Job description
ABOUT RETELL AI 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 scaled to $80M in ARR with a team of 50, up from $5M at the start of 2025, and are now valued at over $1.
5B. 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 https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/voice-ai-startup-retell-ai-145200025.html
- Top 50 AI Apps, a16z (2025) https://a16z.com/the-ai-application-spending-report-where-startup-dollars-really-go/ - #3 Fastest-Growing Software Company, G2 Best Software Awards 2026 https://company.g2.com/news/g2s-2026-best-software-awards
- Best Agentic AI Software, G2 Best Software Awards 2026 https://www.retellai.com/blog/retell-ai-recognized-as-the-best-agentic-ai-software-by-g2 - #4 Fastest-Growing Software Vendor, Brex Benchmark 2025 https://www.brex.com/journal/brex-benchmark-december-2025
- Enterprise Tech 30 Class of 2026, Nasdaq & Wing VC https://www.nasdaq.com/videos/retell-ai
- Top-Ranked Startup, Lean AI Leaderboard https://leanaileaderboard.com/
- Backed by Y Combinator https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/retell-ai Retell AI transforms customer experience with voice AI for enterprises, including customers like CVS/Aetna, American Airlines, Lenovo, and Grab. We have more customer stories than we can tell! ABOUT FOUNDERS INITIATIVES 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.
ABOUT THE ROLE
We are hiring a Software Engineer for our Founders Initiatives team to design and build internal and external AI systems that power how Retell hires, sells, operates, and scales. You'll build production-grade AI workflows, automations, and AI agent systems that have a direct impact on company operations and customer experience.
This is not a traditional new grad program. From day one, you'll own real projects that are used across the company. You'll work directly with experienced engineers and founders, ship code to production, and help solve some of the hardest operational and AI challenges at Retell. We're looking for exceptional new graduates who have already completed their degree and have demonstrated strong engineering ability through internships, research, startup experience, or significant personal projects.
One of the unique parts of this role is that there isn't a single path after you join. As you grow, you'll naturally gravitate toward one of two directions:
- Customer-facing: Work directly with enterprise customers, help design AI solutions, build integrations, and become a trusted technical advisor.
- Internal engineering: Focus on building AI systems, internal tooling, automations, and infrastructure that help Retell scale. Most engineers will touch both early on, but over time you'll have the opportunity to lean into the path that best fits your strengths and interests. WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR Must Have
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Electrical Engineering.
- You must have already graduated. We're not considering candidates who are still completing a bachelor's or master's degree.
- Strong software engineering fundamentals.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-moving startup environment. Preferred - 2+ software engineering internships.
- Experience building production software through internships, research, startups, or personal projects.
- Experience with backend development, APIs, AI tooling, or full-stack applications. YOU MIGHT THRIVE IF YOU
- Have already graduated with a degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Electrical Engineering.
- Have 2+ internships where you built real software.
- Enjoy building from scratch instead of maintaining legacy systems.
- Want to work directly with founders and experienced engineers.
- Learn quickly and enjoy taking ownership.
- Like solving hard technical problems with real business impact.
- Prefer shipping code every week over waiting months for releases. JOB DETAILS
- Cash: 83k - 104k
- Location: Redwood City, CA, US
- 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) OTHER BENEFITS - 100% coverage for medical, dental, and vision insurance - $70/day Door. Dash 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 COMPENSATION PHILOSOPHY
- 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.