Founding ML Engineer

Company: MLabs
Location: San Francisco
Posted on: February 9, 2026

Job Description:

Job Description Job Description Founding ML Engineer Location: San Francisco, CA (In-person) Compensation: $150K – $200K • 0.20% – 1.00% Equity We believe the way engineering output is measured today is fundamentally broken. Our mission is to build the definitive platform for understanding and improving how engineering teams work by using modern AI to provide a far more accurate, actionable view of productivity, impact, and collaboration. As our Founding ML Engineer , you will build the ML systems that analyze and enhance the work of software engineers. You aren't just joining a team; you are setting the standards and processes that will make every future model and feature possible. You will work directly with our CTO (a former founding engineer) and CEO (a seasoned sales leader who has scaled teams to $30M ARR) in a small, intense, and highly collaborative environment. What you’ll do: End-to-End ML: Own the entire lifecycle from data selection and feature engineering to model design, deployment, and iteration. Define Insights: Use AI to move beyond "vanity metrics" and surface meaningful insights regarding code quality, collaboration, and team impact. Scale Intelligence: Build the infrastructure and standards that allow us to delight customers with intelligence that makes their jobs 10x easier. Product Ownership: Contribute to a product that will eventually shape how millions of engineers and leaders understand their work. Requirements Formidable Engineering Skills: You stop at nothing to accomplish your goals and have a track record of "doing whatever it takes" to ship. ML Production Experience: You have successfully shipped ML systems to production end-to-end. Pragmatism & Grit: You know when to build for scale and when to "let little fires burn" to move fast. You choose the hard path when it’s the right one. The "High Slope" Trait: You are a strong engineer committed to becoming a great one. We value your rate of growth over your current list of skills. Empathy & Communication: You care deeply about the user experience and can communicate complex ideas clearly to both engineers and leaders. Eligibility: Must be a US Citizen or current Visa holder. Nice-to-Haves: Experience with our stack: Go (backend), Python (ML), and React/TypeScript (frontend). Prior experience or deep interest in engineering productivity and team dynamics. Experience in an early-stage startup environment. Benefits Ground Floor Opportunity: High-upside equity in a well-funded (YC-backed) startup with consistent double-digit growth. Direct Access: Work side-by-side with founders who have successfully scaled startups before. Mission-Driven Work: Solve a problem that actually matters to you—making the lives of software engineers better. Due to the high volume of applications we anticipate, we regret that we are unable to provide individual feedback to all candidates. If you do not hear back from us within 4 weeks of your application, please assume that you have not been successful on this occasion. We genuinely appreciate your interest and wish you the best in your job search. Commitment to Equality and Accessibility: At MLabs, we are committed to offer equal opportunities to all candidates. We ensure no discrimination, accessible job adverts, and providing information in accessible formats. Our goal is to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace with equal opportunities for all. If you need any reasonable adjustments during any part of the hiring process or you would like to see the job-advert in an accessible format please let us know at the earliest opportunity by emailing human- resources@mlabs.city. MLabs Ltd collects and processes the personal information you provide such as your contact details, work history, resume, and other relevant data for recruitment purposes only. This information is managed securely in accordance with MLabs Ltd’s Privacy Policy and Information Security Policy, and in compliance with applicable data protection laws. Your data may be shared only with clients and trusted partners where necessary for recruitment purposes. You may request the deletion of your data or withdraw your consent at any time by contacting legal@mlabs.city.

Keywords: MLabs, Novato , Founding ML Engineer, IT / Software / Systems , San Francisco, California