Senior Associate Builder

Mountain View · USD 185,000-225,000 / year · Full-time · Onsite · Posted Sep 28, 2026

At a glance

The Senior Associate Builder role focuses on rapid prototyping and validating new AI company ideas to determine market demand.
The core of the position is build velocity, involving the creation of prototypes, user testing, and the synthesis of feedback into actionable market signals for partners and founders.

Work with commercial partners, VCs, LPs, and founders to identify, shape, and validate new company ideas.
Build prototypes that answer open questions about an idea using the simplest design that works.
Put prototypes in front of users and conduct user research to generate clear market signal.
Support partners and founders during the 12-week Build phase with product design and go-to-market work.
Present findings, including successes and failures, to the team and potential founders.
Stay at the frontier of AI by reading papers, model cards, and technical writeups to inform future builds.

Technical ability and a real understanding of frontier AI.
Hands-on experience coding with AI.
Experience as an engineer, product manager, product designer, or in go-to-market.
Hands-on experience building GenAI applications, such as LLM calls, RAG, agentic workflows, and evals.
Skill with AI coding tools like Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex.
Ability to write scrappy, disposable code for prototypes and clean code when necessary.
Personal experience and interest in building, hacking, and prototyping.
Ability to communicate with rigor and back views with analysis.
STEM or research degree from a top research university or equivalent background.
Experience shipping MVPs, prototypes, or early-stage products.