Founding Engineer
- $150,000–$250,000 per year
- Onsite
- All software engineering jobs
- FullTime
- Hiring
About the role
THE OPPORTUNITY
Hedge is hiring a founding engineer to turn complex commercial insurance workflows into software that feels simple, fast, and trustworthy. You will work across product, data, integrations, and infrastructure, with direct access to users and the founders.
COMPENSATION AND OWNERSHIP
Base salary is $150K-$250K. Equity is 1.00%-3.00%, sized for a true founding-level builder. Compensation reflects scope, experience, and the amount of the company you are ready to own.
WHAT YOU WILL OWN
Build and ship core submission, market-access, quoting, and servicing workflows
Design reliable carrier, MGA, data, and document integrations
Make architecture decisions that balance speed, safety, and maintainability
Work directly with brokers, underwriters, and agencies to turn painful workflows into product
Raise the engineering bar through clear code, strong instrumentation, and pragmatic testing
Help recruit and mentor the next engineers
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
First 30 days: ship a production improvement and build a clear mental model of the platform
By day 60: independently own a meaningful product area and its operational reliability
By day 90: deliver a cross-system feature that materially improves speed or conversion
In 12 months: have shaped the architecture, product roadmap, and engineering culture
WHO THRIVES HERE
You have at least three years of strong software engineering experience, can move between product detail and system design, and prefer owning outcomes to receiving tickets. Insurance experience is useful but not required. Judgment, velocity, and care for users matter more.
WHY HEDGE
Hedge is building the operating system for commercial insurance distribution. You will work directly with the founders, own a consequential part of the company, and help define how the function works as we scale. We offer health benefits and meaningful equity.
WORK MODEL
This role is based in San Francisco and works in person with the team six days a week.
INTERVIEW PROCESS
Application review
A focused introductory conversation
A role-specific deep dive
A practical working session based on a realistic Hedge scenario
Final conversation with the founders
Hedge is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate candidates based on ability, judgment, and potential, and we do not discriminate based on protected characteristics.
