Founding Engineer - Backend / ML

Aperio Talent Solutions

New York, NY, USA

Published: 6/14/2022

Technology

Full Time

Job Description

About the Role

We are hiring our first Founding Engineer—a hands-on builder ready to scale the machine learning engine at the core of our platform. You’ll work directly with the co-founders from our NYC office and play a pivotal role in shaping the product, infrastructure, and engineering culture from the ground up.

This is a high-impact opportunity for someone who thrives in early-stage environments and wants full ownership over systems, decisions, and innovation. If you’ve got startup grit and a strong technical foundation, we want to meet you.

In Your First 3–6 Months, You’ll:

Improve and scale our ML-powered extraction engine using LLMs and OCR
Own backend architecture and infrastructure decisions
Design and launch greenfield features that expand the workflows we automate for tax firms

What You’ll Do Long-Term:

Lead the development of our intelligent document processing engine
Architect scalable backend systems that can handle performance at scale
Build new automation features for professional services workflows
Collaborate closely with the founding team on product direction and customer feedback
Define and shape the early engineering culture and technical roadmap

What We’re Looking For

Must-Haves:

1–5 years of experience in engineering roles (especially in early-stage or high-ownership environments)
Strong backend development skills in Python
Proven ability to build from scratch (side projects, startups, etc.)
Based in NYC and available to work onsite 5 days/week
Willingness to complete a technical take-home exercise

Nice-to-Haves:

Experience with LLMs, OCR, or structured data extraction
Exposure to AI infrastructure or evaluation frameworks

Why Join Abacus

No ceiling on ownership, scope, or growth
Significant equity and a high-leverage role in a fast-scaling company
Top-tier health benefits, daily lunches, and a full-time barista (yes, really)
You'll shape the direction of our product, technology, and team from day one

#hc189726