Hirewell
Chief Technology Officer “CTO” – Founding Engineering Leader
Hirewell, San Francisco, California, United States, 94199
Chief Technology Officer “CTO” – Founding Engineering Leader Direct Hire
Salary Range : $200,000 - $300,000
Benefits : Startup level benefits
Founding CTO / Engineering Leader
Considering applying for this job Do not delay, scroll down and make your application as soon as possible to avoid missing out. San Francisco (Hybrid / In Office) About the Company We’re an early-stage AI-driven startup operating at the intersection of media, creativity, and advanced tech. In just a few months, we’ve hit significant revenue milestones and are positioned for hypergrowth. Our goal is to scale from early traction to breakout success—fast. The team is small, senior, and intensely focused. Everyone here is a builder who thrives in ambiguity, values product craftsmanship, and moves quickly with clear ownership. We’re backed by a strong syndicate of angel investors and are actively shaping our next stage of funding. We’re now looking for a seasoned technical leader who can match our pace and help us scale both product and team. What You’ll Do Be the technical foundation: drive engineering strategy, architecture, and infrastructure decisions from the ground up Lead by doing: write production-level code in your strongest area (backend, AI systems, or frontend) while building and mentoring a high-performing engineering team Shape product alongside founders, designers, and users—fast iteration and direct feedback loops are key Architect robust systems capable of handling real-time collaboration and compute-intensive AI workloads Work cross-functionally to turn ambitious product ideas into reliable, beautiful, and fast experiences Build toward internal AI/ML capabilities including model deployment, scaling inference, and experimentation infrastructure Who You Are A hands-on engineering leader who thrives in a zero-to-one environment and enjoys scaling systems and teams Someone who’s seen multiple stages of growth, ideally as a founder, early technical leader, or startup CTO Product-minded and user-obsessed—you care deeply about what gets built, not just how Comfortable with rapid cycles, incomplete data, and hard technical tradeoffs Able to navigate both individual contribution and executive-level leadership, switching as the business demands Drawn to high-upside opportunities and willing to go all-in on a mission that excites you 8+ years in software engineering with 2+ years in a leadership or founder-level role End-to-end product development—from first commit to customer adoption at scale Experience with high-performance backend systems, modern frontend stacks, or AI/ML pipelines Familiarity with GPU infrastructure, model inference workflows, and scaling cloud-based systems Strong system design and a track record of architectural ownership Bonus: experience in generative media, creator tools, or real-time rendering pipelines The Tech Stack (Not Set in Stone) Infrastructure:
Cloud-native, edge compute, Docker, GPU orchestration, CDNs AI/ML:
Inference streaming, integration of video/image generation models, real-time model-serving Tooling:
Testing automation, performance monitoring, internal tooling for fast iteration Why This Role is Unique Executive-level scope:
Be a foundational leader with major influence on company direction Uncapped potential:
Equity and upside reflect the timing of the opportunity Product velocity:
Join a team that ships fast and frequently, without red tape Impact:
Help build a product from the ground up that could reshape how millions create and engage with content Culture:
Transparent, direct, ownership-driven, and highly collaborative Compensation Competitive salary range (flexible based on experience and needs) Equity package reflecting early leadership impact Benefits and relocation support if needed We help people find the next step in their careers in technology, marketing, sales, human resources, finance, accounting, and real estate. Check out what jobs we have available today. Follow the hottest hiring trends. #IYKYK Talent Insights is THE place to keep up with the latest trends in hiring. From market analysis to hot takes on talent practices, tune in to learn (and maybe be entertained). Email * What best describes you? * drop us a line Need help with hiring? Turns out, we'd love to help. Contact us below. If you're looking for a new job, check out the job openings for our clients here . We'd love to hear from you! Please fill out the form and we'll get back to you as soon as possible. First Name Last Name Email * Company Name * Company Website URL * How can we help you hire? * How did you hear about us? * Subscribe to our Talent Insights Newsletter
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Considering applying for this job Do not delay, scroll down and make your application as soon as possible to avoid missing out. San Francisco (Hybrid / In Office) About the Company We’re an early-stage AI-driven startup operating at the intersection of media, creativity, and advanced tech. In just a few months, we’ve hit significant revenue milestones and are positioned for hypergrowth. Our goal is to scale from early traction to breakout success—fast. The team is small, senior, and intensely focused. Everyone here is a builder who thrives in ambiguity, values product craftsmanship, and moves quickly with clear ownership. We’re backed by a strong syndicate of angel investors and are actively shaping our next stage of funding. We’re now looking for a seasoned technical leader who can match our pace and help us scale both product and team. What You’ll Do Be the technical foundation: drive engineering strategy, architecture, and infrastructure decisions from the ground up Lead by doing: write production-level code in your strongest area (backend, AI systems, or frontend) while building and mentoring a high-performing engineering team Shape product alongside founders, designers, and users—fast iteration and direct feedback loops are key Architect robust systems capable of handling real-time collaboration and compute-intensive AI workloads Work cross-functionally to turn ambitious product ideas into reliable, beautiful, and fast experiences Build toward internal AI/ML capabilities including model deployment, scaling inference, and experimentation infrastructure Who You Are A hands-on engineering leader who thrives in a zero-to-one environment and enjoys scaling systems and teams Someone who’s seen multiple stages of growth, ideally as a founder, early technical leader, or startup CTO Product-minded and user-obsessed—you care deeply about what gets built, not just how Comfortable with rapid cycles, incomplete data, and hard technical tradeoffs Able to navigate both individual contribution and executive-level leadership, switching as the business demands Drawn to high-upside opportunities and willing to go all-in on a mission that excites you 8+ years in software engineering with 2+ years in a leadership or founder-level role End-to-end product development—from first commit to customer adoption at scale Experience with high-performance backend systems, modern frontend stacks, or AI/ML pipelines Familiarity with GPU infrastructure, model inference workflows, and scaling cloud-based systems Strong system design and a track record of architectural ownership Bonus: experience in generative media, creator tools, or real-time rendering pipelines The Tech Stack (Not Set in Stone) Infrastructure:
Cloud-native, edge compute, Docker, GPU orchestration, CDNs AI/ML:
Inference streaming, integration of video/image generation models, real-time model-serving Tooling:
Testing automation, performance monitoring, internal tooling for fast iteration Why This Role is Unique Executive-level scope:
Be a foundational leader with major influence on company direction Uncapped potential:
Equity and upside reflect the timing of the opportunity Product velocity:
Join a team that ships fast and frequently, without red tape Impact:
Help build a product from the ground up that could reshape how millions create and engage with content Culture:
Transparent, direct, ownership-driven, and highly collaborative Compensation Competitive salary range (flexible based on experience and needs) Equity package reflecting early leadership impact Benefits and relocation support if needed We help people find the next step in their careers in technology, marketing, sales, human resources, finance, accounting, and real estate. Check out what jobs we have available today. Follow the hottest hiring trends. #IYKYK Talent Insights is THE place to keep up with the latest trends in hiring. From market analysis to hot takes on talent practices, tune in to learn (and maybe be entertained). Email * What best describes you? * drop us a line Need help with hiring? Turns out, we'd love to help. Contact us below. If you're looking for a new job, check out the job openings for our clients here . We'd love to hear from you! Please fill out the form and we'll get back to you as soon as possible. First Name Last Name Email * Company Name * Company Website URL * How can we help you hire? * How did you hear about us? * Subscribe to our Talent Insights Newsletter
#J-18808-Ljbffr