Founding Engineer, AI - Shiplight AI

Pear

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

Qualifications

  • 1-3 years of startup experience in the AI domain
  • Strong engineering fundamentals and product mindset
  • Proficiency in Python and TypeScript
  • Deep understanding of context engineering and prompt-based reasoning systems
  • Familiarity with browser automation, mobile automation, or QA tooling is a plus

Responsibilities

  • Build core systems enabling AI agents to test and reason about complex applications
  • Design, prototype, and ship automation components for browsers and devices
  • Collaborate with founders to define product architecture and company culture
  • Experiment with context engineering techniques for enhanced AI adaptability
  • Rapidly prototype and transition solutions to production with high ownership

Benefits

  • Join as the first founding engineer at an early stage
  • Shape product and technical vision under direct mentorship from founders
  • Receive generous equity participation in company success
  • Work hybrid in a fast-paced environment that values team culture
Full Job Description
Founding Engineer, AI - Shiplight AI
  • Do you agree we're living through the AI revolution?
  • Do you want to be part of it - and run ahead of the curve?
  • Are you ready to help 100x productivity?

If so, join us.

At Shiplight AI, our mission is to build the foundation for enterprise-scale automation powered by intelligent agents. We believe every organization should have AI systems that can understand context, take action, and collaborate seamlessly with humans - transforming how work gets done across the enterprise.

Our first mission: fully automate software quality assurance. We're building state-of-the-art agentic QA systems that integrate deeply into the software development cycle - empowering every product manager, developer, and tester with their own AI QA engineer that validates work in real time.

You'll be joining a small, mission-driven founding team led by industry veterans, working at the intersection of AI agents, system engineering, and real-world developer productivity.

What You'll Do
  • Build core systems that enable AI agents to autonomously test and reason about complex applications.
  • Design, prototype, and ship agentic browser and device automation components.
  • Work directly with the founders to define architecture, roadmap, and company culture.
  • Experiment with cutting-edge context engineering techniques to improve reasoning and adaptability.
  • Move fast - from prototype to production - with high ownership and autonomy.


Who You Are
  • Mission-driven - you want to help shape the next era of AI-powered software development.
  • Curious and resourceful - you love solving hard, open-ended problems.
  • Hands-on builder - you thrive in early-stage environments with high speed and uncertainty.
  • Collaborative - you value teamwork and open technical debate.
  • You have 1-3 years of startup experience in the AI domain.
  • You're eager to grow into a technical leader and make a massive impact early.


Ideal Skills
  • Strong engineering fundamentals and product mindset.
  • Proficiency in Python and TypeScript.
  • Deep understanding of context engineering and prompt-based reasoning systems.
  • Familiarity with browser automation, mobile automation, or QA tooling is a plus.
  • Comfortable working across the stack - backend, frontend, and AI interfaces.


Location
  • San Francisco Bay Area - hybrid preferred.
  • We move fast, iterate face-to-face, and believe early teams build the strongest culture.


Why Join Now
  • Join at the earliest stage as the first founding engineer.
  • Shape both the product and technical vision.
  • Work directly with founders who've built successful systems and products before.
  • Receive generous equity and play a defining role in the company's success.

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