Former Technical Founders

Encord

$120K — $180K *
Consumer Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Formerly founded or co-founded a technology company
  • Strong technical background with experience in production code
  • Experience in building and shipping user-loved products
  • Demonstrated ability to hire and lead high-performing teams
  • Exceptional communication and stakeholder management capabilities

Responsibilities

  • Collaborate with cofounders to identify high-leverage opportunities
  • Take ownership and drive ambiguous problems from conception to launch
  • Adopt an entrepreneurial mindset to find gaps and execute quickly
  • Develop internal tools and processes to support scalability
  • Serve as a catalyst across teams, applying founder-level energy

Benefits

  • Competitive salary, commission, and meaningful equity
  • Rapid growth opportunities as the company scales
  • Strong in-person culture with a collaborative office environment
  • Flexible paid time off for work-life balance
  • Annual learning and development budget
  • Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
  • Travel opportunities across various regions
  • Engaging team activities including company offsites and socials
Full Job Description
The role

We're looking for former technical founders who want to get back to building. If you've experienced the thrill of 0 to 1 - the chaos, the ownership, the outsized impact - and you're hungry to do it again inside a rocketship, this is the role for you.

At Encord, you won't be a cog in a machine. You'll work directly with the founding team, take on high-stakes problems, and help shape the trajectory of the company. We don't care which box you fit into - we care about what you're capable of building.

What you'll do
  • Work closely with the cofounders to identify and drive some of the highest-leverage opportunities across product, engineering, GTM, or operations
  • Take ownership of ambitious, ambiguous problems and drive them from zero to shipped
  • Bring an entrepreneurial mindset to everything - spotting gaps, moving fast, and making things happen with limited resources
  • Build internal tools, processes, and systems that help Encord scale
  • Act as a force multiplier across teams, bringing founder-level energy and judgment to whatever you tackle

Who we're looking for
  • A former founder - ideally technical - who has built and scaled a product or company, and is eager to get back to the early days of 0 to 1
  • You may have started and exited your business and are ready to experience the journey again in a new context
  • You may not have AI or B2B experience, but you will have excelled at something incredibly challenging that demonstrates your grit and ability to overachieve
  • Deeply comfortable with ambiguity - you don't need a job spec to know what needs doing
  • A builder at heart who thinks from first principles and moves fast without sacrificing quality
  • Someone who takes extreme ownership and thrives without a safety net

Experience requirements
  • Proven experience founding or co-founding a technology company
  • Strong technical background - you've written production code and understand engineering trade-offs
  • Track record of building and shipping products that users love
  • Experience hiring, leading, and inspiring small, high-performing teams
  • Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills

Why Encord
  • Competitive salary, commission, and meaningful equity in a high-growth startup
  • Clear, accelerated growth opportunities as the company scales rapidly
  • Strong in-person culture: 4-5 days/week in our newly launched North Beach loft office
  • Flexible PTO to fully recharge
  • 18 paid vacation days in the U.S. plus federal holidays
  • Annual learning & development budget
  • Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage
  • Frequent travel opportunities across the U.S., London, and Europe
  • Bi-annual company offsites, twice-weekly team lunches, and monthly socials

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