Founding AI Engineer

About the company

Clera is a talent-matching platform that replaces traditional job applications by connecting candidates and hiring teams through curated introductions.

About this role

ABOUT THE ROLE This is a founding engineering role at a seed-stage AI startup building the intelligence layer for the construction industry. The company's platform transforms messy blueprints, permits, and construction documents into actionable insights — accelerating cost estimation and permitting workflows that directly impact housing, hospitals, and schools. As a Founding AI Engineer, you'll be one of the earliest technical hires, working hands-on with state-of-the-art computer vision, LLMs, and multimodal AI to prototype and ship production systems on real-world, noisy construction documents. The focus is squarely on the intelligence layer — modeling, data pipelines, and inference — not the application UI. This is a full-time, in-office role based in San Francisco, CA. Candidates must be based in SF or willing to relocate. US work authorization is required; visa sponsorship is not available. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Apply state-of-the-art computer vision, LLM, and multimodal AI techniques to real-world construction documents (blueprints, schedules, specs). - Rapidly prototype models and iterate based on user feedback and real production data. - Build and deploy end-to-end AI systems that operate reliably on noisy, heterogeneous inputs. - Own the intelligence layer: modeling, data pipelines, and inference infrastructure. - Collaborate closely with product and users to surface and prioritize high-impact problems. - Embrace practical engineering work — data labeling, ETL, deployment — as part of a small, high-trust team. - Communicate progress, tradeoffs, and results clearly and empathetically across the team. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR Must-haves: - Demonstrated experience applying computer vision and/or multimodal AI in production — on real-world, messy data (documents, images, mixed modalities). - 0-to-1 builder mindset: you've launched an AI system into production or built the core of a new product from scratch. - Hands-on experience with LLMs and modern CV/multimodal model tooling and techniques. - Comfort iterating quickly and improving prototypes directly from user feedback. - Strong communication skills — honest, empathetic, and transparent with teammates and stakeholders. - Willingness to handle the full spectrum of startup engineering tasks (no task is too small). - Based in San Francisco or willing to relocate; US work authorization required. Nice-to-haves: - Experience building something that shipped to real users or paying customers. - Background or domain knowledge in construction, AEC (architecture/engineering/construction), or related industries. - Experience at an early-stage startup or founding team environment. All experience levels are welcome, including recent graduates with strong production ML portfolios. COMPENSATION & BENEFITS - Salary: $120,000 – $180,000 per year, depending on experience - Equity participation as a founding team member - Opportunity to shape the technical direction of an AI product from the ground up LOCATION - San Francisco, CA — full-time in-office - Relocation-ready candidates strongly encouraged to apply - US work authorization required; visa sponsorship is not available