[SF] Founding Engineer

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At Charcoal, we’re building the next generation of automation: software that takes on the messy, multi-step work that still runs the world.

We’re obsessed with high-stakes operations — where correctness matters, every exception has a reason, and “it usually works” isn’t good enough. We’re building a system that helps teams move faster without giving up control, auditability, or accountability.

We’re looking for founding engineers who:

Ship with urgency
Embrace AI to its fullest potential (yes, let it rip)
But know when to step in: performance, reliability, and great developer experience

Our Culture

Life’s work**:** the best work of our careers so far—work we’ll be proud of for a decade, shaped by obsession with the details, a willingness to do hard things, and end-to-end ownership.

Everyone at Charcoal is here to do our life’s work. We’re a small team of low-ego, high-output individuals who value directness, strong opinions loosely held, and momentum.

We’re also fun people 😊

What You’ll Do

Build core product and infrastructure across the stack (workflow runtime, integrations, APIs, UI)
Make the system reliable by default: observability, debuggability, audit trails, and rigorous evaluation
Build “human-in-the-loop” primitives that let domain experts steer, verify, and safely deploy automation
Build self-healing behavior when underlying tools and UIs change (without turning the product into a brittle pile of scripts)
Raise our bar for engineering craft, help with recruiting, and hold the line on quality

Traits That Thrive at Charcoal

High Ownership - Ability to tackle ambiguity and take ownership of large, undefined problems
Obsession – A deep obsession with the customer, product, and the details.
Direct, accountable communication – Values clarity, speed, and ownership in communication
Low ego & relentless ownership – Takes full responsibility and follows through without excuses

Your Qualifications

N years of software engineering experience - we care about slope & output, not YOE
Experience building developer platforms - APIs (auth, rate limits, multi-tenant SaaS)
Strong engineering background - Traditional ML or math background (nice-to-have)

Our Benefits

Salary: $200k – $250k
Equity: 1–3%
Medical, dental, and vision insurance
Company-wide annual off-site
High ownership, high trust, and fast career progression alongside world-class partners
In-person culture with deep commitment to excellence

To apply, email [email protected] with your application. We look forward to hearing from you!