Founding AI Engineer

Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Role Type: Full-Time

Compensation: Meaningful equity, competitive salary

Sector: Energy Infrastructure / ClimateTech / Enterprise Software / Artificial Intelligence / Industrials / Financial Software

Daylight Infrastructure is a market infrastructure company accelerating the commercialization of clean energy and industrial technologies. We help scale solutions in clean firm power, fuels, industrial heat, cement, and steel—sectors responsible for over one-third of global emissions.

We're building an AI-native platform that connects energy suppliers with hyperscalers and data center developers. Our tools automate site screening, diligence, and help both sides move from evaluation to signed agreements faster.

Our first vertical focuses on procuring clean, reliable power for data centers. Speed to power is the bottleneck for intelligence. Our platform will expand to other critical infrastructure and commodities over time.

We believe the bottleneck in scaling clean energy infrastructure isn't the tech. We are solving the capital flows, coordination, and contracting to power intelligence faster and cleaner. Florence AI will eventually be the underlying intelligence for energy projects, industrial facilities, and other physical infrastructure.

• High-ceiling climate impact: Industrial decarbonization is responsible for over one-third of global emissions, and energy systems are the shared constraint underneath it. Daylight is going after the intersection: powering industry and data centers with clean, reliable electricity.

• True founding ownership: This is a founding engineering role with high leverage. You will shape what we build and how we build it.

• Work on the real constraint: Power is the binding constraint for data centers today. You’ll build the tooling that turns messy infrastructure reality into decision-grade diligence.

• Meaningful upside: Get meaningful equity and compensation that scales with funding and traction.

• World class backers and community: We’re backed by leading climate investors and advised by individuals from the DOE and leading energy infrastructure investment firms.

• Strong Early Traction: We’ve closed deals and facilitated connections between leading data center developers and clean energy projects.

We’re hiring a founding AI engineer to build the core intelligence layer of our product.

This is a true founding role: you will take high ownership and exercise real technical leadership. You will shape Daylight’s technical direction, set the standards for how we build, and help lay the foundations for a world-class engineering organization.

You’ll work directly with the founder to automate structured contracting, extract insights from messy data and compliance documents, and support smarter purchasing decisions.

We’re seeking strong GenAI/agent systems experience (LLM orchestration, retrieval, tool use) and solid backend skills (Python/TypeScript, APIs, data pipelines, security). You will translate energy procurement workflows into usable software, prototype quickly, and ship to production.

You work autonomously, prioritize ruthlessly, set clear milestones, and bring a calm, analytical, low-ego presence. Ready for co-founder-level responsibility and startup volatility.

• Own technical strategy and execution: Set architecture and technical plan (data model, AI systems, infra, security), write production code, and set the quality bar (tests, reviews, observability).

• Build AI agents: Design and ship agentic workflows that enable top datacenter developers to contract, diligence, and close 10 GW sites, and $500 million contracts faster than ever before

• Build software features end-to-end: Turn procurement and project finance workflows into usable product; be forward-deployed with users and iterate in real time.

• Build data engineering + geospatial pipelines: Ingest and enrich datasets (EPA GHGRP, EIA, NREL, parcels, utility filings) capturing grid access, substations, transmission, and land availability.

• Drive PMF through engineering: Work closely with the founder to find PMF through user conversations and rapid iteration.

• You’re familiar with AI engineering, agents, harnesses, vector DBs, and orchestration frameworks including LangChain or LlamaIndex

• You care about usability and building things that matter

• You have strong engineering skills and can take projects end-to-end, making good technical tradeoffs throughout

• You’ve shipped products to real users and have experience working directly with customers to translate workflows into product

• You are adaptable and embrace ambiguity, pivoting as needed

• You have experience setting direction, and providing leadership and mentorship as the team grows

• Power markets knowledge

• AWS/GCP experience

• Unit-economics modeling

• Experience with contracts, procurement systems, or trading

• Enjoys team hikes and bike rides :)

We’re looking for someone who is deeply motivated by climate impact and energized by the challenge of building from zero to one. You might be a fit if you are:

• Wildly driven and curious, and excited to throw yourself into the fire of an early-stage startup.

• The kind of person who keeps building and learning outside of work because you genuinely cannot help it.

• Someone with deep, niche intellectual obsessions. You love going down rabbit holes until you understand the thing better than almost anyone else.

You will thrive at Daylight if you:

• Exhibit high agency and take ownership end-to-end.

• Are highly collaborative and bring a low-ego, team-first approach.

• Bring compassion and deep care for the people you work with, and help create a supportive, high-trust community.

• Have real comfort with ambiguity, and can create structure where none exists.

📬 Actively reviewing candidates. Referred candidates will be prioritized. If you know someone at Daylight or in our community please mention them in your application.

1. 15 minute introductory screen covering background, mission interest, and role alignment.

2. 30 to 45 minute conversation focused on product judgment, ownership, and working style.

3. 45 minute technical interview covering past projects, architecture decisions, agentic development, data pipelines, and a practical coding exercise.

4. Paid onsite trial in San Francisco lasting 1 to 5 full working days. The candidate will meet the team and work collaboratively on a realistic Daylight project.