5-7 years of relevant engineering experience, ideally full stack with backend focus.
Demonstrated capability in system design, particularly for scalability.
Familiarity with AI tools; hands-on experience with integrations preferred.
Experience in payments, infrastructure, or developer tools is advantageous.
Adaptability to fast-paced, ambiguous environments and shifting priorities.
Responsibilities
Tackle challenges at the intersection of AI, payments, and infrastructure.
Develop integrations with AI providers and payment systems.
Work closely with the founder and other teams to define technical direction.
Participate in sales calls as a technical representative, linking customer needs and technology.
Contribute to shaping company culture and processes from the outset.
Benefits
Opportunity to solve major challenges in the AI space.
Work in a focused, results-driven team.
Direct collaboration with a knowledgeable founder.
Influence company strategy and technical decisions from early on.
Engage in shaping a new market for AI-to-AI commerce.
Full Job Description
Founding Engineer (NYC) Lava: the connector to every LLM, API, and MCP.
Join Lava's team in shaping how people and AI build, monetize, and work together. What You'll Do
Work across Lava's three surfaces: the Lava app, Lava MCP, and monetization.
Extend the Gateway and monetization systems (metering, billing, payouts).
Collaborate closely with the founder, product, and sales to set the technical direction and architecture.
Join sales development calls when needed, acting as a forward-deployed engineer who can bridge tech and customer needs.
Move fast, adapt to ambiguity, and help shape the culture and processes from day one.
What We're Looking For
Driven, resourceful, and self-motivated, thriving in open-ended, fast-changing environments.
Deep engineering experience, ideally full stack with a strong backend focus.
Strong grasp of system design and building for scale.
Hands-on AI user who actively experiments with and integrates AI tools.
Experience with payments, infrastructure, or developer tooling is a plus.
Comfortable switching between building, selling, and learning from users.
Why You'll Love This Role
You'll be solving one of the hardest and most important problems in AI: building the infrastructure that connects and monetizes AI-native products.
Work in a small, tight-knit, and highly motivated team that stays focused on outcomes, without unnecessary process or distractions.
Work directly with a founder who's built and sold a fintech company before, now doing it again at the center of the AI shift.
Be part of a company operating at the cutting edge of AI, where speed, ownership, and impact matter more than process.
The media is already excited about what we're building: read our TechCrunch feature here.
Significant influence over technical and product decisions from day one.
Help shape how the trust layer, access layer, and financial backbone of the AI web get built.
Location & Work Authorization
This is an in-person role based out of Lava's New York City office.
Candidates must currently be authorized to work in the United States; Lava is unable to sponsor visas at this time.
If you're excited about owning big problems, building products people need, and having a direct hand in how the future of AI commerce works, we'd love to talk.
