What are the responsibilities and job description for the Member of Technical Staff position at Harper (YC W25)?
The Problem
36 million businesses in America need insurance—it’s not optional. 77% are underinsured. 40% have no coverage at all. The distribution system failed them: too slow, too opaque, too confusing.
Over 90% of commercial insurance is still human-led. We’re building the inverse: 90% AI-led, pushing toward the higher 90s. Not by patching legacy workflows—by building AI that makes humans more effective, improves the customer experience, and eliminates friction at every step.
We’re adding ~1,000 customers per month. We’ve grown 100x since last year. We’re looking to do even more this year—and that’s why we’re hiring.
You’ll build the AI systems that operate Harper—not features, the actual intelligence that runs the company.
The Thesis
This is full-stack in the truest sense: the interface a customer sees, the backend that powers their entire journey—application, business data, history, ongoing service—and the AI layer that makes decisions. Your code ships to production and generates revenue the same week you write it.
The Role
You’ll build AI agents, workflow orchestration, and voice AI that actually works. Not demos—real systems serving real users at scale. You work directly with founders. No committee. No approval chain. You build it, you ship it, you own the outcome.
What You’ll Do
If you want to build something that’s never existed, ship code that runs a real business, and work with people who show up with the same intensity every day—send your resume and a link to something you’ve built.
Compensation Range: $140K - $200K
36 million businesses in America need insurance—it’s not optional. 77% are underinsured. 40% have no coverage at all. The distribution system failed them: too slow, too opaque, too confusing.
Over 90% of commercial insurance is still human-led. We’re building the inverse: 90% AI-led, pushing toward the higher 90s. Not by patching legacy workflows—by building AI that makes humans more effective, improves the customer experience, and eliminates friction at every step.
We’re adding ~1,000 customers per month. We’ve grown 100x since last year. We’re looking to do even more this year—and that’s why we’re hiring.
You’ll build the AI systems that operate Harper—not features, the actual intelligence that runs the company.
The Thesis
This is full-stack in the truest sense: the interface a customer sees, the backend that powers their entire journey—application, business data, history, ongoing service—and the AI layer that makes decisions. Your code ships to production and generates revenue the same week you write it.
The Role
You’ll build AI agents, workflow orchestration, and voice AI that actually works. Not demos—real systems serving real users at scale. You work directly with founders. No committee. No approval chain. You build it, you ship it, you own the outcome.
What You’ll Do
- Build AI agents that run the business — Lead qualification, customer service, underwriter follow-up—all without human intervention
- Create workflow orchestration — Document retrieval, carrier API calls, compliance checks, human review—coordinated across thousands of concurrent transactions
- Ship voice AI that actually works — Handle skeptical business owners asking “wait, what does that actually cover?”
- Build systems that compound — Every decision gets traced; every outcome feeds back; the AI gets smarter with each interaction
- You write code with AI (Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf) and can manage multiple coding sessions
- You’ve shipped AI to production—real systems serving real users
- You’re full-stack by instinct (frontend, backend, infrastructure)
- You ship fast and iterate—meaningful features in days that others take months on
- You’re 1-4 years into your career
- 1-4 years software engineering experience
- Experience with LLM applications, agent pipelines, or AI systems in production
- Proficiency in Python, TypeScript, or similar
- Ability to work across the stack
- Based in San Francisco or willing to relocate
- Voice AI or real-time systems experience
- RAG systems or workflow automation background
- Prior startup experience
- Salary: $140,000–$200,000 performance bonuses & equity
- Location: San Francisco, in-office
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Commuter benefits
- Team meals and snacks
- 15-min founder call — Alignment on mission and pace
- If in SF: Super Day on-site
- If outside SF: Technical phone screen, then on-site
If you want to build something that’s never existed, ship code that runs a real business, and work with people who show up with the same intensity every day—send your resume and a link to something you’ve built.
Compensation Range: $140K - $200K
Salary : $140,000 - $200,000