Title: Applied AI Engineer
Location: San Francisco
Company: Thorin
Stage: Seed | Incubated at 8VC
About Thorin
Thorin is an applied AI company born out of 8VC’s Build program, focused on redefining how work gets done inside modern organizations. We build proactive, long-horizon AI agents that continuously observe work across Slack, email, meetings, and documents—and take action so nothing falls through the cracks.
Unlike traditional AI tools that wait for prompts or rely on structured systems, Thorin creates a real-time digital twin of how a business actually operates, enabling automation, coordination, and insight over months and years. Backed by 8VC and built with product vision from Joe Lonsdale, Thorin is building foundational infrastructure for agentic, AI-powered productivity.
With backing and product vision from Joe Lonsdale, Thorin is 8VC’s latest incubation, following the success of Affinity, Addepar, Saronic, and other unicorns.
About the Role
We’re looking for a Software Engineer (Applied AI Engineer) to build the foundation of Thorin’s user-facing product. This role is ideal for full-stack generalists who love to ship, own features end-to-end, and bring product ideas to life with speed and polish.
You’ll work across the stack — building frontend interfaces, backend logic, and everything in between.
This role is high-ownership and high-agency.
What You'll Do
Build and ship core product features from concept to production
Own frontend and backend logic across key workflows
Set quality and velocity benchmarks for a high-performance engineering team
Help shape product direction through close feedback loops with users and stakeholders
Move quickly and thoughtfully in a zero-to-one environment
What You Bring
Full-stack experience shipping production-grade SaaS or AI-native applications
Strong product intuition — you care about the user and sweat the details
Proven ability to work across the stack: frontend frameworks (React), backend systems (Bun, TypeScript), and APIs
Comfortable with ambiguity, fast iteration, and early-stage startup dynamics
Passionate about building software that’s useful, fast, and delightful
Bonus: Experience integrating LLMs or building AI-driven workflows
About the Team & Why Thorin
Work closely with a small, highly driven founding team, design partners, and directly with Joe Lonsdale, who remains deeply involved in product vision, strategy, and hiring
Operate with high agency, rapid iteration, and direct customer exposure from day one
Help define how a category-defining AI company goes to market from first principles
Build with the backing of one of the strongest early-stage venture platforms in the industry
Top Skills
8vc San Francisco, California, USA Office
Pier 5, Suite 101, San Francisco, California, United States, 94111
Similar Jobs
What you need to know about the San Francisco Tech Scene
Key Facts About San Francisco Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 365,500; 13.9% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: Google, Apple, Salesforce, Meta
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, fintech, consumer technology, software
- Funding Landscape: $50.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Greylock Partners, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins
- Research Centers and Universities: Stanford University; University of California, Berkeley; University of San Francisco; Santa Clara University; Ames Research Center; Center for AI Safety; California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
