Founding Engineer

Novaflow is bridging the gap between researchers and technology, creating tools in order to make analysis more accessible and efficient for everyday biologists. We are leveraging AI to allow biologists to analyze their own data in real time rather than outsource the work to other bioinformatics services. As an early stage company, we’ve already seen incredible excitement about us and the work we’re doing.

We’re backed by some amazing investors including Y Combinator who believe in our bold vision to transform how scientific data analysis is done.

The ideal candidate possesses strong technical skills, a bias for action, and a drive for making a large, measurable impact in an early‑stage environment. This individual thrives in complex, fast‑paced environments and plays a pivotal role in driving the mission of the company forward with passion, focus, and scale.

The position is based in San Francisco. Having biology knowledge and experience is not required but is nice to have.

• Design, build, and maintain APIs and backend services using Python, Go, or similar languages
• Design and manage cloud infrastructure (AWS or GCP)
• Work with databases (SQL and No
  
  SQL) and optimize query performance
• Build data pipelines and integrations with third‑party services and manage data infrastructure—databases, storage, compute for large workloads
• Shape product direction, engineering culture, and hiring processes from the ground up

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent extensive experience
• 2+ years experience with strong emphasis on cloud platforms, infrastructure‑as‑code (Terraform), Docker, and Kubernetes
• Strong experience with SQL databases
• Proficiency in Python and Node.js for building and maintaining APIs and services
• Experience building and maintaining microservices in production, including service‑to‑service communication and API design
• Thrives in ambiguous, high‑agency environments and enjoys owning problems end‑to‑end

• Experience supporting computational biology or scientific computing workloads
• Track record at early‑stage startups

This is the perfect opportunity for someone who wants to experience what it’s like to build a startup from the ground up. You’ll work directly with the founders, gain visibility into product strategy, customer conversations, and fundraising, and see what it takes to scale a fast‑growing YC company. If you’re entrepreneurial and curious about being a founder one day, this role will give you the front‑row seat to how world‑class startups are built.