Technical Ex-Founder

About Retell AI

Retell AI is reimagining the call center with cutting-edge voice AI using first principles. Since launching 18 months ago, thousands of companies now utilize Retell’s AI voice agents for sales, support, and logistics calls. Backed by Y Combinator, Alt Capital, and other leading investors, we have scaled to $36M ARR with a team of 20 people, up from $5M at the start of 2025. Our vision for 2026 is to build a modern CX platform where entire contact centers are powered by AI, creating intelligent AI “workers” that can continuously execute, monitor, and improve customer interactions. We’re looking for ambitious builders who want to tackle hard technical problems, move fast, and have real impact at one of the fastest-growing voice AI startups.

We’re a top 50 AI app in a16z list: https://tinyurl.com/5853dt2x#4, on Brex's Fast-Growing Software Vendors of 2025: https://www.brex.com/journal/brex-benchmark-december-2025, and a top-ranking startup on https://leanaileaderboard.com/.

About The Role

You’ll be part of our Forward Deployed Engineering team, operating as a highly technical, product-minded builder working directly with customers to bring Retell’s voice AI platform to life in production. This is a hands-on role for someone who has built from 0→1 before. You’ll stay deep in the code while also shaping how our product is deployed, extended, and evolved in real-world environments. You won’t just integrate APIs, you’ll design systems, make product calls, and build solutions that directly impact revenue. You’ll work closely with customers, founders, and engineering to turn ambiguous problems into shipped systems. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys both building and owning outcomes end-to-end.

Key Responsibilities

• Own 0→1 and 1→n builds of voice AI systems in real-world environments.
• Write and ship production-grade code across backend and integrations (Python, JavaScript, etc.).
• Design and implement custom workflows, automations, and full-stack systems on top of Retell.
• Work directly with customers to understand problems, prototype solutions, and deploy quickly.
• Make product and architectural decisions in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.
• Identify gaps in the platform and build or extend internal tools to solve them.
• Translate real-world usage into product improvements and new features.
• Move quickly from idea → prototype → production with minimal oversight.

YOU MIGHT THRIVE IF

• You’ve been a founder or early engineer and have built products from scratch.
• You enjoy staying hands-on with code while also owning product outcomes.
• You’re comfortable operating in ambiguity with high ownership.
• You’ve built and shipped real systems used by customers, not just internal tools.
• You think in systems and workflows, not just individual features.
• You’re strong technically (Python, JavaScript, APIs, infra) and can go deep when needed.
• You have experience (or strong interest) in LLMs, agents, or applied AI systems.
• You move fast, iterate quickly, and care about real-world impact over perfection.

JOB DETAILS

• Cash: $180k - $300k
• Equity: Equity Provided
• Location: Redwood City, CA, US
• US Visas: Retell AI is open to sponsoring work authorization for qualified candidates, including H1B/H-1B, TN, L-1, E-3, F-1 (OPT/CPT), and O-1 visas.

Other Benefits

• 100% coverage for medical, dental, and vision insurance
• $70/day DoorDash credit for unlimited breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks
• $200/month wellness reimbursement (gym, fitness classes, etc.)
• $300/month commuter reimbursement (gas, Caltrain, etc.)
• $75/month phone bill reimbursement
• $50/month internet reimbursement

Compensation Philosophy

• Best Offer Upfront: Choose from three cash-equity balance options; no negotiation needed.
• Top 1% Talent: Above-market pay (top 5 percentile) to attract exceptional builders.
• High Ownership: Small teams, >$1M revenue/employee, and significant equity.
• Performance-Based: Offers tied to interview performance, not experience or past salaries.

Interview Process

• Recruiter Intro Call (15min): Learn about us and share your background.
• Technical Phone Interview (45 min): Live coding on CoderPad, explaining your approach.
• Onsite/Virtual Interviews (2–3 hrs): Hosted in our office if located in the Bay Area or virtual, with three rounds: Communication: Persuade and align stakeholders. Architecture Case: Design a production-ready system. Problem-Solving: Build a full-stack solution under constraints in any basic environment setup like python, java, node.js, etc.

Key skills/competency

• Technical Ex-Founder
• Voice AI
• Product Mindset
• 0->1 Builds
• Python
• JavaScript
• System Design
• Customer Facing
• LLMs
• Applied AI