entry level isn't dead, it's just built different now

Jobs for junior engineers + encouragement from experts (and me too)

Hi sweeties,

It’s me, Jordan.

Today’s newsletter goes out to all the entry level engineers feeling crushed by the job market. I am not going to tell you it’s easy, but I am going to wrap you in a 1980s cable knit and tell you it’s gonna be okay. I know it’s 90 degrees outside. Just GO WITH IT.

Is entry-level really dead? 🔪

The news these days is ugly and has many junior engineers feeling like they’ll never get their break. You’ve read it: AI is killing entry level work and all that.

But as a recruiter, I know some things. Actually, you know what, I’m going to back myself: There’s a reason I get paid to do this. I know a lot of things. Here are three of them.

1) I recruit junior engineers all the time. (Just apply to the a16z talent network and see.)

2) I also know that most founders aren’t set on having someone with three or five or eight years of work experience. Mostly, founders want talented people who will throw themselves into the work. Don’t believe me? I have receipts!

3) Among the founders I have interviewed for this newsletter, exactly zero of them have said work experience is what they want. What they do want is skills and work ethic.

“I think being a team player is all it comes down to. It’s about having that shared drive to chase after the mission and encouraging the other people that you work with to join you in that journey.”

—Selin Kocalar, cofounder and COO at Delve

“I’ve never stopped trying to find engineers who just get joy from building the future. The best engineers—true engineers—that I love working with are people who just get joy from building the future.”

—Tigran Sloyan, cofounder and CEO at CodeSignal

“I gravitate towards candidates that tell me who they are and what they’re all about way more than a resume.”

—Piotr Tomasik, co-founder and COO at TensorWave

And when I asked Meter’s CEO Anil Varanasi whether he prefers enthusiasm or experience in a new hire, he said…“Can I say neither? We look for colleagues that have an abundant level of kindness and ambition.”

See? Toldja.

Jobs for you

Lots of new jobs for you this fine day, many of them good for junior and early career engineers. Ya welcome!

Silna Health, which streamlines treatment approvals for healthcare providers, is looking for a software engineer at its NYC office. No specific years of experience required - just skills and capabilities.

Codeless end-to-end governance system Agora is hiring REMOTE engineers to work US-friendly hours. Agora does not list years of experience under requirements either. Show them what you can do, baby!

Recruitment platform Paraform, with their $20 million series A, is looking for a software engineer with just 2 years of experience.

“Digital clone” company Delphi, backed by a $16 million series A, is looking for engineers to work in their SF HQ. Note that Delphi doesn’t list years of experience in their requirements, and the backend product engineer and infrastructure engineer roles could be a good fit for junior-level folks.

Perle, which is helping improve AI model accuracy, is looking for a remote full stack blockchain engineer. In their words: “Titles, tenure, and pedigree don’t matter - impact does.”

AI infrastructure startup is Modal is hiring for several engineering roles, among them frontend engineers with just 2 years of experience

➡️ These roles not quite right for you? Be a friend and forward it on!

Edia, AI platform for grade school classrooms, is looking for senior engineers in their SF or NYC offices. Salaries start at $200K.

Next-gen banking platform Dakota is looking for engineers (back-end, compliance, and growth). The positions are REMOTE and can be based in the US, Canada, Spain, or Portugal. Hiring ranges start at $130K or $140K.

Ethos, which builds autonomous agents for PE firms, hedge funds, and consultancies, is looking for an AI engineer in London.

SPEEDRUN JOBS!

Did I mention that speedrun005 kicked off a few weeks back? The cohort is in full swing, and many of the current and graduated teams are hiring…

… moments before everyone from SR005 realized professional photos take a long time

The team at Coverd (sr004) announced a $7.8M raise yesterday. When I asked cofounders Albert Wang & Eric Xu how I should describe the team, they wrote: “Coverd is the ultimate fintech platform for DEGENS and beyond.” They’re hiring out of their NYC office.

Bead AI (sr005) believes that SOX compliance can be done a better way. We agree with them. The team is hiring a founding auditor to help make sure the pesky robots don’t get out of line

There’s a special place in my heart for the Lil’ Snack (sr002) team. I worked w/ cofounder Travis Chen in an earlier life - he’s both brilliant and an incredible human - and cofounder / ceo Eric Berman is a wellspring of energy and positivity. They want to bring short-form games to every platform, and are well on their way after partnerships with Hasbro + Buzzfeed. They’re looking for a BD / partnerships lead.

Put simply, Sunflower (sr004) helps people quit any addiction - and they’re growing fast (70% MoM!). If you want to do good in this world, you should join founder Koby Conrad’s team and the Sunflower mission. He’s searching for a Founding Product Designer who can work from either San Francisco or Buenos Aires.

Israeli-based Argu (sr005) is combining AI with video to improve surveillance and safety outcomes. Imagine natural language interfaces + CCTV footage (“find everyone wearing a red shirt”). They’re hiring a VP of Engineering - someone with computer vision + AI infra xp. Email join@argu.ai to let the team know if you’re interested.

Mara (sr004) builds autonomous combat-ready robots that train by playing video games. They're looking for nonstop, obsessive builders ready to commit to the mission: defending the free world with more robots than soldiers. They’re hiring a “Nueromancer” and a “Wargamer” to work out of their SF office.

Dini Mullaji, founder of Sitch (sr004), knows what we all know: modern online dating sucks. Her team is aiming to fix that by using LLMs to create highly curated matches. She wrote me saying “we’re looking for someone to lead partnerships and grow our ambassador presence city by city. You’ll build creator and brand relationships that drive growth (from Barry’s to Equinox to alumni clubs to Chainsmokers concerts)…” You can find the job description here.

Cool stuff people made

I like when people are smart. You know, smart like you. Here are some cool things that smart people are making and doing right now.

• A software developer wrote this guide about how he uses Claude Code to do, like, everything.

• This list of essential reading for product builders by Lenny Rachitsky.

• The Video Game History Foundation has digitized all of Computer Entertainer, a 1980s gaming magazine, and made it available for free. *Squeals in 8-bit*

Send me cool things you’ve made too. I want to see them.

Chronicle of an interview foretold

Next week we’ll hear from a startup founder who made a successful $800 million exit in January. He’ll tell us how to get a tech job in a non-tech startup - and how sweet that setup can be.

I meant it when I said I want to help you find a job. Apply to the a16z talent network. Real people look at your application. Real people match you to open jobs.

👨🏻‍💻OK ILY bye.