Founding Engineer (AI/ML)

Clera

$130K — $170K *
Consumer Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 3+ years as a software engineer with end-to-end product feature experience.
  • Proficiency with LLM APIs and experience building LLM features.
  • Demonstrated experience in creating recommendation systems and ranking algorithms.
  • Proficiency in TypeScript and React for production applications.
  • Experience with Supabase, Prisma, and database design.

Responsibilities

  • Build and maintain the AI/ML intelligence layer for product optimization.
  • Develop LLM-powered matching systems to enhance candidate alignment.
  • Architect production-grade data pipelines and integrate with core services.
  • Collaborate across teams to translate product goals into actionable features.
  • Take full ownership of features, delivering to production daily.

Benefits

  • Visa sponsorship available.
  • Foundational equity opportunity at a pre-seed stage company.
Full Job Description
About the Role

A fast-moving, pre-seed AI recruiting marketplace is looking for a Founding Engineer (AI/ML) to own the intelligence layer of their product. You'll architect and ship recommendation systems, ranking algorithms, and LLM-powered matching that connects top talent with the right opportunities - at the very core of what the product does. This is a foundational, high-ownership role at a small, ambitious team backed by notable investors and angels from top-tier VC firms.

This role is well-suited to someone who thrives in a scrappy, high-velocity startup environment, ships daily, and has something exceptional on their profile that sets them apart.
What You'll Do
  • Build and own the AI/ML intelligence layer, including recommendation systems and ranking algorithms.
  • Develop LLM-powered matching to improve candidate-role alignment in production.
  • Architect and maintain production-grade data pipelines and services integrated with the core stack.
  • Collaborate cross-functionally to translate product goals into shipped features.
  • Deliver end-to-end features with full ownership, shipping to production on a daily cadence.
What We're Looking For

Must-haves (dealbreakers):
  • 3+ years of experience as a software engineer building and shipping end-to-end product features in production environments.
  • Proficiency with LLM APIs and a track record of building LLM-powered features in production.
  • Experience building recommendation systems, ranking algorithms, or ML-powered matching systems.

Required skills & experience:
  • Proficiency with TypeScript and React in production applications.
  • Experience with Supabase, Prisma, and database design in production systems.
  • Experience building and maintaining production data pipelines and services.
  • Comfortable in fast-paced startup environments with rapid iteration and daily shipping cycles.
  • Proficiency with Cursor, Typesense, and trigger.dev (or comparable tools) in production-grade projects.

Nice to have:
  • Experience with Typesense or similar search/ranking infrastructure.
  • Experience with trigger.dev or similar workflow automation tools in production.
  • Demonstrated exceptional technical achievement - top university academic record, strong open-source contributions, or notable personal/side projects.

Culture fit:
  • Openness to collaborative, in-person hackerhouse-style working environments, including potential time in Latin America.
  • Willingness to work 6 days per week in a high-intensity, early-stage environment.
Compensation & Benefits
  • Salary: $130,000 - $170,000 USD per year
  • Visa sponsorship available
  • Foundational equity opportunity at a pre-seed stage company
Location

This is a hybrid role based in San Francisco, CA. The team works primarily in-person and values close collaboration. Candidates should expect a predominantly on-site presence in San Francisco, with potential travel to or time spent in Latin America for team offsites or hackerhouses.

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