Former Technical Founders
San Francisco, CAOtherOnsite
Summary
Former technical founders work closely with cofounders to drive high-leverage opportunities across product, engineering, GTM, and operations. Requires proven experience founding tech companies, strong technical background with production coding, and entrepreneurial ownership of ambiguous problems.
About the role
What you'll do
- Work closely with the cofounders to identify and drive some of the highest-leverage opportunities across product, engineering, GTM, or operations
- Take ownership of ambitious, ambiguous problems and drive them from zero to shipped
- Bring an entrepreneurial mindset to everything — spotting gaps, moving fast, and making things happen with limited resources
- Build internal tools, processes, and systems that help Encord scale
- Act as a force multiplier across teams, bringing founder-level energy and judgment to whatever you tackle
Who we're looking for
- A former founder — ideally technical — who has built and scaled a product or company, and is eager to get back to the early days of 0 to 1
- You may have started and exited your business and are ready to experience the journey again in a new context
- You may not have AI or B2B experience, but you will have excelled at something incredibly challenging that demonstrates your grit and ability to overachieve
- Deeply comfortable with ambiguity — you don't need a job spec to know what needs doing
- A builder at heart who thinks from first principles and moves fast without sacrificing quality
- Someone who takes extreme ownership and thrives without a safety net
Experience requirements
- Proven experience founding or co-founding a technology company
- Strong technical background — you've written production code and understand engineering trade-offs
- Track record of building and shipping products that users love
- Experience hiring, leading, and inspiring small, high-performing teams
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
Why Encord
- Competitive salary, commission, and meaningful equity in a high-growth startup
- Clear, accelerated growth opportunities as the company scales rapidly
- Strong in-person culture: 4–5 days/week in our newly launched North Beach loft office
- Flexible PTO to fully recharge
- 18 paid vacation days in the U.S. plus federal holidays
- Annual learning & development budget
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage
- Frequent travel opportunities across the U.S., London, and Europe
- Bi-annual company offsites, twice-weekly team lunches, and monthly socials
Skills
production codeengineering trade-offsbuilding productsinternal toolsstakeholder management