Founding AI/ML Engineer

Job Description

**Who is Recruiting from Scratch:**
Recruiting from Scratch is a specialized talent firm dedicated to helping companies build exceptional teams. We partner closely with our clients to deeply understand their needs, then connect them with top-tier candidates who are not only highly skilled but also the right fit for the company's culture and vision. Our mission is simple: place the best people in the right roles to drive long-term success for both clients and candidates.
https://www.recruitingfromscratch.com/

**Founding AI/ML Engineer**
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**Location:** San Francisco, CA

**Company Stage of Funding:** Seed Stage (Raised $4.5M)

**Office Type:** Hybrid (2--4 Days Per Week In Office)

**Salary:** $175,000--$300,000 + Equity (1--2%)

**Company Description**
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We're representing a venture-backed AI startup building an intelligent product design agent that helps teams explore, refine, and validate product ideas through visual collaboration and AI-powered workflows. Their platform combines generative AI, multimodal systems, and agentic workflows to help product teams move from concept to execution faster than ever before.

Founded by a repeat entrepreneur with leadership experience at Google, HQ Trivia, and multiple successful startups, the company has already attracted thousands of early users and secured $4.5M in funding. They are now hiring a Founding AI/ML Engineer to help build the intelligence layer that powers the next generation of AI-assisted product creation.

**What You Will Do**
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* Own the end-to-end development of the company's AI and machine learning systems, from experimentation through production deployment.
* Design, build, and optimize agentic AI workflows that help users generate, refine, and evaluate product ideas and designs.
* Develop intelligent systems leveraging LLMs, retrieval pipelines, personalization, recommendation engines, and multimodal AI capabilities.
* Select, fine-tune, evaluate, and deploy machine learning models that improve product performance and user outcomes.
* Build backend systems and APIs that power AI-driven experiences at scale.
* Design evaluation frameworks and feedback loops to continuously improve model quality and user experience.
* Collaborate closely with the founder and engineering team to define technical strategy and product direction.
* Translate ambiguous product concepts into scalable AI-powered solutions.
* Contribute across both machine learning and product engineering, helping bridge research and production systems.

**Ideal Background**
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* 4+ years of software engineering experience, including significant work on AI or machine learning products.
* 2+ years of experience building production machine learning systems and shipping customer-facing features.
* Experience developing and deploying AI-powered products in startup or high-growth environments.
* Strong backend engineering skills with deep experience in TypeScript and Python.
* Hands-on experience with PyTorch, TensorFlow, Hugging Face, or related ML frameworks.
* Experience building recommendation systems, retrieval architectures, search, ranking, reranking, personalization, memory systems, or vector search applications.
* Demonstrated success building 0-to-1 products or major product features.
* Strong product intuition and ability to balance technical excellence with user impact.
* Comfortable operating independently and taking ownership in an early-stage startup environment.

**Preferred**
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* Experience building agentic AI products, autonomous workflows, or AI copilots.
* Background at product-focused companies building creative, design, collaboration, or developer tools.
* Experience with LLM orchestration frameworks such as LangChain or similar technologies.
* Familiarity with vector databases and retrieval systems.
* Experience with multimodal AI systems, generative AI products, or creative tooling.
* Startup experience, particularly at Seed through Series A stages.
* Interest in product design, creativity tools, and AI-assisted workflows.

**Compensation and Benefits**
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* Base salary: $175,000--$300,000.
* Founding-level equity package ranging from approximately 1--2%.
* Opportunity to join a well-funded startup at an early stage and shape core product direction.
* Direct partnership with an experienced founder and leadership team.
* Hybrid work environment with flexibility and collaboration across San Francisco and New York teams.
* High ownership role with significant influence over product, technology, and company strategy.
* Opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI, agentic systems, personalization, and multimodal experiences.
* Strong career growth potential as one of the earliest technical hires at the company.
Salary Range: $175,000-$300,000 base.
https://www.recruitingfromscratch.com/