Founding Engineer - Wist
About Wist
Wist is a stealth consumer AI startup on a mission to build our generation’s personal AI co-pilot.
An assistant that blurs the line between digital and real life, we can book anything for you while helping you forge deeper connections IRL.
We're starting with dating because it's the clearest, highest-pain-point wedge to learn who you are and rapidly expand into every facet of your social relationships.
In 10 days, our Stanford team raised a 7-figure pre-seed round not just for a “better dating app” but because this is a once-in-a-generation social data play built on understanding and trust.
We move at breakneck speed. If you aren’t shipping features faster than your coffee cools, we might not be a fit.
About the Role
Join Wist as a Founding Engineer and supercharge your career by 2–3 years in just months. You’ll be one of the first founding technical hires, working shoulder-to-shoulder with our CTO.
Career rocket fuel
You will be a top 0.01% expert in AI
You’ll architect everything from backend infrastructure, secure data pipelines, AI features/functionality, to core app development. Few roles let you move from databases to front-end in a single sprint.
Master the art of building a startup from day one.
From fundraising to finding PMF, preparing for hyper-growth, and iterating on user feedback you’ll own the technical vision and learn every step that turns a prototype into magic.
Own equity, drive architecture, and build your dream team.
As an early engineer, you’ll hold meaningful equity, co-define Wist’s entire tech stack, and recruit and mentor future engineers. If you want to lead a 10+ person engineering org within months, this is your fast lane.
If any of this sounds like where you want to take your career, let’s meet.
What You’ll Do
Own Python (FastAPI) APIs, ML/LLM integrations, React/TypeScript front-ends, and secure data pipelines
Scale systems efficiently and reliably
Shape product & architecture alongside our CTO
Why You’re A Fit
Passion for consumer-tech and/or social apps that truly delight users
Ship fast and fix things even faster
Have experience building full-stack systems spanning backend, frontend, and data infrastructure
Deployed ML models or integrated LLMs into real products
Comfortable scaling systems across performance, reliability, and infrastructure dimensions
You Must Have
Education in Computer Science, Engineering or related
Experience in full stack software engineering with AI/ML
Flexible opinions on tech stack and are eager to learn quickly
Company Perks
Sick office in the heart of SF (trust us, it’s jaw dropping)
Free lunches and bougie espresso machine in office
Team retreats, happy hours, and dinners
Compensation & Benefits
Base salary: $90k – $120k
Real Equity
If you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and build something new at the intersection of AI and real human connection → email [email protected]
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