Job Title: Founding Engineer Company Name: Risely AI Job Url: https://jobs.gem.com/risely-ai/am9icG9zdDqK_Rpi_d7CZiT77IEtp_WC Job Description: View all jobs Founding Engineer | Risely AI San Francisco Bay Area Technology In office Full-time Founding Engineer | Risely AI Location: Fully in-person at our Bay Area office Apply: Email danial@risely.ai with your resume and your proudest project (a short description or link) (Note: Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.) What You Will Do This isn’t a normal engineering job. As a Founding Engineer, you will work side by side with the founders to shape the architecture, ship product, and get it running in production at universities. You will: Build the Agent Framework: design how agents plan, use tools via MCP, manage memory, and execute safely. Integrate at Scale: build integrations for complex university systems and productivity tools, tame messy schemas, and ensure reliability. Own End to End: take features from idea to design to code to test to deploy to monitor. No silos, no handoffs. Bake in Security and Compliance: implement RBAC, encryption, audit trails, and logging that comply with FERPA, SOC 2, and HECVAT. Make It Observable: build resilient systems with logging, tracing, and fast debugging. Multiply with AI: use Cursor, Claude, and Copilot to accelerate output while keeping mastery of your code. What We’re Looking For 5+ years of engineering experience in backend, platform or data systems Fluent in Python (our core stack) with strong SQL and data modeling fundamentals Experienced with event-driven systems, async workflows, and integrations at scale Familiar with agent frameworks and orchestration patterns Proven track record of using AI coding tools to deliver far more than peers without cutting quality Ideally: former founder, first engineer, or someone who’s been at the ground floor of a high-growth startup. Bonus: experience working with higher-education systems What We Offer Meaningful equity stake as an early team member Competitive salary and benefits A direct hand in shaping how higher education operates at scale The opportunity to build and deploy cutting edge AI applications in a highly complex and regulated industry Daily collaboration with the founders and close exposure to product, customers, and strategy What It Is Like to Work Here Risely is a startup in the truest sense. We are all in. The pace is intense and the work is demanding, but the impact is real. Here is what to expect: In-person commitment: we are together in the office 5–6 days a week. Building at this stage requires full presence and focus Speed and impact: we measure progress by the day, not the quarter. Your work ships fast and affects students immediately Mission clarity: every line of code and every late night ties back to one purpose: helping students stay enrolled and helping colleges survive Ownership from day one: you will make critical decisions, drive outcomes, and build Risely alongside the founders Deep, meaningful work: you will tackle data complexity, privacy laws, and legacy integrations. The problems are tough, but solving them matters If this excites you, join us at the ground floor. It will stretch you, challenge you, and demand your best. It will also be the most meaningful work of your career. About Risely AI Colleges are in trouble. Today, one in three students drops out, despite millions spent recruiting them. Overburdened staff manually comb through fragmented data, missing critical warning signs until it’s too late. We founded Risely to support the mission of higher education as it undergoes major systemic and technological change.   Backed by Y Combinator, we’re a VC-funded startup building the operating system for colleges. We’re not just saving hours, we’re helping protect institutions, livelihoods, and futures. Higher ed deserves better, and we’re moving fast.   This role is fully in-person at our San Ramon office, with a focus on building together in real time.