# Founding AI Engineer
## About the Role
RDE Advisors, Inc. is a boutique commercial real estate advisory firm in New York City building AI-powered products for the commercial real estate industry.
We are seeking a **Founding AI Engineer** to take early-stage products from development through production and help build new AI-powered applications from the ground up. This is a **product engineering role focused on building and shipping real applications—not research or model training**.
You will work directly with firm leadership and have significant ownership across product development, technology, automation, and future ventures.
## Key Responsibilities
* Own the full product lifecycle, including concept, architecture, development, deployment, and iteration.
* Build and ship AI-powered applications using AI coding tools such as Claude, Cursor, Replit, and traditional development tools as needed.
* Take existing products from early development to production-ready applications.
* Develop new product ideas from initial concepts to working software.
* Create automations and internal tools that streamline brokerage operations, including deal tracking, research, client communications, and marketing.
* Evaluate emerging AI platforms and identify practical opportunities to apply them.
* Support the firm's digital presence, including website, content, and marketing initiatives using AI tools.
* Work across frontend, backend, databases, deployment, and integrations.
* Understand, extend, refactor, or rebuild existing codebases as needed.
* Iterate quickly while balancing speed of development with product quality.
## Technical Stack
The current production environment includes:
* Next.js 14
* TypeScript
* Tailwind CSS
* Supabase / PostgreSQL
* Vercel
* Claude API / Anthropic
* Mapbox
* QuickBooks API
You do not need experience with every technology listed, but you should be comfortable working in a modern full-stack web development environment.
## Required Qualifications
* Experience building and shipping web applications with frontend and backend components.
* Experience developing applications, tools, side projects, startup MVPs, or other software used by real users.
* Daily experience using AI-assisted development tools for building, debugging, and shipping applications.
* Ability to turn vague ideas into working software without requiring step-by-step direction.
* Strong ability to work across the full stack, including frontend, backend, databases, and deployment.
* Ability to quickly understand and contribute to an existing codebase.
* Comfortable extending, refactoring, or rebuilding applications when appropriate.
* Fast, action-oriented approach to product development.
* Entrepreneurial mindset and interest in building new products rather than maintaining legacy systems.
## Preferred Qualifications
* Familiarity with commercial real estate.
* Experience or familiarity with prop-tech.
* Experience or familiarity with fintech.
## Growth & Opportunity
This is a ground-floor engineering opportunity with direct access to firm leadership. As products gain traction, the engineer in this role will have the opportunity to contribute to their technical and operational scaling.
The role offers a potential path toward **technical leadership across the ventures developed by the firm**, with significant ownership and impact in a small-team environment.
## Compensation
* Starting base salary: **$65,000–$80,000**, depending on experience.
* Performance bonuses of **$10,000–$20,000+** tied to product milestones such as launches, user adoption, and revenue targets.
* Compensation may grow as products generate revenue.
## Work Arrangement & Environment
* **Location:** New York, NY
* **Work arrangement:** Primarily in-office/in-person collaboration.
* The company values in-person collaboration, particularly during onboarding, while noting flexibility may be available for the right candidate.
* Work directly with firm leadership and a small, tight-knit team.
* Office located in Chelsea with a recently renovated workspace, high ceilings, natural light, and a private rooftop deck.
* Company values include respect, honesty, integrity, and hard work.
## Application Information
Apply directly through Indeed or LinkedIn. Applicants should be prepared to discuss what they have built and how they use AI-assisted development tools.
## Apply Now
**Apply through Indeed or LinkedIn and be ready to showcase the applications, tools, or products you have built.**