Founders Initiatives
Retell AI
Founders Initiatives
Retell AI
Builds AI voice agents for business phone calls
Retell AI is using first-principles thinking to reimagine the call center with cutting-edge voice AI. Thousands of companies now use Retell's AI voice agents to handle sales, support, and logistics calls that once required large teams of human agents. Backed by Y Combinator, Alt Capital, and other leading investors. We've grown 20x from $5M to $100M+ in annualized revenue run rate in under two years, reaching a $1.5B+ valuation.
Our vision for 2026 is to build a modern CX platform where entire contact centers are powered by AI. Instead of basic automation that needs constant human tuning, we're creating intelligent AI “workers” that act as frontline agents, QA analysts, and managers, continuously executing, monitoring, and improving every customer interaction.
We're growing fast and looking for ambitious builders who want to tackle hard technical problems, move quickly, and have a real impact on one of the fastest-growing voice AI companies in the world.
Let's build the future together.
Recent recognition:
No. 1 Best Places to Work in the Bay Area, San Francisco Business Times 2026
#3 Fastest-Growing Software Company, G2 Best Software Awards 2026
Founders Initiatives is a cross-functional team that works directly with Retell's founders on the company's highest-priority opportunities and challenges. Team members are expected to operate across functions, build from first principles, and help scale the business in whatever way creates the most impact.
This is not a narrowly scoped role, it is a high-ownership builder position where you will work across product, engineering, GTM, operations, and AI systems to design and ship core company infrastructure.
Retell AI transforms customer experience with voice AI for enterprises, including customers like CVS/Aetna, San Antonio Spurs, Lenovo, and Grab. We have more customer stories than we can tell!
We are hiring a Founders Initiatives, AI Agents builder to design and implement internal and external AI systems that power how Retell hires, sells, operates, and scales.
You will be responsible for building production-grade AI workflows, automations, and agent systems that directly impact company operations and customer experience.
This role sits at the intersection of applied AI, full-stack engineering, and startup operations.
Build systems that extract structured signals from resumes (skills, experience, founder traits, domain expertise)
Develop lead scoring models to predict interview success and role fit
Design AI recruiter workflows for candidate screening and qualification
Automate personalized outbound email and candidate engagement workflows
Build automation systems for customer security workflows (BAAs, DPAs, DocuSign, contract review flows)
Automate security questionnaire and compliance response generation
Improve internal tooling for enterprise readiness and audit processes
Build systems for accounts receivable automation and finance-related email workflows
Create automated enterprise customer onboarding and account setup tools
Design internal systems that reduce manual operational overhead across teams
Integrate with CRM systems such as Salesforce, HubSpot, and GoHighLevel
Build workflow automation using tools like Zapier, n8n, and Make
Design LLM-powered systems using OpenAI, Gemini, Claude, and other models
Own API-based integrations that connect internal systems across the company
Build HubSpot and Lark automations to improve sales and marketing efficiency
Develop lifecycle automation systems for customer engagement and retention
Create targeted website personalization and ad content generation systems
Build email personalization and outbound automation pipelines at scale
Have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
Have 2+ years professional software engineering experience
Have 1+ year of startup experience and are comfortable with ambiguity and fast iteration.
Think like a founder and operate with high ownership
Have strong software engineering skills (backend, full-stack, or systems)
Have hands-on experience building with LLMs or AI agents in production
Are comfortable working across product, engineering, and operations
Move fast, iterate quickly, and are comfortable with ambiguity
Prefer building systems over working on narrowly defined tasks
Care deeply about real-world impact over theoretical work
Location: Redwood City, CA, US - relocation provided
US Visas: Retell AI is open to sponsoring work authorization for qualified candidates, including H-1B, TN, L-1, E-3, F-1 (OPT/CPT), and O-1 visas.
Our compensation ranges reflect different scopes of responsibility and cash/equity options. Your offer will depend on the skills and impact you demonstrate during interviews, the scope of the role, and your preferred cash/equity balance.
Annual base salary ranges:
Senior: $210,000–$250,000
Staff: $200,000–$300,000
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
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.
Intro Call (15-20min): Connect with our talent team to get a deeper look at the team and the work you'd be doing.
First Technical Phone Interview (45 min): System Design & Project Deep Dive
Second Tech Screen (45min): Tools & Automation
Final Interview
Coding and Technical Round (90 min)
Cross-Functional Interview (30 min)
Past Project Deep Dive (30 min)
Retell AI builds AI voice agents that answer and make phone calls for businesses, covering support, scheduling, sales, and payment calls once handled by human agents. Its agents take calls for companies such as CVS Health, Lenovo, Grab, and the San Antonio Spurs, in fields from healthcare to insurance and finance. Businesses build an agent in a drag-and-drop editor or with code, pick the AI model and voice behind it, connect it to phone lines and tools such as calendars, and test it on simulated calls before going live. Customers pay for each minute their agents spend on the phone. Retell AI was founded in 2023, went through the Y Combinator startup program, and is based in Redwood City, California.
Explore more opportunities at Retell AI