Founding Software Engineer

Overview:

Hey 👋 my name is Chris and I’m the founder of Nexus Intelligence.

We’re a software startup backed by a16z that’s building industrial automation systems for companies at the forefront of the US manufacturing renaissance. Our initial product is an agent-based platform for developing & operating legacy control systems, a set of platforms critical to automotive, food, energy, and other industrial sectors. Our vision is to bring AI-enabled workflows, development tools, languages, and runtimes into the manufacturing ecosystem - ultimately becoming the platform on which all modern industrial automation processes are built and deployed.

The first version of the Nexus platform is shipping to Fortune 100 companies and other customers in the industrial automation value chain.

Opportunity:

We’re looking for a passionate and talented Founding Engineer to join us in revolutionizing software for physical industries. We’ll be working in the exciting and fast-paced 0 → 1 phase of company building - you’ll need to strongly believe in our mission, welcome the challenge of ambiguity, and iterate fast.

You’d be a great fit if the following points resonate:

• You’re passionate about the intersection of modern software and physical industries (manufacturing, logistics, robotics, energy, PLCs, etc.)

• You’re a strong software engineer with a bias towards action and hands-on implementation. You believe that the best way to quickly validate an idea is to build a prototype and get feedback directly from customers. You’ll be driving architecture decisions and help define our software development process.

• You’re a proactive communicator both internally and externally to customers.

• You have a strong work ethic and believe that consistent, sustained (and sustainable) output is important for success.

• You’re an independent thinker who enjoys being a jack of all trades. Developing the product, debating strategy, and talking with customers, all in the same day sounds energizing to you!

• You have an owner’s mentality - no job is too big or too small to personally handle.

• You’re a low ego and high integrity operator.
  

Requirements:

• Exceptional SW Development Skills: Experience developing code both from scratch and for large existing codebases. Can implement systems in about one-third the time that most competent people think possible.

  • Has written full-stack production software in the TypeScript/Node ecosystem.

  • Has built and shipped Generative AI applications.

  • Excited to help set (and then raise) the bar on our software development process.

• Critical Thinking: Quickly understand new technologies and how they apply to certain industries or customers. Can think big, dive deep, and know which one is needed.

• Motivation: A competitive drive, an innate hunger to achieve goals in a startup environment.

• Communication: Ability to communicate work, direction, and vision effectively with team, partners and customers. Willing to respectfully challenge others (and be challenged) to ensure that only the best ideas are executed.
  

Nice to haves:

• Experience with manufacturing automation and controls engineering tools and terminology.

• Electron apps or other desktop application frameworks

• Extensions for Visual Studio Code or other another IDE

• Familiarity with programming for Windows
  

Interview Process:

1. Discovery (30 min): Getting to know each other and aligning on expectations for the role.

2. Initial Tech Screen (30 min): Short online interview with coding problems.

3. Tech Deep Dive (60-90 min): A screenshare session where we work through a technical challenge and system design with you.

4. In-person in San Francisco (½ day): We’ll meet in San Francisco for technical and non-technical interview questions, to follow up on topics from the prior calls, and to answer all your questions about Nexus. Plan to spend half a day, including a walk and a meal.
   

Other companies consider it “cheating” to use AI during interviews. We have a different take. We’re building AI tools for our customers to use every day, and you’ll likely use similar tools in your work here. Therefore, feel free to use as many (or as few) AI tools as you’d like during the interview process.

This role is based in San Francisco. Occasional travel may be required for attending events and customer visits. We are not currently able to sponsor visas.