Founding Software Engineer (DataML)

San Francisco CA. On site. Full time.

Advantra is partnering with an early stage ad tech startup in San Francisco to hire a Founding Software Engineer (Data/ML) to build data systems and machine learning pipelines that power AI-driven ad products.

You will design and build core data and ML infrastructure for an AI-native ad platform. The work involves creating real-time pipelines improving latency in critical systems and developing models that drive ad matching and performance analytics. You will shape how data flows across the product and ensure systems remain fast reliable and observable as they scale.

1. Build and maintain data pipelines from transactional systems to analytics stores.

2. Optimize query performance and reduce latency in high-traffic data paths.

3. Develop and test ad matching and conversion prediction algorithms.

4. Create metrics and observability systems to monitor experiments and outcomes.

5. Design schemas and manage databases for analytics and caching.

6. Collaborate with engineers and data stakeholders to define tracking needs.

7. Deploy and tune ML models for improving ad targeting performance.

8. Own reliability scalability and data correctness across the platform.

9. Improve internal tooling and automation for data and ML workflows.

1. 4 years of experience in software or data engineering.

2. Hands-on experience with PostgreSQL and query optimization.

3. Experience building real-time data pipelines using tools such as Debezium Kafka or similar.

4. Strong skills in at least one backend language such as Python Ruby or Go.

5. Familiarity with ClickHouse Redis or comparable analytics databases.

6. Experience with AWS services such as RDS S3 and monitoring tools.

7. Proven record of optimizing latency and throughput in production systems.

8. Experience deploying or supporting ML-driven systems in production.

9. Ability to debug distributed systems and handle scale challenges.

10. Evidence of shipped work or live systems you have owned.

1. Background in ad tech analytics or large-scale data systems.

2. Experience with experiment tracking or observability platforms such as Grafana.

3. Knowledge of regression analysis or predictive modeling.

4. Exposure to real-time event streaming architectures.

5. Experience in early stage or high-growth startup environments.

Email with links to shipped work and a short note on what you owned. Company name shared after the intro.

Advantra-Upstart Crew is a search program inside Advantra Consulting. We partner with early stage and high growth startups to hire the top 2% in Tech and GTM. We run end to end searches from single role headhunts to full team build outs using domain experts and a vetted network to deliver tight shortlists. We stay close to founders and candidates so the relationship lasts beyond the first hire