# Founding AI Engineer

Source: https://realanalystjobs.com/job/founding-ai-engineer-clera-912dfa3a
Founding AI Engineer at Clera, an on-site role based in San Francisco, California, USA. Pay stated in the posting: $120,000 to $180,000 per year. Posted on 5 August 2026, read from Clera's own careers page (Ashby), which RealAnalystJobs re-checks daily and removes the role when it closes. The posting says the employer will not sponsor a visa for this role.

Updated 15 November 2026.

## Key facts

- Company: [Clera](https://realanalystjobs.com/companies/clera)
- Location: San Francisco, California, USA
- Work mode: On-site
- Pay stated in the posting: $120,000 to $180,000 per year
- Posted: Aug 5, 2026
- Employment type: Full time
- Source: Clera's careers page (Ashby), re-checked daily

## Visa sponsorship

The posting says the employer will not sponsor a visa for this role.

## About this role

About the Role

This is a founding AI engineering role at a seed-stage construction technology company building an intelligence layer that transforms messy blueprints, permits, and construction documents into actionable insights - making building more efficient and equitable. Backed by top-tier investors, the company is a small, high-conviction team applying state-of-the-art computer vision and multimodal AI to real construction workflows in areas like cost estimation and permitting, with direct impact on housing, hospitals, and schools.

You'll be one of the earliest technical hires, shaping the AI architecture and product direction from the ground up. This role is full-time, in-office in San Francisco - relocation-ready candidates are welcome.

What You'll Do

• Apply state-of-the-art computer vision, LLM, and multimodal AI techniques to real-world construction documents.

• Own and prioritize the intelligence layer - modeling, data pipelines, and inference - over application UI.

• Rapidly prototype models and iterate based on user feedback and real-world data.

• Build and deploy production AI systems that operate on noisy, heterogeneous inputs.

• Collaborate closely with product and end users to surface and solve high-impact problems.

• Handle practical engineering work as needed - including data labeling, ETL, and deployment tasks - as part of a small, scrappy team.

• Communicate progress and tradeoffs with empathy and transparency across the team.

What We're Looking For

• Applied computer vision and ML experience - hands-on model training and deployment in production environments.

• 0-to-1 builder mindset - experience launching AI systems or building core parts of a new product from scratch.

• Familiarity with state-of-the-art CV, LLM, and multimodal model approaches and tooling.

• Comfort iterating quickly and improving prototypes based on real user feedback.

• Strong communication skills and a growth mindset; an honest, empathetic collaborator.

• Willingness to roll up your sleeves for practical engineering work as part of a small, founding team.

• Impact-driven orientation; ideally, prior experience building something people used or paid for.

• US work authorization required - visa sponsorship is not available.

• All experience levels considered, including new graduates with strong applied ML work.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: $120,000 - $180,000 per year, depending on experience.

• Early-stage equity as a founding team member.

• Direct impact on the product roadmap and technical direction of the company.

Location

San Francisco, CA - full-time, in-office. Candidates based in San Francisco or willing to relocate are encouraged to apply. Remote work is not available for this role.

Description from Clera's public careers feed, reproduced so you can read the role here. Apply on the company's own site; Real Analyst Jobs never submits anything for you.

## How to apply

Open [this role on Real Analyst Jobs](https://realanalystjobs.com/job/founding-ai-engineer-clera-912dfa3a) and use Apply now there to reach the employer's application. The listing is re-checked against Clera's careers page daily and removed when it closes.

## Clera

Analyst roles on Real Analyst Jobs. [More roles at Clera](https://realanalystjobs.com/companies/clera)

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## Sources and links

- [This role on Real Analyst Jobs](https://realanalystjobs.com/job/founding-ai-engineer-clera-912dfa3a)
- [Clera on Real Analyst Jobs](https://realanalystjobs.com/companies/clera)
- [All analyst jobs](https://realanalystjobs.com/jobs)