Founding Engineer (AI/ML)
At a glance
Mid-level AI Engineering role at Clera. San Francisco · full-time · $130,000–$170,000 base.
aimlroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Take recommendation, ranking and retrieval systems from initial design into live use
- Improve LLM matching features and track how well they connect candidates with relevant roles
- Define product problems, deliver features to production and release refinements at a rapid pace
- Build the pipelines and live services that feed machine-learning models
- Work with company leaders to turn product priorities into functioning systems
What you bring
- Two to five years building software features end to end and delivering them to production
- Practical experience creating recommendation, ranking or machine-learning matching systems used by real people
- You have built features powered by LLM APIs and launched machine-learning products or models
- Strong production engineering in TypeScript or Python, plus PyTorch, TensorFlow or a comparable framework
- Over six months of substantial U.S. work experience, including a meaningful machine-learning post at an established product firm or credible startup
Who this fits
This role suits an engineer who has put real-user matching systems into production and can work across models, product features and supporting services. The job is on-site in San Francisco six days each week; you need to live there or relocate. Visa sponsorship is available for candidates who qualify through a supported route.
From the employer
About the Role
As a Founding Engineer focused on AI and machine learning, you will own the intelligence layer of an AI recruiting marketplace. You will build recommendation, ranking, retrieval, and LLM-powered matching systems that help connect candidates with relevant roles.
What You'll Do
Own recommendation, ranking, and retrieval systems from design through production.
Build and improve LLM-powered matching features, measuring their impact on candidate-role alignment.
Take product features from problem definition to production and ship improvements at a rapid pace.
Architect and maintain the data pipelines and production services that support machine learning models.
Work directly with company leadership to turn product goals into deployed systems.
What We're Looking For
Two to five years of experience building and shipping end-to-end software features in production.
Hands-on experience building recommendation, ranking, or machine learning-based matching systems for real users.
Experience building LLM API-powered features and shipping machine learning models or products to production.
Strong production engineering skills in TypeScript or Python, along with experience using PyTorch, TensorFlow, or equivalent frameworks.
Experience building and maintaining production data pipelines and services, with strong computer science fundamentals.
More than six months of substantive work experience in the United States, plus a substantive machine learning role at a recognized product company or credible startup.
Comfort working in a fast-paced startup environment with frequent iteration and daily shipping.
Demonstrated technical achievement through strong open-source contributions, notable personal projects, or comparable accomplishments.
React experience is helpful, as is familiarity with Supabase, Prisma, database design, Typesense or similar search infrastructure, embeddings, vector search, and workflow automation tools.
Compensation & Benefits
Base salary is $130,000 to $170,000 annually, plus founding-hire equity. Visa sponsorship is available for candidates eligible for a supported sponsorship route.
Location
On-site in San Francisco, California, six days per week. Candidates must be based in San Francisco or willing to relocate.