Founding Engineer (+ Equity) at Cortex

Job Title

About the role

Cortex is an $11.5M seed-funded NYC startup, backed by the Chairman of Thrive Capital, building AI tools to accelerate autonomous hardware engineering.

Responsibilities

• Architect the platform capturing and compounding engineering judgment across high-stakes industries like aerospace and semiconductors.
• Own the full product surface, from infrastructure to frontend, transforming how the world’s most complex hardware is designed and built through domain-specific AI.
• Build and maintain the entire product stack, including robust backend services, intuitive frontends, and scalable cloud infrastructure for AI workloads.
• Translate complex engineering workflows from acquired firms into structured data and high-performance AI tools that multiply engineer productivity.
• Work directly with the CEO and CTO to define the product roadmap and strategy, shipping features that immediately impact hardware engineering cycles.

Requirements

• Strong full-stack foundations with experience shipping production-ready code across the frontend and backend in high-growth startup environments.
• Proven ability to navigate seed-stage ambiguity and a desire for deep ownership, ideally with a background from top-tier institutions like MIT, Stanford, or Harvard.
• Based in or willing to relocate to New York City for high-bandwidth, in-person collaboration at a fast-paced, mission-driven engineering culture.

Qualifications

• Harvard and Stanford alumni who have previously scaled medical device companies and built self-driving tractors.
• Backed by $11.5M in seed funding from tier-1 investors, including the Chairman of Thrive Capital.

Skills

• Full-stack development skills.
• Experience with AI and machine learning.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.

Benefits

• Equity package.
• Opportunities for growth and leadership within a cutting-edge technology company.
• Flexible work arrangements to accommodate a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.

Pay

Not disclosed.

Schedule

Full-time.

Benefits

• Health insurance.
• Retirement plans.
• Employee assistance programs.

Skills

• Full-stack development skills.
• Experience with AI and machine learning.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.

Benefits

• Health insurance.
• Retirement plans.
• Employee assistance programs.

Why this role is remarkable

Join a founding team of Harvard and Stanford alumni who have previously scaled medical device companies and built self-driving tractors. Backed by $11.5M in seed funding from tier-1 investors, including the Chairman of Thrive Capital, at the intersection of AI and physical hardware. True founding ownership: you will define the technical architecture, product specs, and culture of a company modernizing aerospace and semiconductor design.

How Jack & Jill work

Jack is an AI agent for job searching and career coaching. He works for you. Jill is the AI recruiter working for the company. She recruits from Jack's network. If it's a match and the company wants to meet you, they'll make the intro. In the meantime, if you'd like, Jack will send you excellent alternatives. We never post fake jobs. This isn't a trick. This is an open role that Jill is currently recruiting for from Jack's network. Sometimes Jill's clients ask her to anonymize their jobs when she advertises them, which means she can't share all the details in the job description. We appreciate this can make them look a bit suspect, but there isn't much we can do about it. Give Jack a spin! You could land this role. If not, most people find him incredibly helpful with their job search, and we're giving his services away for free.