We’re looking for a strong mid-level engineer who can move fast, think independently, and build real product. This person should be deeply comfortable in TypeScript, highly fluent in React, and AI-native in how they work. They should be able to ship quickly without sacrificing architecture, have good product instincts, and be on track to grow into a technical lead.
We are an early-stage AI travel planning startup based in San Francisco. Our co-founders come from Stanford and Robinhood, with deep experience building AI agents. Our GPT ranks #1 for "travel" in the GPT store.
This is not a “ticket-taker” role. We want someone who proactively identifies problems, proposes solutions, and takes ownership.
Summary of the Ideal Candidate
This person:
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Ships fast - we shipped the v0 in 2 weeks
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Has strong product instincts
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Fullstack - TypeScript + React + Node
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claude-code style development, and keeps optimizing their developer experience as things change
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Knows how the popular agentic products roughly work - claude code, has built
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Learns quickly and takes initiative
They don’t need to be perfect — but they must be sharp, proactive, and AI-native.
Core Technical Requirements
1. TypeScript & JavaScript
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Uses TypeScript/JavaScript as their primary tools
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Writes code in TS/JS daily or near-daily
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Comfortable shipping fast, scrappy, production code
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Understands how to keep systems clean, modular, and scalable
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Can reason about architecture, not just features
2. AI-Native Developer
This is non-negotiable.
We are looking for someone who:
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Uses AI tools (Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, etc.) daily
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Does not write most code by hand
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Thinks in terms of prompting, refactoring, and iterating
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Treats AI as a core development tool, not a novelty
However:
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They must still be able to write code by hand
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They must understand what the code does, debug it, and reason about it
3. React Expertise
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Strong understanding of modern React
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Knows what not to do (anti-patterns)
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Understands:
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Separation of state management vs UI
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Component architecture
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Data flow and reusability
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Has built real production UIs, not just tutorials
Product & Thinking Skills
We are looking for an engineer who:
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Has strong product sense
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Thinks about:
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User experience
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Why a feature exists
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How it should work in the real world
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Has broad interests and tries new tools, apps, and products
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Is an early adopter (especially of AI)
Execution & Ownership
This person should:
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Be a fast learner
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Retain information once it’s communicated
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Act on feedback without needing repeated reminders
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Proactively:
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Identify issues in code or process
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Open tasks themselves
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Start improving things without being told
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We want someone who behaves like an owner, not an employee waiting for instructions.
Leadership Trajectory
We are not necessarily hiring a formal team lead — but we are hiring someone who is on track to become one.
Ideal candidates:
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Have already:
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Mentored other engineers, or
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Run parts of a project
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Or are at the stage where team lead is the obvious next step
We want someone who can eventually:
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Review PRs
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Set standards
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Help other engineers level up
Education
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Formal CS degree is a plus
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Not required
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Real-world ability, speed, and judgment matter more
Interview Signal We Care About
We will include:
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A light LeetCode-style problem - no / minimal AI to look things up
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In TypeScript
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Not meant to be hard
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Meant to test:
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Thinking on the spot
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Ability to implement something cleanly
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Whether they actually understand what they’re doing
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A toy problem to be implemented using ai tools of choice
This is to confirm they are not just “prompting” but also reasoning.
