Helium — Full-Stack Engineer

• →0–7 years of software engineering experience with a full-stack range (both backend and frontend) [Must have]
• →Backend experience (Python, Go, or infrastructure like AWS) AND frontend experience (TypeScript/JavaScript/React or modern equivalent) [Must have]
• →One of: 1.5+ YOE at a Tier-1 engineering team (FAANG, YC company, scale-up); ex-founder background; CS degree from an elite school (Ivies, Waterloo, well-respected state schools); or other evidence of greatness (side projects, OSS, etc.) [Must have]

• Open to moving to SF and working Monday–Friday in the office with frequent weekend pushes [Must have]
• US citizen or visa holder; no $100K H-1B [Must have]

• Built or owned 01 product/features from scratch
• Early engineer at a startup (roughly #1–15) or worked at an early-stage startup / small product team
• LLM APIs shipped in production: prompting, RAG, agents, evals, AI workflows
• Data pipeline/ingestion/analytics infra (queues, async jobs, webhooks, ETL/ELT, workflow systems)
• Builds in public: writing, OSS, talks, Show HN, meaningful GitHub

• Ex-founder or early engineer (#1–15) at an early-stage startup — 75% of Helium's team are ex-founders; direct fit
• Tier-1 engineering team background (FAANG, YC company, scale-up) with 1.5+ YOE and clear startup or side-project signal
• Elite CS school alumni (Ivies, Waterloo, well-respected state schools)

Card was collapsed ("Show More") on the role page — additional green flags may exist beyond these three.

• Wants ML research, model training, data science, or pure infra/platform role — Zach direct exclude
• Pure frontend specialist or pure backend specialist — full-stack range is the bar
• 8+ YOE positioning for Staff / Principal / Architect scope — Helium is founding-tier IC, not management

Card was collapsed ("Show More") on the role page — additional red flags may exist beyond these three.

Salary$150,000–$250,000Equity0.50%–1.50% (founding-tier)On-site policyIn-office San Francisco, Monday–Friday; frequent weekend pushes commonVisa sponsorshipNone available; US citizen or visa holder only, no $100K H-1BEmployment typeFull-timeLocationSan Francisco, CA

Not specified on the role page. The Initial Screen with Zach (CEO) or Shishir (CTO) covers background, recent project, goals, and a drive/slope assessment, but no formal screening question list was provided. Confirm with client if a defined screening set exists.

Not present on the role page.

Not present on the role page.

• Samay S. — rejected by Helium (Jul 8 2026): "Was way too green, experience didn't meet the bar." Profile was ~2 years' experience, CMU, with real full-stack + AI/agent signal and a founding-engineer stint. Confirms an unwritten seniority floor above the nominal 0–7 minimum — see the Client calibration note under Qualifications. Do not recycle very-junior profiles into this role on school/signal alone.