Founding Software Engineer

About the Role

This is a full-time founding engineer role at DMC, focused on building a software platform to cut the cycle time from concept to a manufacturable design. You will be the technical founder's software counterpart, responsible for building amazing software and the AI backbone of the development process. The role operates in an ambiguous, chaotic environment with significant growth potential.

Key Responsibilities

• Be the software counterpart to the technical founder.
• Build amazing software.
• Be responsible for building the AI backbone of the software development process.
• Build out agentic coding tools required for scaling.
• Initially backend-focused, with requirements to eventually handle front-end and deployment.
• Have significant leeway to build out agentic coding tools.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Backend depth with whole-product judgment.
• Experience designing and shipping production systems.
• Ability to move from a user problem to a data model, interface, runtime, deployment, and observable result.
• Python is the main language today, but is one of many design decisions to be made.
• A relentless product builder.
• Take responsibility for understanding the forest from the trees, making forward progress in the presence of ambiguity, and iterating on the product to align with customer needs.
• Strong product and architecture judgment.
• Goal-oriented, not task-oriented.
• Exceptional use of agentic coding tools; at the leading edge of agentic software development.
• Produce high-quality software that is operational, understandable, and scales.
• Balance human judgment vs. agent execution.
• Clearly communicate and accurately steer the impact of features, fixes, and problems identified by your agents.
• Production experience with LLM and agentic systems.
• Deep understanding of how to use, develop, and deploy LLM and agentic systems in mission-critical applications.
• Independent ownership and clear communication.
• Ability to work directly with a technical founder, turn incomplete direction into a recommendation, explain tradeoffs in ordinary language, and show working behavior rather than reporting activity.

Qualifications

• United States-based and a United States citizen.

Nice to have:

• Background in a regulated industry such as aerospace, defense, medical technology, or financial technology.
• Prior early-stage startup experience.

Location and Arrangement

• Fully remote.
• Occasional Los Angeles-area meetings are a plus, not a requirement.
• Full time, with flexibility and heavier periods around SBIR and customer milestones.
• Asynchronous daily communication through Slack or a similar tool.
• Three to five short meetings per week.
• One weekly written summary.

Compensation

• Base salary: $150,000 to $190,000, depending on experience and the final scope of the role.
• Equity: Expected range of 1.0% to 2.0% on a fully diluted basis, normally vesting over four years with a one-year cliff.
• Trial Period: One-month paid working period, followed by a full-time offer. The paid working period will use the monthly equivalent of the agreed base salary.

Engagement Terms

• The initial paid working period is a direct agreement with the individual.
• No staffing agencies or pass-through arrangements.
• The full-time offer will state the employment structure, any benefits, equity terms, and start date in writing.
• No recruiters or agencies. Apply directly.

How To Apply

Email with:

• Your GitHub profile.
• Resume.
• Availability.
• Location.
• A one-page brief on one project you personally drove, delivered as a five-minute or less, unedited screen recording showing the product, relevant code, and one decision you made. This brief should cover:
• The problem, your ownership, and the hardest technical decision.
• How you used agentic coding tools, including one failure you caught and how you verified the final work.
• What shipped, who used it, and how long it took.
• Use a real project. If it is confidential, sanitize the details while preserving enough technical evidence for evaluation.