Founding AI/ML Engineer

San Francisco, CA New York City, NY On-site Full-time Compensation: $125,000–$200,000 + 0.3%–1% equity About The Company An early-stage public-safety AI company building tools that help law enforcement search digital evidence and accelerate investigations into major crimes by reducing evidence overload. The team includes engineers who have previously built national-scale systems. Backed by top-tier investors, with live deployments and paying customers already in production. Founded 2025 1–10 people Industry: Public safety / law-enforcement AI The Role An early engineer role building the company’s AI backbone — processing massive video, audio, and text datasets to surface investigative leads across backend infrastructure and applied ML. What You’ll Be Doing Build retrieval pipelines over large-scale video, audio, and text datasets Integrate LLMs/VLMs and deploy secure, distributed systems in sensitive environments Ship end-to-end, from data flow design through production deployment Surface investigative signals and leads from unstructured data Work closely with founders on system architecture and technical direction Tech stack: Python, FastAPI, LangChain, PyTorch; LLM/VLM inference; distributed backend infrastructure Requirements 4–6+ years of engineering experience, ideally 2+ in applied ML Strong Python backend + ML ops familiarity (FastAPI, LangChain, PyTorch, etc.) U.S. work authorization and willingness to undergo FBI background check Deep technical communication skills (can explain systems and trade-offs clearly) Production experience deploying LLMs/VLMs or custom ML inference pipelines Experience understanding and scaling backend infrastructure (does not have to be an expert but must have solid knowledge) Green Flags Built secure, distributed backend systems (Python/Go/TypeScript) Demonstrated curiosity across both infrastructure and model-level work Worked on real-time or high-throughput data systems Prior early-stage or mission-driven startup experience SWE and data engineering experience/knowledge Red Flags Only academic or research exposure to AI (no production deployment) Preference for large-company processes or siloed work Weak understanding of data security / compliance requirements Why Join Mission with real weight: bring technical excellence to public safety Founding-level ownership shaping the AI backbone end-to-end, with meaningful founding equity Serious backing and real traction — live deployments and paying customers in production Details Location San Francisco, CA New York City, NY Work policy In-person, at least 3x/week Compensation $125,000–$200,000 + equity Visa sponsorship None available Employment type Full-time