Why this role stands out
As a Founding GTM Engineer, you'll architect innovative growth strategies for a rapidly expanding fintech/edtech startup, shaping the financial infrastructure for a significant educational movement and earning a meaningful founding stake. This role is perfect for a driven, mid-senior engineer who thrives on building impactful systems from the ground up and collaborating with a high-caliber team. With a competitive salary of $120,000 - $170,000, seize this unique opportunity to drive significant growth and make a lasting impact.
Quick overview
Job description
Founding GTM Engineer (Series A Fintech / EdTech)
Location: San Francisco, CA or Phoenix, AZ (In-Person, Full Time) | Seniority: Founding / Senior IC | Equity: Meaningful Founding Stake
The Mission: Architecting the Financial Rails for the $900B School Choice Movement.
We are an exclusively retained partner for a high-growth startup building the infrastructure for Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Currently, the $900B US public education budget is being unlocked, giving parents direct control of ~$7,500 per child, per year.
This company is building the specialized charge card, reimbursement engine, and vendor marketplace that makes this autonomy possible. With $16M raised from top-tier VCs and a team that has already rejected acquisition offers, this is a "life's work" commitment for a founding operator.
The Team: High-Density Talent & Intensity
You will join a full-time in-person culture in San Francisco or Phoenix. You will work alongside:
- Founders: A former Goldman Sachs Quant and an engineer who built global-scale computer vision systems at age 19.
- Engineering & Risk: Former leads and AI researchers from Stripe, Mercury, SpaceX (Ad Astra), Microsoft, and Circle.
- Policy & Community: The former Deputy Director of a gold-standard state ESA department and leading national school choice advocates.
The Role: GTM as an Engineering Discipline
This is not a traditional sales or marketing role. We are looking for a Founding GTM Engineer to build a community-led growth engine from hundreds of families to tens of thousands.
- Engineer Acquisition Loops: Move beyond paid acquisition to build compounding, community-led flywheels through homeschool co-ops, education pods, and micro-influencers.
- Live in the Parent Psyche: You will spend real time in the field with families to understand what drives trust and triggers adoption - converting those insights into concrete GTM decisions, not decks.
- Data Rigor: You will instrument funnels, set up tight feedback loops, and analyze cohort/retention curves with the precision of a software engineer.
- Own Onboarding Conversion: You will be the primary owner of the onboarding funnel, driving toward a critical 500-account target and beyond
Ideal Candidate Profile
We are looking for a rare combination of top-tier pedigree and scrappy, high-output execution.
- Pedigree Signal: Academic background from a premier institution (Stanford, Harvard, Wharton, MIT Sloan, or equivalent).
- Experience: 3–6 years in consumer growth or GTM ops at a high-growth company (e.g., Duolingo, Chime, ClassDojo, or equivalent).
- Quantitative Depth: Expert in funnel analysis and cohort modelling who "lives in the data".
- Field Orientation: You "get on the plane" - you value in-person interactions and are willing to do the ground-level work at events and home visits that move metrics.
- Mission Alignment: A genuine respect for family autonomy in education and an understanding of the high-stakes trust dynamics involved in education spending
Commitment, Compensation & Benefits
This will be a big commitment, and we're aiming high. It needs to be something you are energised about taking on, or this isn't the team for you.
- Competitive Salary: $120,000 – $170,000 per year, commensurate with experience.
- Generous Founding Equity: We compensate you well with equity.
- Top-Tier Backing: We've raised $16M from top-tier VCs and angels.
- Relocation Support: You are willing to relocate to San Francisco, CA, or Phoenix, AZ, and travel to visit customers. We're an in-person company and are in the office together.
- Comprehensive Visa Sponsorship: If you do not have a visa, we can support you.
- Unmatched Impact: The rare opportunity to directly shape how the $900B US Public Education budget is being opened up for parents to take control of their portion (avg. $7.5k/kid/year).
INDEQL
Similar jobs
- VA

Integration Build EngineerRecently posted Auto Apply
Vast · Long Beach · Hybrid 🇺🇸
SpringANSYSRobotics+4Engineering$86.1k - $122.2k/yr - RO

Senior / Staff Software Engineer, Robotics PlatformRecently posted Auto Apply
RoboForce · Milpitas · Hybrid 🇺🇸
Embedded SystemsRoboticsC+++3Technology$165k - $265k/yr - RL

Software Engineer IRecently posted Auto Apply
Rocket Lab Corporation · Pasadena · Hybrid 🇺🇸
GitEmbedded SystemsRobotics+7Technology$123k - $140k/yr - QU

Senior Software Engineer - Internal AI Agent InfrastructureRecently posted Auto Apply
Qualtrics · Seattle · Hybrid 🇺🇸
GitMental HealthMachine LearningTechnology$147k/yr - NE

Senior Software Engineer, PlatformRecently posted Auto Apply
NexHealth · San Francisco · Hybrid 🇺🇸
AWSEHRPostgreSQL+1Technology$165k - $230k/yr - KP

Firmware Development EngineerRecently posted Auto Apply
Kairos Power · Alameda · Hybrid 🇺🇸
Embedded SystemsFPGAVHDL+1Engineering$92.5k - $108.8k/yr - EL

Sr. Software Engineer - IT Software EngineeringRecently posted Auto Apply
Elastic · United States · Hybrid 🇺🇸
GitFMLAJava+5Technology$133.1k - $252.9k/yr - CH

Senior Software Engineer (Ruby/Rails), MVRRecently posted Auto Apply
Checkr · San Francisco · Hybrid 🇺🇸
RecruitingMicroservicesCompliance+2Technology$185k - $218k/yr - BR

Senior Software Engineer, FrontendRecently posted Auto Apply
Brex · San Francisco · Hybrid 🇺🇸
React NativeWebpackReact+2Technology$192k - $240k/yr - ME

Software Engineer, Applied AI- EvalsRecently posted Auto Apply
Mercor · San Francisco · On-site 🇺🇸
OnboardingLLMPython+2TechnologySalary not listed - AI

Software Engineer, Platform Overlay & NetworkingRecently posted Auto Apply
Anduril Industries · Irvine · Hybrid 🇺🇸
Talent AcquisitionRustAnsible+12Technology$167k - $222k/yr - AI

Software Engineer, Sentry Software (Manufacturing)Recently posted Auto Apply
Anduril Industries · Irvine · Hybrid 🇺🇸
Talent AcquisitionRustCompliance+7Technology$220k - $292k/yr