About the RoleThis is a rare, true co-founder opportunity - not a conventional CTO hire. You will join as an equal co-founder with meaningful equity (~28%), owning the research agenda, the product, and the engineering team from day one. The company is an AI-powered video advertising marketplace operating at the intersection of generative AI, creative tooling, and performance marketing. With a pre-seed round already closed (backed by experienced founders, operators, and institutional investors), a growing network of thousands of creators, and early brand traction, the flywheel is already spinning.
Several of the most consequential technical and product design decisions have been deliberately left open - because they belong to the person in this seat. You will not be executing someone else's roadmap. You will be writing it.
What You'll Do- Set and own the full technical research agenda, making high-stakes architectural and product decisions independently
- Build and scale the company's core AI-driven technical advantage - spanning generative video, multimodal models, and creator tooling
- Lead product development across the platform: AI ad generation, creator marketplace infrastructure, brand personalization, campaign management, and creator payout systems
- Hire, mentor, and grow an engineering and research team as the company scales
- Collaborate closely with your co-founder on company strategy, fundraising narrative, and go-to-market direction
- Operate as a hands-on technical leader in the early stages - writing code, reviewing architecture, and shipping product
What We're Looking For- Exceptional technical depth in AI/ML, with strong familiarity with generative models (video, image, or multimodal)
- Product instinct - the ability to translate a creative and commercial vision into a coherent, scalable technical architecture
- Founder mentality: high agency, comfort with ambiguity, and genuine ownership of outcomes
- Leadership experience building or meaningfully contributing to technical teams at a startup or high-growth environment
- Willingness to commit fully - this role requires 6-7 days per week in the early stage
- Based in or willing to relocate to San Francisco for full-time, in-person collaboration
Nice to have:- Prior experience in adtech, martech, or creator economy platforms
- Background in performance marketing or understanding of brand creative workflows
- Previous co-founder or early-stage (01) startup experience
Compensation & Benefits- Equity: ~28% equal co-founder equity
- Salary to be discussed; structured appropriately for a co-founder at the pre-seed stage
- Real authority over the technical direction of the company - not a subordinate role
Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.
LocationThis role is fully
on-site in San Francisco, CA. In-person, day-to-day collaboration with your co-founder is a core part of how this company operates at this stage.
