Full-Stack Software Engineer
Open SelectAbout the role
Full-Stack Software Engineer
Location: Austin, TX (5 days onsite)
Salary: $130K - $175K + up to 4% equity!
Industry: Defense / Manufacturing Tech
Must be a US Citizen and eligible to work in an ITAR-regulated environment under US export control law
You will be one of the first engineers at a seed-stage autonomous manufacturing startup building the operating system that runs CNC factories supplying America's defense supply chain. Backed by $12M from Khosla Ventures, the founding team met at MIT and has direct experience inside the defense programs this software will support. You will build everything from scratch, own it end to end, and see your work used daily on the shop floor.
What you'll do:
Build a factory ERP from scratch covering inventory, materials, and part flow.
Develop machine monitoring software that pulls low-latency data from CNC machines.
Push instructions back to machines and handle real-time bidirectional communication.
Build quality management systems tracking part accuracy at micron-level precision.
Gather feedback directly from machinists and iterate rapidly on production software.
Architect systems designed to replicate cleanly across multiple factory sites nationwide.
Own entire product areas with minimal direction from day one.
Who you are:
Hold a CS degree or equivalent, with a GPA of 3.75 or above.
Bring 2 or more years shipping real software products that real users depend on.
Have strong Python experience. Django knowledge is a plus.
Come from a VC-backed startup, a hardware company, or a high-output engineering environment.
Take feedback from non-technical users and turn it into working software fast.
Are a US citizen, lawful permanent resident, or otherwise eligible to work in an ITAR-regulated environment under US export control law.
Bonus: Have experience with factory software, CNC systems, or low-latency data pipelines.
Tech stack:
Python, Django, AWS, Kubernetes, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, CAD/CAM, Robotics, IoT/Sensor Integration
Why you'll thrive:
Build a factory operating system from zero, with no legacy code to inherit.
Work directly with machinists, seeing your software used in production every day.
Join a founding engineering team of two, with direct access to the CTO and CEO.
Earn competitive equity in a company solving a real gap in US defence production capacity.
Solve a problem with direct national importance, backed by a top-tier institutional investor.
Responsibilities
- Build a factory ERP from scratch covering inventory, materials, and part flow.
- Develop machine monitoring software that pulls low-latency data from CNC machines.
- Push instructions back to machines and handle real-time bidirectional communication.
- Build quality management systems tracking part accuracy at micron-level precision.
- Gather feedback directly from machinists and iterate rapidly on production software.
- Architect systems designed to replicate cleanly across multiple factory sites nationwide.
- Own entire product areas with minimal direction from day one.
Qualifications
- Hold a CS degree or equivalent, with a GPA of 3.75 or above.
- Bring 2 or more years shipping real software products that real users depend on.
- Have strong Python experience; Django knowledge is a plus.
- Come from a VC-backed startup, a hardware company, or a high-output engineering environment.
- Take feedback from non-technical users and turn it into working software fast.
- Are a US citizen, lawful permanent resident, or otherwise eligible to work in an ITAR-regulated environment under US export control law.
Benefits
- Earn competitive equity in a company solving a real gap in US defence production capacity.
- Work directly with machinists, seeing your software used in production every day.
- Join a founding engineering team of two, with direct access to the CTO and CEO.
Skills mentioned
About Open Select
Open Select is a specialist engineering recruitment firm working with venture-backed startups across the US and UK. We focus on the hires that define a company's technical direction: full-stack engineers, first infrastructure and DevOps hires, early AI and ML engineers, and the core product and platform teams that set the foundations for everything that follows. Founded in London in 2011. Now operating across New York, San Francisco, and the UK. We work closely with founders, CTOs, and early engineering leaders at the point where hiring decisions matter most. Post-raise, pre-scale, from the first engineering hires through the teams that take a company from Series A to Series B. We are often involved before a formal search exists, advising on team structure, sequencing hires, and helping founders avoid the early mistakes that quietly cap engineering teams later on. What makes Open Select different: Depth, not volume. Carefully curated shortlists of engineers who fit the stage, the technical challenge, and the ambition. No padding, no time-wasters. True partnership. We operate as an extension of early teams, aligned to product goals and technical direction rather than placement targets. Early-stage specialists. We understand the ambiguity, the speed, and the stakes of Seed through Series B hiring in a way generalist recruiters do not. If you are a founder building a technical team, or an engineer looking to join a high-bar startup, we are always happy to connect.
H-1B sponsorship history
Historical employer filing data was found for Open Select. The employer record includes 170 historical certified applications. This is employer-level history, not a guarantee that this role currently offers sponsorship.