HumanLayer Seeks Experienced Founding Engineers to Revolutionize AI Coding

HumanLayer is on a mission to transform software development by leveraging AI agents to solve complex coding challenges. The company is currently hiring a Full Product Engineer with over six years of experience to join their team in San Francisco, CA. This full-time role offers a competitive salary range of $180,000 to $250,000 along with an equity stake of 1% to 3%. The position is open to US citizens or those with a valid visa.

The company’s innovative product is an AI-powered Integrated Development Environment (IDE) built on Claude Code, designed to help CTOs and VPs of Engineering transition their teams to 99% AI-generated code. HumanLayer’s approach is grounded in advanced techniques inspired by Context Engineering, a concept introduced by CEO Dexter Horthy in April 2025. Despite claims that AI struggles with complex and legacy codebases, HumanLayer aims to challenge this notion through cutting-edge solutions, as highlighted in their Stanford study from June 2025.

The role demands a versatile engineer adept at working across the entire tech stack—frontend, backend, native applications, infrastructure, and CI/CD. Expertise in TypeScript, database management with Postgres or MySQL, and familiarity with distributed systems are essential. Candidates should have a strong foundational understanding of CS principles like operating systems and networking. The ability to work closely with customers for onboarding and problem-solving is highly valued, along with a passion for hotkey workflows, such as Vim, and experience with authentication protocols like OAuth 2.0.

HumanLayer operates in a fast-paced environment, working 70 hours per week in their San Francisco office in Marina/Russian Hill. The company is experiencing rapid growth, doubling revenue last month, with plans for continuous expansion and onboarding design partners. Backed by over $3 million from YC, Pioneer Fund, and prominent angels—including Guillermo Rauch and Paul Klein—the company prioritizes delivering value to developers and continuously refining their platform.

The interview process includes a video introduction, an open-ended take-home assignment, follow-up discussions, and a full-day onsite session involving whiteboarding and hands-on coding. A work trial may also be part of the selection process.

HumanLayer’s product, CodeLayer, enables AI to address difficult problems within complex codebases, supporting engineering teams in making the transition to predominantly AI-driven development. The company recently onboarded YC customers with large engineering teams and is actively engaged in paid pilots with publicly-traded companies with thousands of engineers.

Founded in 2023 during YC F24, HumanLayer is a rapidly growing startup with a mission to reshape software engineering through AI-powered solutions. Their innovative approach is gaining recognition, and they are poised for continued expansion.

FAQs

Q: What is HumanLayer’s main goal?
A: To enable AI agents to solve complex coding problems and help engineering teams transition to predominantly AI-written code.

Q: What qualifications are required for the founding engineer role?
A: Over six years of experience, expertise in TypeScript, databases, distributed systems, strong CS fundamentals, and familiarity with customer engagement.

Q: Where is HumanLayer located?
A: San Francisco, California, with options for relocation.

Q: How does HumanLayer plan to grow?
A: Through rapid scaling, onboarding design partners, and expanding their AI-powered IDE for complex codebases.

Q: What makes HumanLayer’s product unique?
A: It leverages advanced context engineering techniques to tackle hard problems in complex, legacy, and large codebases using AI.