H-1B Visa Founding Engineer Jobs
Founding Engineer roles sit at the intersection of deep technical ownership and early-stage company building, and many startups that hire for this title actively sponsor H-1B visas. These positions typically qualify as specialty occupations under USCIS standards, requiring at least a bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, or a directly related field.
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Get Access To All JobsAbout Cardless
Cardless is building the infrastructure for the world's best companies to design, build, and launch financial products. Companies like Coinbase and Bilt use Cardless to create credit cards that feel entirely their own. In an industry where branded financial products usually mean shared logos and shared control, Cardless is built to disappear. Our APIs and components shape the journey from the first application to every purchase, reward, and moment of support that follows, while we handle lending, compliance, and operations behind the scenes.
In September 2025, we raised a $60 million Series C led by Spark Capital, bringing our total funding to $170 million. The team is over 70 people and scaling toward profitability by year-end 2026.
We're looking for kind, humble people with high standards and low egos. We take the work seriously without taking ourselves too seriously. We see what could be improved, make it so, and leave every product, system, and team better than we found it.
About the Role
Consumer tech companies already sit at the center of their customers' lives, and a credit card puts the brand in their wallet, turns everyday spending into engagement, and opens a new revenue line. Cardless is built to disappear behind the brand: our APIs and components shape the full cardholder journey while we handle lending, compliance, and operations. Coinbase and Bilt already run on it.
We're hiring a Founding Account Executive to grow this market. You'll focus on fintechs and consumer tech companies with engaged user bases: crypto platforms, neobanks, brokerages and wealth apps, payments and lending companies, marketplaces, subscription apps, consumer AI, and software platforms serving businesses.
This is a new-business role, ideal for someone who enjoys opening new relationships and building something from the ground up. As our founding Account Executive for consumer tech, you'll build the pipeline, lead each opportunity from first meeting to signed agreement, and work directly with our leadership team to shape how Cardless sells. Your partners will be founders, executives, and product and payments leaders who move quickly and love going deep on product, and our multi-year agreements suit people who find long, multi-stakeholder cycles rewarding. With product-market fit, fresh capital, and more demand than we can currently pursue, the programs you sign will reach millions of users.
What You Will Do
- Build and prioritize a target list by user base, product fit, and interest in a card, and generate pipeline through outreach, your network, and the Silicon Valley ecosystem of founders, operators, and investors.
- Learn our APIs and components well enough to explain how Cardless fits into a partner's app, and help each company see what a card does for revenue, engagement, and retention.
- Lead the full cycle, from discovery and business case through RFP, term sheet, and signed agreement, presenting program economics to finance and executive leaders.
- Coordinate our product, risk, finance, legal, and marketing teams, and serve as the partner's main point of contact.
- Help build how Cardless sells, including the pitch, the playbook, and the standards for future Account Executives, and share market feedback that shapes product, pricing, and positioning.
- Keep an accurate pipeline and forecast.
What We Are Looking For
- 10+ years of quota-carrying enterprise sales or business development, including large, multi-year financial services agreements.
- Experience selling to, or working within, airlines or hospitality companies, with relationships among their loyalty, partnerships, and finance leaders.
- A consistent record of meeting or exceeding quota and of building pipeline in a new market.
- Comfort with program economics and executive conversations.
- Payments, co-brand, or loyalty experience is a strong plus.
- Willingness to travel at least 50% of the time regularly to meet partners and attend industry events.
- Located in either San Francisco Bay Area or the Greater New York Metropolitan Area.
Compensation
We offer a competitive compensation plan designed to reward closing: a base salary, variable compensation tied to signed agreements, and meaningful equity in an early stage startup. The base salary range for this role is $140,000 - $170,000. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skills, experience, and specific work location.
Benefits
We're proud to offer our team excellent benefits:
- Meaningful Start-up equity
- 100% health, vision & dental primary coverage
- 75% health, vision & dental dependent coverage
- Catered lunches
- $250/month Commuter benefit
- Parental leave
- Team building events & happy hours
- Flexible PTO with a minimum of 15 days off per year
- Apple equipment
- 401k plan
Location
We're headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with a beautiful office in Jackson Square. We’re in the office at least three days a week, and most of us are there more than that, because we do our best thinking and building together in person. We’re looking for someone who’s genuinely excited to be there alongside the team.
About Cardless
Cardless is building the infrastructure for the world's best companies to design, build, and launch financial products. Companies like Coinbase and Bilt use Cardless to create credit cards that feel entirely their own. In an industry where branded financial products usually mean shared logos and shared control, Cardless is built to disappear. Our APIs and components shape the journey from the first application to every purchase, reward, and moment of support that follows, while we handle lending, compliance, and operations behind the scenes.
In September 2025, we raised a $60 million Series C led by Spark Capital, bringing our total funding to $170 million. The team is over 70 people and scaling toward profitability by year-end 2026.
We're looking for kind, humble people with high standards and low egos. We take the work seriously without taking ourselves too seriously. We see what could be improved, make it so, and leave every product, system, and team better than we found it.
About the Role
Consumer tech companies already sit at the center of their customers' lives, and a credit card puts the brand in their wallet, turns everyday spending into engagement, and opens a new revenue line. Cardless is built to disappear behind the brand: our APIs and components shape the full cardholder journey while we handle lending, compliance, and operations. Coinbase and Bilt already run on it.
We're hiring a Founding Account Executive to grow this market. You'll focus on fintechs and consumer tech companies with engaged user bases: crypto platforms, neobanks, brokerages and wealth apps, payments and lending companies, marketplaces, subscription apps, consumer AI, and software platforms serving businesses.
This is a new-business role, ideal for someone who enjoys opening new relationships and building something from the ground up. As our founding Account Executive for consumer tech, you'll build the pipeline, lead each opportunity from first meeting to signed agreement, and work directly with our leadership team to shape how Cardless sells. Your partners will be founders, executives, and product and payments leaders who move quickly and love going deep on product, and our multi-year agreements suit people who find long, multi-stakeholder cycles rewarding. With product-market fit, fresh capital, and more demand than we can currently pursue, the programs you sign will reach millions of users.
What You Will Do
- Build and prioritize a target list by user base, product fit, and interest in a card, and generate pipeline through outreach, your network, and the Silicon Valley ecosystem of founders, operators, and investors.
- Learn our APIs and components well enough to explain how Cardless fits into a partner's app, and help each company see what a card does for revenue, engagement, and retention.
- Lead the full cycle, from discovery and business case through RFP, term sheet, and signed agreement, presenting program economics to finance and executive leaders.
- Coordinate our product, risk, finance, legal, and marketing teams, and serve as the partner's main point of contact.
- Help build how Cardless sells, including the pitch, the playbook, and the standards for future Account Executives, and share market feedback that shapes product, pricing, and positioning.
- Keep an accurate pipeline and forecast.
What We Are Looking For
- 10+ years of quota-carrying enterprise sales or business development, including large, multi-year financial services agreements.
- Experience selling to, or working within, airlines or hospitality companies, with relationships among their loyalty, partnerships, and finance leaders.
- A consistent record of meeting or exceeding quota and of building pipeline in a new market.
- Comfort with program economics and executive conversations.
- Payments, co-brand, or loyalty experience is a strong plus.
- Willingness to travel at least 50% of the time regularly to meet partners and attend industry events.
- Located in either San Francisco Bay Area or the Greater New York Metropolitan Area.
Compensation
We offer a competitive compensation plan designed to reward closing: a base salary, variable compensation tied to signed agreements, and meaningful equity in an early stage startup. The base salary range for this role is $140,000 - $170,000. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skills, experience, and specific work location.
Benefits
We're proud to offer our team excellent benefits:
- Meaningful Start-up equity
- 100% health, vision & dental primary coverage
- 75% health, vision & dental dependent coverage
- Catered lunches
- $250/month Commuter benefit
- Parental leave
- Team building events & happy hours
- Flexible PTO with a minimum of 15 days off per year
- Apple equipment
- 401k plan
Location
We're headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with a beautiful office in Jackson Square. We’re in the office at least three days a week, and most of us are there more than that, because we do our best thinking and building together in person. We’re looking for someone who’s genuinely excited to be there alongside the team.
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding H-1B Visa Sponsorship as a Founding Engineer
Verify your role meets specialty occupation
USCIS scrutinizes broad titles like Founding Engineer more closely than standard software roles. Pull the O*NET profile for your specific function and confirm your job duties map to a degree-requiring occupation before your employer files.
Target startups with prior H-1B filing history
Use Migrate Mate to filter Founding Engineer openings by employers who have filed H-1B Labor Condition Applications before. First-time sponsors carry higher petition risk and longer internal approval timelines at the early-stage level.
Request premium processing before your start date
Founding Engineer offers often come with fast-moving timelines. Ask your employer to elect premium processing on the I-129 petition so USCIS adjudicates within 15 business days, reducing the gap between offer acceptance and authorized start.
Confirm the LCA wage level matches your actual scope
Founding Engineers frequently operate at Level III or IV on the DOL wage scale given their ownership responsibilities. Run your job title and location through the OFLC Wage Search to catch any mismatch before the LCA is certified.
Negotiate equity vesting around your H-1B timeline
Standard four-year vesting cliffs can conflict with H-1B petition and renewal windows. Structure your offer so the one-year cliff falls well inside your authorized period of stay, avoiding a gap between vest date and valid status.
Document your technical contributions from day one
When your employer files your H-1B extension, USCIS may issue an RFE asking for evidence the role still qualifies. Maintain a running record of architecture decisions, code ownership, and cross-functional leadership to support that filing.
H-1B Visa Founding Engineer: Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Founding Engineer role qualify as a specialty occupation for H-1B purposes?
It depends on how the position is defined. USCIS evaluates specialty occupation based on whether the role normally requires at least a bachelor's degree in a specific field, not just the job title. A Founding Engineer focused on systems architecture or full-stack product development typically qualifies. A role described as general technical leadership with no defined degree requirement may face an RFE. Your employer should tie the job description to specific technical domains before filing.
How do I find startups that will actually sponsor my H-1B as a Founding Engineer?
Early-stage companies vary widely in sponsorship willingness and experience. Migrate Mate surfaces Founding Engineer roles filtered by employers who have filed Labor Condition Applications, so you can focus on companies with a documented track record rather than asking cold. First-time sponsors aren't disqualified, but they require more internal runway to complete the process correctly.
Can a startup sponsor my H-1B if it has never done so before?
Yes. Any U.S. employer with an Employer Identification Number can file an H-1B petition, regardless of company size or prior sponsorship history. The practical risk is execution: first-time sponsors often underestimate the LCA certification timeline through DOL, the documentation requirements, and the cost. Working with an experienced immigration attorney reduces the likelihood of avoidable delays or denials.
What happens to my H-1B status if the startup shuts down or lays me off?
If your employer terminates your employment, your H-1B authorization ends with it. USCIS provides a 60-day grace period for involuntary terminations, during which you can transfer your H-1B to a new employer, change to another visa status, or prepare to depart. The clock starts from the last day of employment, not from when USCIS is notified. Start your job search immediately if your company shows signs of instability.
Does holding significant equity in the startup affect my H-1B eligibility?
Equity alone doesn't disqualify you, but USCIS looks closely at employer-employee relationships when the H-1B beneficiary holds a controlling ownership stake. If you own more than 50% of the company sponsoring your visa, USCIS may question whether a qualifying employment relationship exists. Minority equity stakes are generally not an issue. If your equity is substantial, your employer should address the control question explicitly in the petition.