Role: Lead Software Engineer

Location: Mountain View, CA (on-site 4 days/week)

Salary: $170K–$210K + 0.1–0.2% equity

Our client is an AI company focused on building trustworthy, production-grade systems that power the “authenticity layer” of the internet. They develop two core technologies — a Voice Generation Model that produces synthetic, humanlike speech, and a Deepfake Detection Model that authenticates and detects artificial voices. The company is Series A–funded, backed by top-tier investors including Google, Sony, Okta, and others, and operates with an engineering-first, research-driven, and ethical AI culture.

Position Overview:

The Lead Software Engineer will take ownership of the deepfake detection product, translating cutting-edge research into production-ready systems. Reporting to the Engineering Manager, this role will drive product execution, guide architecture, and lead new feature development alongside a small, highly skilled team of researchers and product managers.

This is a hands-on role ideal for a full-stack engineer who thrives in lean startup environments and enjoys working closely with founders and technical teams.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own the deepfake detection product end-to-end
• Collaborate with researchers and product managers to deliver production features
• Lead technical architecture and product execution decisions
• Remain hands-on with code and technical direction
• Identify and hire around skill gaps after the first year

Qualifications:

• Strong experience as a full-stack product engineer (React + Ruby on Rails preferred)
• Frontend-leaning background is ideal
• Previous startup experience (comfortable with ambiguity)
• At least one 2+ year tenure in a startup environment
• Bonus: Open-source or side project experience
• Resourceful, pragmatic, and effective at using AI tools
• Comfortable working directly with founders and research teams
• Technical familiarity with React, Rails, Python (reading fluency), and Docker/Kubernetes
• Preferred traits:
• Practical problem solver who can build from scratch
• Enjoys debugging and hands-on coding
• Strong ownership mindset

What they offer:

• Salary: $170K–$210K + 0.1–0.2% equity
• Engineering-first culture with public credit for open-source and product contributions
• Work on frontier AI problems with real societal impact — including deepfake and CSAM detection
• Small, elite team of world-class engineers and researchers
• Backing from prestige investors including Google, Sony, Okta, In-Q-Tel, and more
• Fast, founder-led interview process with next-day offer turnaround