Fall 2026
Founding Engineer Intern
Posted on 8/21/2026
Clera
11-50 employees
AI-powered candidate matching for startup roles
No salary listed
H1B Sponsorship Available
San Francisco, CA, USA
Hybrid
On-site presence is strongly preferred in the San Francisco hacker-house setup.
Bachelor's
 Software Engineering (1) |
|---|
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- Currently enrolled in or pursuing a degree in computer science, software engineering, or a related field.
- At least 6 months of experience building production features in TypeScript and React.
- A full-stack development focus rather than primarily machine learning engineering or heavy specialization in a single language.
- Production experience with Supabase, Prisma, and Typesense in a React and TypeScript stack.
- Experience with Cursor as a development tool.
- A portfolio or GitHub demonstrating full-stack projects and open-source contributions.
- Standout credentials or projects, such as a strong academic record, notable GitHub activity, or recognized side projects.
- Prior experience in entrepreneurial or early-stage environments with rapid iteration and shipping.
- Willingness to work 6 days per week in a hybrid hacker-house setup in San Francisco.
- Build and ship end-to-end features to production on a daily cadence.
- Collaborate closely with the CTO and founding team to own components from ideation to deployment.
- Develop and iterate on a fully agentic system to automate headhunting end-to-end.
- Engage directly with users to measure impact on hiring speed and experience.
- Contribute to the engineering culture with a strong ownership mindset.
Clera is a candidate-first AI recruitment platform that helps professionals connect with roles at venture-backed startups. It analyzes a candidate’s CV or LinkedIn profile with AI to match skills, experience, and career goals, delivering curated job opportunities across engineering, product, design, operations, and sales, plus interview prep and application support. Employers receive pre-vetted candidates and a curated list within 24 hours of sharing a job description, using a flat-fee, no upfront cost model. The goal is to speed up hiring for startups by quickly pairing strong, culture-fit candidates with suitable roles while supporting candidates through a tailored job-search experience.
Company Size
11-50
Company Stage
Seed
Total Funding
$3M
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
Founded
2025
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- May 2026 funding from 1984 Ventures and Deel Ventures validates the category early.
- Clera crossed $1 million annualized revenue within months, signaling real transaction volume.
- Founder-led momentum and 85,000 candidates create referral loops that lower acquisition costs quickly.
What critics are saying
- LinkedIn and AI recruiting startups can copy candidate matching, crushing Clera's distribution moat by 2027.
- Placement-fee recruiting faces commodity pricing pressure; Clera's 15% fee invites employer switching.
- If candidate engagement drops, Clera becomes a thin brokerage layer with no defensible employer lock-in.
What makes Clera unique
- Clera launched in April 2026 as a candidate-first AI talent agent, not employer software.
- It routes introductions through email, iMessage, and WhatsApp, bypassing application queues.
- Clera targets venture-backed startups and claims access to 600-plus startups and 80,000 professionals.
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Benefits
Company Equity
Flexible Work Hours
Hybrid Work Options
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 20%1 year growth
↑ 28%2 year growth
↑ 28%Clera, a San Francisco-based startup, has launched an AI talent agent that represents job candidates and has raised $3 million in pre-seed funding led by 1984 Ventures. The platform introduces professionals directly to hiring managers at venture-backed startups via email, iMessage and WhatsApp, bypassing traditional application processes. Within months of launching, Clera has surpassed $1 million in annualised revenue and represents over 80,000 professionals across the US and Europe. The AI agent scouts opportunities across more than 600 venture-backed startups, matching candidates with roles based on their career goals and preferences. Unlike most recruitment AI tools that serve employers, Clera focuses on candidate representation, targeting the 70% of professionals who are passively open to opportunities but unwilling to enter conventional application funnels.