In-person
- Type
- Full-Time
- Experience
- Open to a wide range of experience levels
- Compensation
- $200K–$300K
- Visa
- H-1B, O-1 and OPT sponsorship available
- Last updated
- September 23, 2026
THE MANDATE
- 01Own complex technical projects end-to-end, work directly with customers to understand real-world problems, and translate research knowledge into working optimization solutions.
- 02The near-term work is highly applied and customer-facing, with the opportunity to move toward deeper research as the company develops.
- 03Why it's interesting: this is a true founding engineering seat for someone who wants to operate at the intersection of research and real-world execution.
- 04The role combines customer ownership today with the opportunity to move toward deeper research as the company develops.
THE SEAT
- 01Own technical projects from problem definition through delivery
- 02Work directly with customers and partners
- 03Gather technical and operational information
- 04Define problems and constraints
- 05Build solutions to applied optimization problems
- 06Collaborate closely with other founding technical team members
- 07Influence technical direction
- 08Grow into deeper research work over time
WHAT THIS SEARCH REQUIRES
- 01Research experience in materials science, physics, chemistry or an adjacent STEM discipline
- 02Ability to turn research knowledge into working engineering solutions
- 03Comfort owning customer-facing technical work end-to-end
- 04Ability to gather information directly from customers and partners
- 05Strong ownership and bias toward action
- 06Ability to solve clearly defined problems in highly unstructured environments
- 07Willingness to work fully in-person in San Francisco
USEFUL, NOT REQUIRED
- 01PhD or extensive graduate research
- 02Deep-tech startup experience
- 03Physical sciences
- 04Robotics
- 05Energy
- 06Advanced manufacturing
- 07Industrial optimization experience
- 08Exposure to mining, construction or materials supply chains
- 09Unconventional field-research or information-gathering experience