---
title: 'Founding Engineer at Benbase'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/founding-engineer-benbase-san-francisco-2zpv3p7sbvsv'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-05'
---

# Founding Engineer at Benbase

- **Company:** Benbase
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2025-06-19
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-05
- **Apply:** https://jobs.gem.com/benbase/am9icG9zdDp2BVN2kE5ghpn-HfNv8F9B

## Job description

Benbase is on a mission to scale the trusted benefits advisor.

As a Founding Engineer, you’ll architect and build our AI agent platform. You’ll work across the stack—from thinking how our agents interact human-in-loop to optimizing back-end infrastructure and model accuracy—ensuring speed, scalability, and impact.

We are seeking builders who thrive on speed, iteration, and impact.

## What You’ll Do

- Build and ship our AI agents platform to help automate our brokerage's core internal workflows
- Develop and refine agentic middleware including prompt engineering and tool calls using Ruby and Python
- Design and optimize agentic automations for performance, security, and reliability
- Work closely with our brokerage team to translate ideas from prototypes to production-ready automations
- Own key technical decisions, ensuring maintainability and long-term impact

## Who You Are

- You love to code
- Have a strong portfolio or GitHub showcasing full-stack development expertise
- Proficient in at least two major languages (Ruby/Python/Typescript) and modern front-end/back-end frameworks
- Experience designing and working with Large Language Models, Embeddings and Prompt Engineering
- Deep understanding of debugging, performance optimization, multi-stage deployment, and best practices
- Comfortable in a fast-moving, high-performance startup environment

The ideal candidate is based in San Francisco or New York and can be hybrid a few days a week, but we are open to a fully remote hire.

## About Benbase

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: AI-powered employee benefits brokerage that pairs smart automation with real licensed advisors to deliver better benefits with less admin.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Mike Wadhera (Co-Founder & CEO) and Brad Vaccaro (President & Co-Founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Insurance (employee benefits)
- **Target customers**: B2B – SMBs (5–500 employees), startups, nonprofits, schools, trades, and mid-market companies.
- **Mission**: Make benefits a competitive advantage, not a headache. AI handles the heavy lifting (80% repetitive, rules-based work) so humans can focus on judgment, empathy, and expertise.

## Products & Services
- **AI Agents Platform**: SaaS that automates plan comparison, enrollment, compliance, bill audits, and administration.
- **Human Advisory Services**: Licensed benefits professionals provide strategic guidance, carrier negotiation, and personalized support.
- **Integrated Benefits Ecosystem**: Partnerships with HCM/payroll platforms (e.g., Paylocity, Check) for seamless sync of benefits data and administration.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (private company)
- **Key Metric**: $5.3M in total funding – Seed round (Feb 2023) led by South Park Commons and Freestyle Capital.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: South Park Commons, Freestyle Capital; integration partners include Paylocity and Check.
- **Growth Signals**: Crossed $100M in benefits under management within 9 months; headcount grew 200% YoY to 16 employees; actively hiring for senior roles (Head of Consulting, Founding Engineer).

## Competitive Advantages
- **AI-native + human‑first model**: Automates the drudgery of benefits admin while keeping licensed advisors in the loop for complex decisions.
- **Zero‑cost entry for SMBs**: Free basic integration with Paylocity, lowering the barrier for small businesses.
- **Full‑service coverage**: Serves companies from 5 to 500 employees, democratizing access to expert guidance typically reserved for enterprise budgets.
- **Built by industry veterans**: Founders and team have decades of benefits experience, giving them deep domain credibility.

## Strategic Focus
- **Deepen platform integrations**: Expanding partnerships with HCM/payroll providers to embed benefits seamlessly.
- **Scale AI capabilities**: Hiring a Founding Engineer to architect the AI agent platform and build new automations.
- **Grow client base and AUM**: Targeting mid‑market companies transitioning off PEOs and seeking modern benefits solutions.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: “AI should do the heavy lifting so humans can do the real thinking.” Emphasis on impact, simplicity, and human‑centric design.
- **Work model**: Hybrid/remote‑friendly – HQ in San Francisco with distributed team members in the US and Bosnia. Roles listed as “In‑Office or Remote” on Built In.
- **Perks**: Early‑stage equity opportunity; work on real AI agents that solve a tangible pain point; collaborative, low‑ego environment with a flat structure.
- **Engineering focus**: As a Founding Engineer you’ll own architecture and have outsized influence on product direction.

## Sources
1. [LinkedIn Company Page](https://linkedin.com/company/benbase)
2. [Built In Profile](https://builtin.com/company/benbase)
3. [South Park Commons Portfolio](https://www.southparkcommons.com/companies/benbase/)
4. [Benbase Website](https://benbase.com)
5. [Careers Page (Gem)](https://jobs.gem.com/benbase)

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