Founding AI/ML Engineer / $500k / Remote

Founding AI/ML Engineer (Production) - California (SF/Palo Alto) $450k - $500k+ Base + Founding EquityThis role requires US Citizenship due to regulatory constraints.Most of the Valley is obsessed with LLM wrappers for HR or marketing. We’re using them to run multi-ton autonomous machines; & fast.We’re a Top 10 hard-tech startup with real hardware & real customers. We aren't a research lab & we don't do R&D for the sake of it. Our machines are in the field globally right now. We need a Founding AI/ML Engineer to build the production intelligence layer that turns complex logic into physical movement.The SquadYou’ll be joining a high-density team from SpaceX, Palantir, & Anduril. We’ve cut out the corporate theater-no bloated meetings, no process for the sake of process, & zero ego. As a founding hire, you aren't just training models; you’re architecting the engine of the company.The Work: Moving AtomsIn this role, an unreliable model isn't just a "bug"-it’s a physical failure. You’ll own the stack from fine-tuning to field deployment.Mission-Critical Logic: Fine-tuning & deploying models that handle real-time operational decisions where precision is the only metric that matters.The Pipeline: Building the RAG systems, data flywheels, & retrieval logic that allow our robots to understand their environment with sub-100ms latency.Hardened Evals: Designing the testing frameworks & grounding suites required for heavy hardware. You ensure the "reasoning" holds up when things get messy in the real world.Full Autonomy: You pick the tools, define the architecture, & own the deployment.The ProfileWe want builders who are bored with digital-only products & want to solve hard problems grounded in physics.Production Grit: You’ve shipped & maintained ML systems in high-bar environments (SpaceX, Tesla, or similar).Systems Thinking: You understand the full lifecycle-from raw telemetry & fine-tuning to inference optimization & hardware constraints.High-Bar Pedigree: You come from a place where "production-ready" means it works every time, & shipping broken code isn't an option.The DealComp: $450k - $500k+ base + Meaningful Founding Equity.Location: SF / Palo Alto - On-site.Process: 1 week, 0 take-homes. No leet code. We move as fast as we ship.Technical Deep Dive: A conversation about a complex system you actually built & shipped.Practical Pairing: Solving a real-world production problem with the team. No Leetcode.Founder Chat: A focus on judgment, trade-offs, & vision.If you’re ready to build something that actually moves, let’s talk.TL;DRRole: Founding AI/ML (Production focus)The Mission: Critical intelligence for heavy roboticsThe Team: Ex-SpaceX, Palantir, AndurilThe Comp: $450k - $500k+ base + EquityThe Speed: 1-week process. Zero BS.All applicants will receive a response within 72 hours.Equal OpportunityWe're hiring for an Equal Opportunity Employer.*All our new jobs are posted here 1st:linkedin.com/in/sufyanbashir/