Software Engineer, Founders Initiatives

About the role

Retell AI is using first-principles thinking to reimagine the call center with cutting-edge voice AI. Thousands of companies now use Retell's AI voice agents to handle sales, support, and logistics calls that once required large teams of human agents. Backed by Y Combinator, Alt Capital, and other leading investors, we've scaled to $80M in ARR with a team of 50, up from $5M at the start of 2025, and are now valued at over $1.5B. Our vision for 2026 is to build a modern CX platform where entire contact centers are powered by AI. Instead of basic automation that needs constant human tuning, we're creating intelligent AI "workers" that act as frontline agents, QA analysts, and managers, continuously executing, monitoring, and improving every customer interaction. We're growing fast and looking for ambitious builders who want to tackle hard technical problems, move quickly, and have a real impact on one of the fastest-growing voice AI companies in the world. This role is embedded within Founders Initiatives, working directly with Retell's founders on the company's highest priority opportunities and challenges. You will be expected to operate across functions, build from first principles, and help scale the business in whatever way creates the most impact. One of the unique parts of this role is that there isn't a single path after you join. As you grow, you'll naturally gravitate toward one of two directions: Customer-facing, where you work directly with enterprise customers, help design AI solutions, build integrations, and become a trusted technical advisor, or Internal engineering, where you focus on building AI systems, internal tooling, automations, and infrastructure that help Retell scale. Most engineers will touch both early on, but over time you'll have the opportunity to lean into the path that best fits your strengths and interests.

Key facts

What you'll do

Build systems that extract structured signals from resumes including skills, experience, founder traits, and domain expertise to power automated hiring pipelines.

Develop lead scoring models and predictors to assess interview success and role fit using behavioral and profile data.

Design and implement AI recruiter workflows that automate and enhance candidate screening, qualification, and prioritization.

Automate personalized outbound email sequences and candidate engagement workflows to improve response rates and conversion.

Build automation systems for customer security workflows including BAA and DPA generation, DocuSign processes, and contract review flows.

Automate security questionnaire responses and compliance documentation generation to accelerate enterprise sales cycles.

Improve internal tooling for enterprise readiness, audit processes, and governance to meet high standards for security and compliance.

Create automated enterprise customer onboarding and account setup tools that reduce manual operations and accelerate time to value.

Design and build internal systems that reduce manual operational overhead across finance, operations, and support teams.

Integrate with CRM systems such as Salesforce, HubSpot, and GoHighLevel to enable seamless data flows and automation.

Implement workflows and agents that interact with customer support tools, billing systems, and payment processors to streamline operations.

Build internal platforms and abstractions that allow AI agents and workflows to be composed, monitored, and debugged reliably in production.

Contribute to the design and implementation of the Retell AI platform, including agent orchestration, observability, and reliability.

Collaborate closely with product managers, founders, and cross-functional teams to define requirements and deliver high-impact solutions.

Write production-grade code, conduct code reviews, and participate in on-call rotations to support deployed systems and stakeholders.

Requirements

Be recently graduated or have 0+ years of professional work experience with strong engineering fundamentals demonstrated through internships, research, personal projects, or startup experience.

Have proficiency in modern backend languages such as Python, JavaScript, or TypeScript with demonstrated ability to write clean, maintainable code.

Be comfortable working with cloud platforms, infrastructure, and APIs to build scalable and reliable software systems.

Demonstrate strong problem-solving skills and the ability to break down complex problems into manageable components and implement practical solutions.

Show experience with data structures, algorithms, and software design patterns relevant to building scalable systems.

Be able to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic startup environment with changing priorities and ambiguous problems.

Have excellent written and verbal communication skills to collaborate with cross-functional teams and articulate technical tradeoffs.

Be passionate about building AI systems and applying first-principles thinking to solve hard problems in automation, workflows, and agentic software.

Nice to have

Experience with machine learning frameworks, data processing pipelines, or model deployment infrastructure.

Familiarity with CRM platforms, sales automation, and customer communication tools.

Knowledge of security, compliance, and enterprise software requirements such as BAA and DPA processes.

Experience with agent frameworks, workflow orchestration, and production observability for AI systems.

Background in hiring, recruiting, or people operations technology.

Practical notes

This role is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and requires in-office work.

Employment is full-time and eligible for standard benefits as required by local law.

This role may involve on-call responsibilities for production systems.

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship for this position.