Founding Engineer

Company Description
At Coda, we are transforming physical mobility assets, like locomotives, passenger cars and heavy-duty trucks into intelligent, self-analyzing systems. We are focused on building infrastructure that enables these mobility assets to process data locally, improving responsiveness, reliability, and performance. Our proprietary edge architecture allows individual assets to process hundreds of raw vehicle signals in real-time, enabling AI-native reasoning that transforms standard telematics into actionable, predictive insights to prevent mechanical failures before they impact operations. By joining Coda, you have the opportunity to shape the technology, architecture and product roadmap of the company, and have a direct impact on the future of Physical AI in mobility.

Role Description
The Founding Engineer will design, build, and maintain core systems that power Coda’s edge computing platform. You will work directly with the CEO and other leads to design and ship the core product out to real customers. Day-to-day responsibilities include architecting systems, implementing real-time data processing pipelines, and collaborating closely with product and operations teams to translate customer needs into robust technical solutions. This role involves hands-on coding, code reviews, testing, and performance optimization, as well as contributing to technical roadmap, engineering best practices, and team culture. The ideal candidate has the following characteristics:

• Balanced Skillset (Software + Hardware): You combine strong software design principles (e.g., Python, TypeScript, Go, C/C++) with hands-on proficiency in hardware and edge computing
• Systems-Level Thinker: You understand software design patterns as well as physical hardware constraints—such as power management, thermal limits, latency, and network connectivity
• Hands-on Tinkerer: You are comfortable working with circuit boards, logic analyzers, sensors, and diagnostic tools just as easily as writing cloud microservices or setting up containerized deployments.
• Driven by Ambiguity & Speed: You excel in early-stage startup environments where requirements evolve quickly, taking full accountability from problem identification to solution delivery.
• AI-Fluent Builder: You leverage modern AI-assisted development tools to move fast, debug complex codebases, and accelerate output across both hardware and software domains.

Qualifications

• Strong experience in software engineering, including designing, building, and maintaining production systems in a modern language (e.g., Go, Rust, C++, Java, or similar).
• Proficiency in distributed systems concepts, real-time data processing, and networking protocols relevant to edge or cloud-native architectures.
• Comfort working close to hardware or edge environments, including integrating software with physical devices, sensors, or mobility platforms.
• Effective problem-solving and debugging skills, with the ability to navigate ambiguity and build reliable solutions in early-stage contexts.
• Experience with CI/CD, automated testing, and infrastructure-as-code tools to ensure secure, scalable deployment and monitoring of services.
• Ability to communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders, and collaborate in a fast-moving, highly iterative environment.
• Track record of ownership in startup or small-team settings, including making architectural decisions and balancing speed with quality.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience; background in mobility, robotics, or edge computing is a plus.

How to Apply
Send an email to [email protected] with the following:

• Resume
• Brief description of the most complex problem (hardware and/or software) you’ve solved
• A link to something you’ve built (GitHub repository, portfolio, video demo, or physical build)