Full-Stack Engineer

Full-Stack Engineer

Location

San Francisco, CA

On-site, with relocation support available for candidates moving to San Francisco.

Company Stage of Funding

Early-stage startup

Part of Y Combinator. 

Office Type

On-site in San Francisco. Candidates should be comfortable working in a fast-paced startup environment with nontraditional hours and a demanding schedule. Remote flexibility was mentioned during the intake discussion, but the current role details specify on-site work.

Salary

$200,000–$250,000 base salary

Equity

Competitive equity compensation.

Visa

Open to visa transfers, including OPT and H-1B transfers. New H-1B sponsorship is not supported.

Employment Type

Full-time

Company Description

This company is building an AI-native commerce platform designed to simplify the technology stack used by online merchants. Its platform brings merchant tools together into a unified system, with an AI agent serving as the primary interface for managing commerce operations.

The company is building a direct alternative to traditional e-commerce platforms and legacy commerce infrastructure. It already has a working product and a substantial codebase, allowing engineers to focus on developing new features, improving the user experience, and scaling the platform rather than starting entirely from scratch.

Founded approximately 10–11 months ago, the company is part of Y Combinator and has reported a user base of approximately 30,000. It is an early-stage, fast-growing startup with an ambitious product vision and a strong emphasis on speed, execution, and customer impact.

The engineering team is looking for full-stack engineers who can take ownership of meaningful product features across the backend and frontend. Engineers are expected to work independently, make thoughtful technical decisions, collaborate closely with teammates, and ship improvements quickly based on real user feedback.

The culture emphasizes a startup mentality, AI fluency, product sense, and the ability to operate without constant direction. Engineers should be comfortable working across the stack, understanding user behavior, and using AI tools to accelerate development and automate work.

What You Will Do

1. Build and Evolve the Commerce Platform

• Develop new features across the backend and frontend of an AI-native commerce platform.

• Own product features end to end, from problem definition and technical design through implementation and deployment.

• Contribute to the evolution of a substantial existing codebase.

• Build reliable, maintainable systems that support a growing user base and expanding product capabilities.

• Identify opportunities to improve existing functionality and deliver meaningful product improvements.

2. Develop Full-Stack Features

• Build across the frontend and backend rather than focusing exclusively on one layer of the stack.

• Develop user-facing interfaces and the backend systems that power them.

• Design and implement APIs, application logic, data flows, and user interactions.

• Make technical decisions that balance development speed, maintainability, and product quality.

• Take responsibility for features from initial development through release and iteration.

3. Build AI-Native Product Experiences

• Contribute to a commerce platform where an AI agent serves as the primary user interface.

• Use AI tools and AI-assisted development workflows to accelerate engineering and automate repetitive work.

• Identify opportunities to incorporate AI into product features and internal workflows.

• Build intuitive experiences that make complex commerce operations easier for merchants.

• Apply practical AI fluency to improve both development efficiency and the product experience.

4. Build Product-Oriented Frontend Experiences

• Treat the frontend as a core product surface rather than simply implementing designs.

• Understand user behavior, usability, and the problems merchants are trying to solve.

• Make thoughtful decisions about user experience and feature interactions.

• Collaborate with teammates to refine product requirements and improve workflows.

• Iterate on frontend functionality based on user feedback and observed product needs.

5. Ship Quickly and Iterate

• Deliver features rapidly while maintaining a strong standard of engineering quality.

• Gather feedback from real users and incorporate it into subsequent iterations.

• Prioritize work based on user impact, product needs, and business goals.

• Identify bottlenecks and simplify implementation where possible.

• Take initiative in an environment where priorities and requirements can evolve quickly.

6. Own Technical Decisions and Scalability

• Make sound architectural decisions across the frontend and backend.

• Build systems that can scale as the product and user base grow.

• Understand the trade-offs between shipping quickly and maintaining a reliable codebase.

• Debug complex issues and improve the performance, reliability, and maintainability of the platform.

• Contribute to technical discussions and help determine the best way to move the product forward.

7. Collaborate in a High-Ownership Startup Environment

• Work closely with teammates to make technical and product decisions.

• Operate independently without requiring constant direction or hand-holding.

• Communicate progress, challenges, and potential improvements proactively.

• Accept feedback and use it to improve the quality of engineering work.

• Contribute to a fast-moving team where engineers have substantial responsibility and direct product impact.

Ideal Candidate Background

Experience Requirements

• Approximately 2–3 years of professional full-stack software engineering experience.

• Experience at a company known for a high engineering bar, with VC-backed startups strongly preferred.

• Demonstrated ability to build and ship production software across the frontend and backend.

• Evidence of independently owning features or meaningful engineering projects.

• Comfortable working in an early-stage startup with evolving requirements and limited structure.

• Strong initiative, adaptability, and willingness to take responsibility beyond narrowly defined tasks.

• Candidates with more experience may be considered when they demonstrate strong hands-on execution and fit the startup's working style.

Technical Requirements

• Strong full-stack software engineering ability across frontend and backend development.

• Experience building, maintaining, and shipping production applications.

• Ability to reason about system architecture, application design, and technical trade-offs.

• Comfortable working with an existing codebase and extending it with new features.

• Ability to diagnose bugs, investigate technical problems, and implement reliable solutions.

• Practical AI fluency, including using AI tools to accelerate engineering and automate workflows.

• Ability to learn unfamiliar technologies quickly and select appropriate tools for the problem.

No specific programming language or framework is mandated in the available role requirements. Prioritize demonstrated full-stack ability and architectural reasoning over experience with a particular technology.

Full-Stack and Architecture Skills

• Can work across frontend interfaces, backend services, APIs, and application logic.

• Understands how frontend and backend components interact.

• Can reason about system architecture and the implications of technical decisions.

• Writes maintainable code and can work effectively within a growing codebase.

• Understands how to build features that remain reliable as usage increases.

• Can make pragmatic decisions about implementation complexity, performance, and maintainability.

AI Fluency and Automation

• Uses AI coding tools as part of the software development workflow.

• Can identify repetitive engineering tasks and opportunities for automation.

• Understands how AI can improve development speed and product functionality.

• Demonstrates practical experimentation with AI tools rather than only theoretical familiarity.

• Can evaluate AI-generated output critically and maintain responsibility for code quality.

• Experience building AI-powered applications or integrating LLMs into products is a plus.

Product Thinking and User Experience

• Understands the relationship between technical implementation and user experience.

• Can make thoughtful frontend decisions based on user needs and behavior.

• Considers usability and product outcomes when building features.

• Can identify opportunities to simplify complex workflows.

• Is motivated by building products that users actively engage with.

• Can iterate on features based on feedback rather than treating implementation as the final step.

Ownership and Execution

• Takes features from initial problem definition through delivery.

• Can work independently without constant supervision.

• Moves quickly while maintaining reasonable engineering standards.

• Makes decisions in ambiguous situations and communicates when clarification is needed.

• Demonstrates initiative in identifying problems and proposing solutions.

• Can balance immediate product requirements with longer-term technical quality.

Education and Personal Projects

• Graduated from a highly regarded university, or took an alternative path such as dropping out to build a company or product.

• Demonstrates strong technical ability through professional experience, projects, or entrepreneurial work.

• Personal projects, side products, or independently built applications are a plus.

• Can explain what they built, the technical challenges involved, and the decisions they made.

• A strong portfolio of shipped work can help demonstrate ability beyond years of experience alone.

Communication and Collaboration

• Works closely with teammates and contributes to shared technical decisions.

• Communicates technical ideas clearly and proactively.

• Seeks and incorporates feedback.

• Comfortable working in a small team with substantial individual responsibility.

• Demonstrates curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to learn.

• Can explain the reasoning behind technical and product decisions.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

• Experience at a high-growth, VC-backed startup.

• Previous founder experience or experience building a product independently.

• Experience developing AI-native applications or agent-driven workflows.

• Experience with e-commerce, merchant tools, payments, or commerce infrastructure.

• Experience building products with substantial user engagement.

• Examples of personal projects, side businesses, or independently launched products.

• Experience improving application architecture and scalability in an early-stage environment.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary range of $200,000–$250,000.

• Competitive equity compensation.

• Relocation support for candidates moving to San Francisco, including eligible travel costs.

• On-site work in San Francisco.

• High ownership and direct influence over product development.

• Opportunity to join an early-stage, Y Combinator-backed company with an existing product and a substantial codebase.

• Opportunity to build an AI-native commerce platform and work across the full technology stack.

Why Join

• Build an AI-native commerce platform designed to challenge traditional e-commerce infrastructure.

• Work on a product with an existing user base of approximately 30,000.

• Own meaningful features across the frontend and backend.

• Work directly with a small team and influence product and engineering decisions.

• Use AI tools to accelerate development and build more intelligent product experiences.

• Ship quickly and see the impact of your work through real user feedback.

• Join an early-stage startup where initiative, independent thinking, and product sense matter.

• Earn competitive compensation and equity while contributing to a fast-growing product.