Location: San Mateo, CA (Peninsula) – Onsite preferred, open to Bay Area candidates willing to commute
Salary / Hourly Rate: $110,000 - $175,000 per year
Benefits: US citizen/visa only,Competitive salary and meaningful equity options.,Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.,Catered team lunch in the San Mateo office.,Unlimited / flexible time off.,High-ownership role on a small, senior founding team (YC-backed).,Opportunities for rapid growth and learning building AI-powered CAD.
Role Information
Role Overview: N/A
Responsibilities: Design, build, and maintain robust, scalable backend services in Python., Develop APIs and backend components that power Hestus’ AI-driven CAD workflows and improve overall system performance., Collaborate with founders and cross-functional partners to define, design, and ship new product features., Participate in code reviews, testing, and debugging to ensure high-quality, reliable software., Implement and integrate machine-learning models and algorithms into production features (with support from the ML team)., Diagnose and resolve production issues; improve observability and reliability over time., Contribute across the full development lifecycle, from early technical design through launch and iteration., Stay current on relevant backend, cloud, and ML tooling and bring practical, modern solutions back to the team.
Qualifications: 1–4+ years of professional experience as a Software Developer / Software Engineer (or equivalent experience from internships + projects)., Strong proficiency in Python and modern software engineering practices (testing, code review, version control)., Experience building backend services and APIs using frameworks such as Flask or Django., Working knowledge of SQL and relational databases; able to design, query, and optimize schemas., Experience building and maintaining server-side components that support real users in production., Familiarity with basic cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or similar) and deploying backend services., Comfortable debugging performance issues and improving responsiveness and reliability over time., Familiarity with machine-learning concepts and tools (e.g., NumPy, PyTorch/TensorFlow, scikit-learn)., Interest in working closely with ML engineers to integrate models into product features—even if you’re not an ML expert yet., Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, early-stage startup: you’re comfortable wearing multiple hats and dealing with ambiguity., Strong ownership mentality—willing to take responsibility for projects end-to-end., Excellent problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and a bias toward shipping., Clear, direct communication and strong teamwork skills; you’re comfortable working closely with a small, highly technical founding team., Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
Minimum Requirements: Based in the US with existing work authorization; US citizen/visa only, and able to work primarily on-site in San Mateo, CA.,Hands-on experience with SQL and relational databases in a production or serious project setting.,Hands-on experience with SQL and relational databases in a production or serious project setting.,Strong proficiency in Python and experience building backend services with Flask or Django.
Screening Questions: (Optional Video). This step is completely optional. If you’d like, record a short 2–3 minute video introducing yourself and your experience — or share a recording of your interview with the recruiter if that’s easier. You can upload the link via Loom or Google Drive. This just helps us get to know you better, but there’s no pressure if you’d prefer to skip it.,(Optional Portfolio / GitHub) If available, please share a link to your GitHub, portfolio, or any recent projects you’ve worked on. This is entirely optional but helps provide more context about your work.,Tell us about a backend system or feature you’ve built in Python that you’re proud of. What problem did it solve, what technologies did you use (e.g., Flask/Django, SQL, cloud), and what tradeoffs did you make in your design?
Company Information
About Company: N/A
Culture: N/A
Additional Information
Interview Process: Step 1 – Short survey. After reviewing resumes, Hestus sends a short online questionnaire (~15 minutes) to candidates who meet the basic requirements., Step 2 – Initial call. A 30–45 minute video call over Google Meet to learn more about your background, interests, and what you’re looking for, and to share more about Hestus, the role, and how they work., Step 3 – Coding challenge. A practical take-home coding exercise (target ≤ 8 hours) focused on Python, backend fundamentals, and problem-solving., Step 4 – Technical interviews. A series of deeper technical interviews with the CEO, CTO, and engineering team. Candidates in the Bay Area are invited to the San Mateo office; others join via Google Meet. These sessions cover system design, backend implementation, and collaborating in a startup environment., Step 5 – Offer & closing. For candidates who pass the loop, Hestus discusses compensation details, equity, and start date, and moves quickly to a formal offer.
Day to day: You’ll spend most of your days building and shipping production features that make Hestus’ AI-powered CAD feel fast, reliable, and delightful for hardware engineers. Some days you’ll be deep in Python and backend APIs, designing data models, writing queries, and improving performance; other days you’ll be pairing with the founders to scope new workflows, refine UX, or debug tricky edge cases in how customers actually design parts. You’ll touch everything from backend services (Flask/SQL) to light ML integrations, and you’ll ship small, frequent updates with tight feedback loops from both the team and real users.
Team: You’ll report directly to the founder and work closely with a small, senior team of engineers and researchers. The environment is flat and hands-on — everyone ships code, reviews each other’s work, and contributes to product direction. You’ll have a front-row seat to how an AI CAD product is built from the ground up, and your code will quickly make its way into the hands of real customers.
Growth: Take ownership of key services and CAD-related workflows end-to-end., Grow into a Staff / Principal engineer or early team lead as the company scales., Mentor future hires and help shape Hestus’ engineering culture, processes, and best practices.
Ideal Candidate Profile: Product-minded builder who loves turning ideas into reliable, maintainable code. You’re fluent in Python, comfortable with backend frameworks like Flask or Django, and you care about performance, correctness, and clean abstractions. You’re curious about how ML can power better tools, even if you’re not an ML expert yet, and you’re excited to work closely with founders and customers to ship the right thing — not just more lines of code. Most of all, you like small teams, high ownership, and the idea of spending the next few years working on a single, hard problem: making AI-powered CAD the new standard for hardware design.
