Encord
The data layer for physical AI
Former Technical Founders
About the role
About us
Encord is the universal data layer for AI that helps 300+ AI teams train and run models on the right data. Our platform indexes, curates, annotates, and evaluates data across the full AI lifecycle, from development through production.
Trusted by Woven by Toyota, AXA, UiPath, Zipline, and more. We're an ambitious team of 100+ working at the frontier of AI and have raised $60M in Series C funding from Wellington Management, CRV, Next47 and Y Combinator.
The role
We're looking for former technical founders who want to get back to building. If you've experienced the thrill of 0 to 1 — the chaos, the ownership, the outsized impact — and you're hungry to do it again inside a rocketship, this is the role for you.
At Encord, you won't be a cog in a machine. You'll work directly with the founding team, take on high-stakes problems, and help shape the trajectory of the company. We don't care which box you fit into — we care about what you're capable of building.
What you'll do
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Work closely with the cofounders to identify and drive some of the highest-leverage opportunities across product, engineering, GTM, or operations
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Take ownership of ambitious, ambiguous problems and drive them from zero to shipped
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Bring an entrepreneurial mindset to everything — spotting gaps, moving fast, and making things happen with limited resources
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Build internal tools, processes, and systems that help Encord scale
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Act as a force multiplier across teams, bringing founder-level energy and judgment to whatever you tackle
Who we're looking for
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A former founder — ideally technical — who has built and scaled a product or company, and is eager to get back to the early days of 0 to 1
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You may have started and exited your business and are ready to experience the journey again in a new context
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You may not have AI or B2B experience, but you will have excelled at something incredibly challenging that demonstrates your grit and ability to overachieve
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Deeply comfortable with ambiguity — you don't need a job spec to know what needs doing
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A builder at heart who thinks from first principles and moves fast without sacrificing quality
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Someone who takes extreme ownership and thrives without a safety net
Experience requirements
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Proven experience founding or co-founding a technology company
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Strong technical background — you've written production code and understand engineering trade-offs
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Track record of building and shipping products that users love
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Experience hiring, leading, and inspiring small, high-performing teams
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Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
Why Encord
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Competitive salary, commission, and meaningful equity in a high-growth startup
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Clear, accelerated growth opportunities as the company scales rapidly
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Strong in-person culture: 4–5 days/week in our newly launched North Beach loft office
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Flexible PTO to fully recharge
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18 paid vacation days in the U.S. plus federal holidays
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Annual learning & development budget
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Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage
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Frequent travel opportunities across the U.S., London, and Europe
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Bi-annual company offsites, twice-weekly team lunches, and monthly socials
About Encord
At Encord, we're building the AI infrastructure of the future. Today, the biggest challenge companies face in getting an AI product to market is actually not half as glamorous as it may seem: it's all about data quality. In fact, the success of any AI application today relies on the quality of a model's training data — and for 95% of teams, this essential step is both the most costly and the most time-consuming.
As ex-computer scientists, physicists, and quants, we felt first-hand how the lack of tools to prepare quality training data was impeding the progress of building AI. AI today is what the early days of computing or the internet were like, where the potential of the technology is clear, but the tools and processes surrounding it are still primitive, preventing the next generation of applications. This is why we started Encord.
We’re a team of 60 working at the cutting edge of computer vision and deep learning, backed by top investors, including CRV and Y Combinator, leading industry executives like Luc Vincent, former VP of AI at Meta, and other prominent leaders in AI. We are one the fastest growing companies in our space, and consistently rated as the best tool in the market by our customers.
