Talent.com
Founding CTO/Head of Engineering at AI Startup (backed by a16z Speedrun, pre-seed) (Palo Alto)
Founding CTO/Head of Engineering at AI Startup (backed by a16z Speedrun, pre-seed) (Palo Alto)SUN • Palo Alto, CA, United States
Founding CTO / Head of Engineering at AI Startup (backed by a16z Speedrun, pre-seed) (Palo Alto)

Founding CTO / Head of Engineering at AI Startup (backed by a16z Speedrun, pre-seed) (Palo Alto)

SUN • Palo Alto, CA, United States
5 days ago
Job type
  • Full-time
Job description

SUN is an AI audio-learning app. A GenAI alternative to Audible and podcasts. We turn any topic, book, or idea into a high-quality audio course, with real-time Q&A while listening.

We just got into the a16z Speedrun SR006 program (0.5% acceptance rate), kicking off this January in San Francisco.

Were now looking for a Founding CTO, a Staff / Principal-level AI Engineer. Someone who is positive, slightly delusional (in the best founder way), a high-performer with high integrity, and genuinely smart.

If thats you, youll feel at home here.

Responsibilities

  • Architect, build, and ship code daily across AI, web, mobile, and infra
  • Lead and mentor team engineers
  • Design and optimize our AI system : quality, speed, cost, evals, context, TTS, conversational agents
  • Own the entire technical roadmap from 01 and beyond
  • Recruit, hire, and build the early engineering team
  • Establish engineering culture, velocity, and standards from day one
  • Help define the DNA of the company

Qualifications

  • 5+ years architecting, shipping & scaling AI products
  • Deep experience with LLMs, evals, context / retrieval systems, TTS, agents, and model integration
  • Comfortable across the stack : Flutter, Node, Supabase, AWS, DevOps, pipelines, instrumentation
  • Experience recruiting and building small, elite engineering teams
  • Ideally Bay Areabased (well be in SF during a16z Speedrun program )
  • Bias toward action, craftsmanship, and building fast without drama
  • Positive attitude, high personal integrity, and the founder-level ambition to build something huge
  • What we offer

  • Founding equity, ownership, and a much lower salary than at big tech lol
  • A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help build the next unicorn company from day zero
  • Direct access to a16zs network and Speedrun support at the earliest stage
  • If youre a Silicon Valley experienced AI Engineer who codes daily, ships, and dreams big, lets talk.

    Create a job alert for this search

    Founding Engineering • Palo Alto, CA, United States

    Related jobs
    Head of Engineering — AI-First, Palo Alto (On-Site)

    Head of Engineering — AI-First, Palo Alto (On-Site)

    Menlo Ventures • Palo Alto, CA, United States
    Full-time
    A leading technology firm in Palo Alto seeks a Head of Engineering to architect and lead high-performing teams in AI-first product development. This role emphasizes leadership, technical expertise, ...Show more
    Last updated: 17 days ago • Promoted
    Head of Software Engineering, Bellwether

    Head of Software Engineering, Bellwether

    X Development, LLC • Mountain View, CA, United States
    Full-time
    Software Engineering Mountain View, CA (HQ).Our team – Bellwether – operates at the intersection of machine learning tools (including LLMs and traditional ML), geospatial data, and pressing issues ...Show more
    Last updated: 30+ days ago • Promoted
    CEO, AI Avatar Platform — Strategy, Growth & Innovation

    CEO, AI Avatar Platform — Strategy, Growth & Innovation

    career • Mountain View, CA, United States
    Full-time
    A leading AI technology firm is seeking a CEO to drive growth and innovation.The ideal candidate will blend deep AI expertise with leadership skills to advance cutting-edge voice technology.Respons...Show more
    Last updated: 12 days ago • Promoted
    Travel Echo Tech - $2,668 to $2,958 per week in Santa Cruz, CA

    Travel Echo Tech - $2,668 to $2,958 per week in Santa Cruz, CA

    AlliedTravelCareers • Santa Cruz, CA, US
    Full-time
    AlliedTravelCareers is working with LRS Healthcare to find a qualified Echo Tech in Santa Cruz, California, 95062!.Ready to start your next travel adventure? LRS Healthcare offers a full benefits p...Show more
    Last updated: 30+ days ago • Promoted
    Head of AI Engineering

    Head of AI Engineering

    CommerceIQ • Mountain View, CA, United States
    Full-time
    Mountain View, California, United States.CommerceIQ’s AI-powered digital commerce platform is revolutionizing the way brands sell online. Our unified ecommerce management solutions empower brands to...Show more
    Last updated: 30+ days ago • Promoted
    Lead AI Engineer / Head of R&D (Fremont)

    Lead AI Engineer / Head of R&D (Fremont)

    Thoth AI • Fremont, CA, United States
    Full-time
    To engineer the next generation of.AI-Assisted Human Annotation Systems.Our goal is to scale the production of high-quality, personalized, and safety-aligned datasets. Participate in the customer so...Show more
    Last updated: 5 days ago • Promoted
    Founding CTO / Head of Engineering at AI Startup (backed by a16z Speedrun, pre-seed)

    Founding CTO / Head of Engineering at AI Startup (backed by a16z Speedrun, pre-seed)

    SUN • Palo Alto, California, United States
    Full-time
    SUN is an AI audio-learning app.A GenAI alternative to Audible and podcasts.We turn any topic, book, or idea into a high-quality audio course, with real-time Q&A while listening.We just got into th...Show more
    Last updated: 4 hours ago • Promoted • New!
    Head of Engineering — Scale AI Platforms & Talent

    Head of Engineering — Scale AI Platforms & Talent

    Trynectar • Palo Alto, CA, United States
    Full-time
    A forward-thinking tech company in Palo Alto is seeking a Head of Engineering to lead their engineering organization.The role involves scaling teams and driving technical strategy while establishin...Show more
    Last updated: 9 days ago • Promoted
    Chief of Staff, AI Platform & Engineering Programs

    Chief of Staff, AI Platform & Engineering Programs

    SupportFinity • Mountain View, CA, United States
    Full-time
    A leading tech company in California is searching for an experienced Chief of Staff to work closely with the VP of AI Platform. This role involves defining and improving operational systems, driving...Show more
    Last updated: 1 day ago • Promoted
    Travel MRI Tech - $3,031 per week in Santa Cruz, CA

    Travel MRI Tech - $3,031 per week in Santa Cruz, CA

    AlliedTravelNetwork • Santa Cruz, CA, US
    Full-time
    AlliedTravelNetwork is working with Medical Solutions to find a qualified MRI Tech in Santa Cruz, California, 95062!.A facility in Santa Cruz, CA is seeking its next amazing MRI Technologist.Read o...Show more
    Last updated: 4 days ago • Promoted
    Head Of Sales AI Systems

    Head Of Sales AI Systems

    Intuit • Mountain View, CA, US
    Full-time
    Overview We are seeking a highly self-motivated, data-driven, and detail-oriented people manager to lead Intuit's AI Systems across Sales. The team identifies and pursues AI applications to improve ...Show more
    Last updated: 22 days ago • Promoted
    Travel CT Tech - $2860 / Week

    Travel CT Tech - $2860 / Week

    Uniti Med • Santa Cruz, CA, US
    Full-time
    Uniti Med is seeking an experienced CT Tech for an exciting Travel Allied job in Santa Cruz, CA.Shift : Inquire Start Date : 12 / 08 / 2025 Duration : 13 weeks Pay : $2860 / Week.Uniti Med provides career ...Show more
    Last updated: 30+ days ago • Promoted
    VP of Enterprise Architecture & AI Engineering

    VP of Enterprise Architecture & AI Engineering

    Western Digital • San Jose, California, United States
    Full-time
    A leading technology company in San Jose is seeking a Vice President - Enterprise Architecture & Engineering to lead technology strategy and oversight across data systems, applications, and AI init...Show more
    Last updated: 2 days ago • Promoted
    Field CTO : Generative AI Strategy & Leadership

    Field CTO : Generative AI Strategy & Leadership

    ResourceWell • San Jose, CA, United States
    Full-time
    A leading AI solutions company in San Jose is seeking a Field CTO specializing in Generative AI.This role focuses on serving as a thought leader and primary spokesperson, driving strategic planning...Show more
    Last updated: 2 days ago • Promoted
    Travel MRI Tech - $3,031 per week in Santa Cruz, CA

    Travel MRI Tech - $3,031 per week in Santa Cruz, CA

    Medical Solutions • Santa Cruz, CA, US
    Full-time
    A facility in Santa Cruz, CA is seeking its next amazing MRI Technologist.Read on if this sounds like your perfect fit!.Nurses and allied healthcare professionals are in high demand nationwide, and...Show more
    Last updated: 4 days ago • Promoted
    Travel Echo Tech - $2,668 to $2,958 per week in Santa Cruz, CA

    Travel Echo Tech - $2,668 to $2,958 per week in Santa Cruz, CA

    LRS Healthcare • Santa Cruz, CA, US
    Full-time
    Ready to start your next travel adventure? LRS Healthcare offers a full benefits package, 24 / 7 support, and a responsive, traveler-first culture. What are you waiting for? Apply today!.Valid license...Show more
    Last updated: 25 days ago • Promoted
    Senior Frontend Engineer - GenAI

    Senior Frontend Engineer - GenAI

    Fortinet • Sunnyvale, CA, United States
    Full-time
    AI platform used across multiple product surfaces - from analyst workflows to internal operations tools.Senior Frontend Engineer with a strong frontend focus to design, build, and scale intuitive, ...Show more
    Last updated: 12 days ago • Promoted
    Director of Data Platform & AI Foundations

    Director of Data Platform & AI Foundations

    salesforce.com, inc. • Palo Alto, California, United States
    Full-time
    A leading technology company in California is seeking a Director of Software Engineering for their Data Platform.This role requires managing software engineering teams, championing technical vision...Show more
    Last updated: 2 days ago • Promoted