Founding Engineer (Full Stack with Strong Frontend Experience)

Founding Engineer (Full Stack with Strong Frontend Experience)

Location: St. Louis, MO; Los Angeles, CA; or Seattle, WA (Hybrid or Remote)

Company: Assertion AI, Inc.

Backed by: AI2 Incubator

About Assertion AI 

Assertion AI is building the world's first AI data scientist - a reasoning engine that automates the end-to-end process of machine learning model development, from problem framing and data prep to SQL/Python code generation.

Highlights:

We recently closed a pre-seed round led by the AI2 Incubator, one of the leading names in AI innovation. Our founding team brings over a decade of experience in AI and data science, including roles like Director of Data Science at Mastercard and CEO of a data science consulting firm serving enterprise clients. Between them, our founders hold more than eight awarded patents in AI and machine learning, and their technical and product leadership helped us win 1st place at the 2025 Startup World Cup (St. Louis Regional Final). We’re already seeing strong traction, with 6 to 8 client meetings per week with enterprise data teams. 

We're redefining how data teams build machine learning models - cutting what used to take weeks or months down to hours.

The Role

We’re hiring a Founding Engineer (full stack) to architect, design, and lead the engineering execution of Assertion AI’s platform.

You’ll work directly with the founders to define the technical roadmap, establish engineering best practices, and build an exceptional user experience that brings our reasoning engine to life.

Your focus will be frontend-heavy — designing workflows, data interaction interfaces, and visualization — but you’ll have full ownership over system design, API architecture, and technical direction.

This is a hands-on, high-impact role for an engineer who thrives on both building and leading — someone excited to shape the technical foundation of a rapidly growing AI startup.

What You’ll Do

• Architect and lead the end-to-end technical design of the Assertion AI platform.

• Build and own interactive workflows, data dictionary interfaces, and notebook-like environments in React/TypeScript.

• Design and evolve the system architecture connecting the frontend, Flask-based backend, and LLM orchestration layer.

• Set up scalable engineering workflows: version control, deployment, CI/CD, testing, and documentation.

• Lead technical design reviews and guide future engineering hires.

• Collaborate directly with the founding team to translate product vision into engineering milestones.

• Drive a culture of technical excellence, velocity, and design clarity.

What We’re Looking For

• 5+ years of software engineering experience building full-stack applications.

• Proven experience architecting SaaS or AI/ML platforms from concept to production.

• Strong frontend expertise in React, TypeScript, JavaScript, and HTML/CSS (Tailwind preferred).

• Robust backend experience in Python (Flask or FastAPI) and API design.

• Familiarity with LLM APIs (OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Anthropic) and prompt workflows.

• Experience in cloud environments (Azure, GCP, or AWS) and CI/CD pipelines.

• Experience leading or mentoring small engineering teams is a plus.

• Bonus: background in data science tooling, developer platforms, or notebook interfaces.

Why Join Assertion AI

• Shape the technical foundation of a first-of-its-kind AI reasoning platform.

• Work directly with Ph.D.-level founders and AI2 mentors — high trust, high autonomy.

• Backed by the AI2 Incubator, with access to its deep technical and investor network.

• Competitive compensation, early equity, and a chance to define the future of the company.

Compensation Range: $110,000 – $160,000 USD annually (depending on experience and location)

Equity: Significant early-stage stock options available

Other: Flexible hours, remote-friendly, and direct collaboration with the founding team