{"schemaVersion":"jobsearcher.job.v1","id":"19838fd1daa4544893954cd8","url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/19838fd1daa4544893954cd8","canonicalUrl":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/19838fd1daa4544893954cd8","title":"Simula Founding Engineer","description":"Simula — Founding Engineer\nType: Full-time | On-site | San Francisco, CA Compensation: $160,000–$220,000 + ~0.5% equity Hiring count: 1 Visa sponsorship: None available — US citizens or visa holders only Reports to: Yizhen, Co-Founder (LinkedIn not provided)\n\nAbout Simula\nSimula is building the ad network for AI. The team partners with consumer AI entertainment and character platforms to create immersive, personalized ad formats — playable ads, animated character ads, sponsored experiences, and creative units that feel native to AI companions rather than disruptive to users. The work sits at the intersection of advertising, consumer products, AI-generated media, and mobile entertainment. Backed by a16z and other notable investors; the team moves fast and ships often.\n\nFounded: N/A | Team size: N/A | Total funding: N/A (a16z-backed)Industry: AI advertising / consumer AI (not specified on page)Website: simula.adOffice: San Francisco, CA\n\nWhy Candidates Should Join\n\nFounding seat: One of the earliest engineering hires at \"the ad network for AI,\" with direct influence over the engineering culture.\n\nDirect founder access: Reports to Yizhen (Co-Founder) with cross-functional work alongside the founding team.\n\nBacking + momentum: a16z-backed, fast-moving, ships often.\n\nPerks: Meaningful equity, free lunch and dinner ($35 Uber Eats / DoorDash stipend), office gym.\n\nIntake Call Summary\nNo intake transcript was provided — an intake video exists on the role page but is not transcribed. The points below are drawn from the role description, which reflects the intake.\n\nThis is an opportunistic, profile-driven hire — Yizhen wants to meet generally \"cracked\" profiles passed through opportunistically, not a high-priority targeted search.\n\nThe proxy Yizhen uses for the right candidate: someone who has built a bunch of projects on the side , not just worked their day job as an engineer.\n\nTech-stack agnostic — filtered on profile and slope, not a narrow stack requirement.\n\nRole blends backend + ML + traditional system design / infrastructure .\n\nReports to Yizhen with cross-functional work across the team.\n\nThe Role\nA Founding Engineer who can blend backend, ML, and traditional system design / infrastructure — a high-agency, high-slope builder, not a candidate filtered through a narrow tech-stack requirement.\n\nWhat You'll Be Doing\n\nBackend systems work with a mix of ML and traditional system design / infrastructure\n\nBuild features end-to-end across whatever the team is shipping\n\nCross-functional work with the rest of the engineering team and founders\n\nHelp shape the engineering culture as one of the early hires\n\nTech stack: Tech-stack agnostic. PyTorch fluency is a nice-to-have.\n\nRequirements\n\n0-3 years engineering\n\nBackend + ML + systems\n\nSide project track record\n\nGreen Flags\n\nStrong side project portfolio that demonstrates building outside of day-job scope. Yizhen direct primary proxy.\n\nRecent grad or 0-3 YOE with exceptional signal (top engineering school, notable internships, or notable side projects)\n\nBackground at Roblox, Meta, Amazon, or comparable consumer / ad infra companies with side-project signal\n\nRed Flags\n\nDay-job-only engineer with no signal of building outside of work.\n\nMid-career operator (5+ YOE) wanting Senior or Staff title. This is a founding-tier early hire.\n\nPure ML research background without shipping production systems\n\nThe Requirements, Green Flags, and Red Flags cards were all collapsed (\"Show More\") in the copied page — these lists are likely incomplete. Re-copy with all three expanded to capture the full criteria.\n\nRole Details\nSalary$160,000–$220,000Equity~0.5% (page lists \"Competitive Equity\"; ~0.5% per outreach template)On-site policySF, 5 days in personVisa sponsorshipNone available — US citizens or visa holders onlyEmployment typeFull-timeLocationSan Francisco, CA\n\nScreening Questions\nNone provided on the role page.\n\nInterview Process\nStage 1 — Pending Approval — Candidates awaiting initial approval. Stage 2 — First chat with Yizhen (Co-Founder) Stage 3 — In-person meetup with Yizhen — Lunch or dinner. Stage 4 — Meet the CTO and the team Stage 5 — Offer Extended Stage 6 — Candidate Hired — Candidate accepts and starts.\n\nIdeal Companies & Backgrounds\nUpdated June 24, 2026\n\nConsumer / ad infra — Roblox, Meta, Amazon, or comparable consumer/ad infra companies (with side-project signal)\n\nNo dedicated \"Ideal Companies\" list with expandable companies was present on the page; the above are the companies named in the Green Flags / Nice-to-Have.\n\nIdeal Candidate Profiles\nFor reference only — do not source these specific profiles. None provided on the role page (no candidate profiles with LinkedIn links).\n\nRejected Candidate Feedback\nNone provided on the role page.\n\n#J-18808-Ljbffr","company":"David Joseph","rawCompany":"david joseph","city":"Millbrae","state":"CA","isRemote":false,"isActive":true,"createdAt":"2026-08-06T03:23:24.220Z","occupations":[{"code":"17-2199.00","title":"Engineers, All Other","slug":"engineers-all-other"},{"code":"15-1299.08","title":"Computer Systems Engineers/Architects","slug":"computer-systems-engineers-architects"},{"code":"15-1221.00","title":"Computer and Information Research Scientists","slug":"computer-and-information-research-scientists"}],"industries":[{"code":"513210","title":"Software Publishers","slug":"software-publishers"},{"code":"541511","title":"Custom Computer Programming Services","slug":"custom-computer-programming-services"},{"code":"541330","title":"Engineering Services","slug":"engineering-services"}],"jobPosting":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"JobPosting","title":"Simula Founding Engineer","description":"Simula — Founding Engineer\nType: Full-time | On-site | San Francisco, CA Compensation: $160,000–$220,000 + ~0.5% equity Hiring count: 1 Visa sponsorship: None available — US citizens or visa holders only Reports to: Yizhen, Co-Founder (LinkedIn not provided)\n\nAbout Simula\nSimula is building the ad network for AI. The team partners with consumer AI entertainment and character platforms to create immersive, personalized ad formats — playable ads, animated character ads, sponsored experiences, and creative units that feel native to AI companions rather than disruptive to users. The work sits at the intersection of advertising, consumer products, AI-generated media, and mobile entertainment. Backed by a16z and other notable investors; the team moves fast and ships often.\n\nFounded: N/A | Team size: N/A | Total funding: N/A (a16z-backed)Industry: AI advertising / consumer AI (not specified on page)Website: simula.adOffice: San Francisco, CA\n\nWhy Candidates Should Join\n\nFounding seat: One of the earliest engineering hires at \"the ad network for AI,\" with direct influence over the engineering culture.\n\nDirect founder access: Reports to Yizhen (Co-Founder) with cross-functional work alongside the founding team.\n\nBacking + momentum: a16z-backed, fast-moving, ships often.\n\nPerks: Meaningful equity, free lunch and dinner ($35 Uber Eats / DoorDash stipend), office gym.\n\nIntake Call Summary\nNo intake transcript was provided — an intake video exists on the role page but is not transcribed. The points below are drawn from the role description, which reflects the intake.\n\nThis is an opportunistic, profile-driven hire — Yizhen wants to meet generally \"cracked\" profiles passed through opportunistically, not a high-priority targeted search.\n\nThe proxy Yizhen uses for the right candidate: someone who has built a bunch of projects on the side , not just worked their day job as an engineer.\n\nTech-stack agnostic — filtered on profile and slope, not a narrow stack requirement.\n\nRole blends backend + ML + traditional system design / infrastructure .\n\nReports to Yizhen with cross-functional work across the team.\n\nThe Role\nA Founding Engineer who can blend backend, ML, and traditional system design / infrastructure — a high-agency, high-slope builder, not a candidate filtered through a narrow tech-stack requirement.\n\nWhat You'll Be Doing\n\nBackend systems work with a mix of ML and traditional system design / infrastructure\n\nBuild features end-to-end across whatever the team is shipping\n\nCross-functional work with the rest of the engineering team and founders\n\nHelp shape the engineering culture as one of the early hires\n\nTech stack: Tech-stack agnostic. PyTorch fluency is a nice-to-have.\n\nRequirements\n\n0-3 years engineering\n\nBackend + ML + systems\n\nSide project track record\n\nGreen Flags\n\nStrong side project portfolio that demonstrates building outside of day-job scope. Yizhen direct primary proxy.\n\nRecent grad or 0-3 YOE with exceptional signal (top engineering school, notable internships, or notable side projects)\n\nBackground at Roblox, Meta, Amazon, or comparable consumer / ad infra companies with side-project signal\n\nRed Flags\n\nDay-job-only engineer with no signal of building outside of work.\n\nMid-career operator (5+ YOE) wanting Senior or Staff title. This is a founding-tier early hire.\n\nPure ML research background without shipping production systems\n\nThe Requirements, Green Flags, and Red Flags cards were all collapsed (\"Show More\") in the copied page — these lists are likely incomplete. Re-copy with all three expanded to capture the full criteria.\n\nRole Details\nSalary$160,000–$220,000Equity~0.5% (page lists \"Competitive Equity\"; ~0.5% per outreach template)On-site policySF, 5 days in personVisa sponsorshipNone available — US citizens or visa holders onlyEmployment typeFull-timeLocationSan Francisco, CA\n\nScreening Questions\nNone provided on the role page.\n\nInterview Process\nStage 1 — Pending Approval — Candidates awaiting initial approval. Stage 2 — First chat with Yizhen (Co-Founder) Stage 3 — In-person meetup with Yizhen — Lunch or dinner. Stage 4 — Meet the CTO and the team Stage 5 — Offer Extended Stage 6 — Candidate Hired — Candidate accepts and starts.\n\nIdeal Companies & Backgrounds\nUpdated June 24, 2026\n\nConsumer / ad infra — Roblox, Meta, Amazon, or comparable consumer/ad infra companies (with side-project signal)\n\nNo dedicated \"Ideal Companies\" list with expandable companies was present on the page; the above are the companies named in the Green Flags / Nice-to-Have.\n\nIdeal Candidate Profiles\nFor reference only — do not source these specific profiles. None provided on the role page (no candidate profiles with LinkedIn links).\n\nRejected Candidate Feedback\nNone provided on the role page.\n\n#J-18808-Ljbffr","datePosted":"2026-08-06T03:23:24.220Z","dateModified":"2026-08-06T03:23:24.220Z","hiringOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","name":"David Joseph","sameAs":"https://jobsearcher.com"},"jobLocation":{"@type":"Place","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","addressLocality":"Millbrae","addressRegion":"CA","addressCountry":"US"}},"identifier":{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"JobSearcher","value":"19838fd1daa4544893954cd8"},"url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/19838fd1daa4544893954cd8"}}