Palo Alto, United States
Founding Software Engineer
Raydar · Palo Alto · United States
- Salary
- $165,000–$210,000 per year
- Contract
- Full time
- Occupation
- Software Engineer
Posted: 10/12/2026 · Last checked: 10/28/2026
Job description
Quoted in full from Raydar's job posting. Gavroche does not edit it.
About the company
Our client is an early-stage software company.
The role
Raydar is recruiting for this role on behalf of our client. Join a very small engineering group as an early hire, owning large parts of a business software product from design through production release. The work blends engineering with product thinking and direct customer contact, and suits someone who enjoys ambiguity and fast iteration.
What you'll do
- Ship and iterate quickly while making deliberate trade-offs on quality.
- Work closely with the founders to design solutions to customer problems.
- Speak directly with customers to diagnose and resolve product issues.
- Own major areas of the product independently, from technical design to production release.
- Take on a mix of engineering, product and customer support duties.
Requirements
What we're looking for
- Strong empathy for users and product, thinking beyond code to how people work with data.
- Degree in Computer Science or Engineering.
- Experience at a startup, ideally as a founder or founding engineer, or equivalent experience owning projects from zero to one at a larger company.
- Expertise in systems design and data modeling.
- Demonstrated initiative, such as owning and delivering a project outside the roadmap or building notable side projects.
- Ability to pick up new technology stacks quickly.
- Comfort in a tiny team where responsibilities regularly cross functional lines.
- About 2 or more years of relevant experience.
Bonus points
- Prior exposure to shaping a product through close work with users or colleagues.
- Familiarity with business software in a related domain.
- Degree from a top university.
Benefits
Compensation and benefits
- Base salary: USD 165,000 to 210,000 per year
- Equity
- Health, dental and vision coverage
- Retirement plan
Location and work model
- Palo Alto, CA, United States
- On-site, 5 days per week in office
- Full-time
From Gavroche data
Figures computed from live adverts on Gavroche; the job text above is the employer's.
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What software engineer adverts in the United States state
Middle half: 157,500 – 222,000 USD a year; median 193,000 USD.
From 2229 adverts by 381 employers that state a salary, annualised.
How software engineer roles in the United States are worked
3% fully remote · 2% hybrid · 95% do not say
Of 647 adverts. An advert that does not state a work mode is counted as not saying, not as on-site.
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- 8/3/2026 33
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