Founding Engineer, AI — Shiplight AI

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.