What are the responsibilities and job description for the Founding Engineer - Software position at Nyad?
Company Description
Nyad is a venture-backed startup modernizing how the world manages wastewater. Thousands of plants still run on clipboards, guesswork, and manual microscopes. When decisions slip, pollution spikes and costs explode. With expert operators retiring in a “silver tsunami,” we’re closing the knowledge gap with software: real-time image analysis, process recommendations, and AI models of microbial health. Biology meets machine learning in one of the least digitized (and most essential) sectors on Earth.
Why this role matters
You’ll be Nyad’s lead software engineering hire. As a founding engineer, you’ll co-own product direction and engineering standards from day one turning prototypes into robust, operator-ready tools. Expect extreme ownership, tight feedback loops with customers, and a direct line between your code and cleaner water.
What you’ll do
• Build the platform - full-stack, end-to-end, no silos.
• Ship fast, deploy to real operators, and iterate.
• Touch every part of the system: backend, frontend, infra.
• Own testing, CI/CD, observability - the whole lifecycle.
• Be a product thinker. You’ll code and decide what we build next.
• Set the bar for engineering excellence: coding standards, testing strategy, performance, and security.
You might be a fit if you…
• You’ve built and shipped complex software that scaled.
• You don’t need specs to start, just direction and trust.
• You’re a generalist who loves solving hairy problems end-to-end.
• You’ve trained or deployed ML models or hacked on AI pipelines.
• You prefer high ownership over comfort.
• Are a high-agency builder who ships fast, sweats details, and thrives in ambiguity.
• Want your work to have real-world impact. Measured in cleaner water, fewer incidents, and happier operators.
How we work:
• We value intensity and craftsmanship.
• No layers, no committees, work directly with founders.
• Everyday in the office
• Exercise daily
• "figure it out mentality"
What we offer
• A founder-level seat at the table, your decisions shape product, culture, and roadmap.
• Meaningful equity aligned with impact.
• Direct exposure to industrial customers
• The chance to build something that actually matters