Founding Engineering Manager

Founding VP Engineering – HealthTech Start up San Francisco, CA (Hybrid)Up to $350K + EquityNo Visa Sponsorship My client is a VC backed Genomics Start up. They believe that the future of cancer care will be defined by “maximalist” diagnostics: deep, comprehensive assessments of DNA, RNA, and protein designed to give patients and their care teams the best possible understanding of how their tumor works and what its vulnerabilities are.They’re building the diagnostics and bioinformatics company to power this future, starting by applying this approach to patients with challenging cancers. In thier first year, we have worked with over 75 of these patients and, in many cases, identified plausible therapeutic targets which had not been discovered previously. This coming year, we’re on track to scale our patient volume significantly, all while bringing new diagnostic modalities (e.g., single-cell transcriptomics) and analytical approaches into clinical care for the very first time.We’ve just raised a $13.5M seed round, led by 8VC and Basis Set Ventures, and are looking for people passionate about changing cancer care to join our growing team.What we're looking for:We're looking for a player-coach engineering leader with 6+ years of software engineering experience and 2-3+ years managing teams of 3+ engineers. You should be comfortable setting product vision and technical strategy at an early-stage startup while staying hands-on in the codebase. Bonus points if you have life sciences, genomics, or bioinformatics experience.Requirements: 2 - 3 years in an engineering leadership role (tech lead, engineering manager, or equivalent). 6 - 12 years of experience in software engineering. Experience directly leading a team of 3 or more people. Owned a product roadmap or feature from end to end. Life sciences, genomics, or bioinformatics experience. Experience at a VC- backed startup, preferably as a founding or head of engineering. BS or higher in Computer Science or related field. Fluency in a programming language, preferably Python. Fluency in a database framework (PostgreSQL) and a cloud provider (GCP). Experience with data warehouses (e. g. , Snowflake, BigQuery) and infrastructure code (e. g. , Terraform, AWS CDK, Pulumi). Experience with scientific workflow tools (e. g. , Nextflow, Snakemake, WDL). Strong product instincts and can shape roadmaps in collaboration with non- technical and science stakeholders. Based in San Francisco and can work in office 4 days/week (M - Th). Genuine passion for cancer care or patient- focused mission. What you'll do:Define and own the technical strategy and product roadmap in partnership with the founding team, head of science, and VP of computational biologyTake ownership of all internal and external-facing software products — including internal analysis tools, patient-facing portals, and physician-facing portals — and drive them from concept to deliveryLead and grow the engineering team from 1 engineer today, establishing high-performance culture, hiring processes, and lightweight engineering workflowsStay hands-on in the codebase: contribute code, review PRs, make architectural decisions, and roll up your sleeves when neededBuild and maintain data infrastructure and pipelines that support comprehensive molecular profiling (whole exome sequencing, transcriptomics, single-cell analysis)Partner closely with computational biologists and PhD scientists to develop tools that accelerate their patient workups and researchCommunicate directly with the CEO and founding team on strategy, product priorities, and engineering investment decisionsWhy candidates should joinReal Impact: Maximalist molecular profiling (full exome + transcriptome + single-cell + protein staining) for patients with challenging cancers who've exhausted standard of care. Founded after this approach uncovered a hidden target and drove a complete response in GitLab founder Sid Sijbrandij's osteosarcoma. The team just found a therapeutic option for a 13-year-old patient — you don't get that at your average AI company.Hypergrowth: $13.5M seed led by 8VC and Basis Set Ventures, past $5M annualized bookings, scaling from ~100 to ~300 patient run-rate by year-end. Demand far outpaces a company this size.Exceptional Founders & Investors: Founded by CEO Edward and Head of Translational Science Sarah backed by 8VC and Basis Set Ventures.Mission-driven team: ~10 people, deeply scientific, casual and social — a place where people care about the patients behind the work.Why this Role?Builder and leader, not maintainer: You're the second engineer and the leader of engineering — setting product vision and building from scratch. No one will be hired above you; the plan is to grow you into leading the team for 3+ years.Career-defining scope: High ownership across product, architecture, and team. Direct line to the founders and science leadership on strategy.Comp: $250K–$350K base (flex to ~$400K for exceptional candidates) + equity. Hybrid Mon–Thu in-office in downtown SF by the Ferry Building, with some flexibility for the right person.