---
title: 'Founding Staff Software Engineer (Tech Lead) at tryprotege.com'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/founding-staff-software-engineer-tech-lead-tryprotege-com-palo-alto-6epspfp7v79z'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-16'
---

# Founding Staff Software Engineer (Tech Lead) at tryprotege.com

- **Company:** tryprotege.com
- **Location:** Palo Alto, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2025-03-18
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-16
- **Apply:** https://jobs.gem.com/protegeai/am9icG9zdDoMN9oAFMP6lYeBlxU826uh

## Job description

## About the Role

We’re seeking an experienced Tech Lead to drive our full-stack development efforts and champion innovative, scalable solutions. This is a hands-on leadership role for an individual with a strong background in Node.js (TypeScript) and React.js, who can bridge backend development with exceptional front-end UX implementation. In addition to coding expertise, you’ll lead design discussions, mentor a high-performing team, and shape our technical strategy as we scale our enterprise solutions.

## Key Responsibilities

💡 Technical Leadership & Strategy: Guide our technical vision with systems design, architecture reviews, and strategic planning while mentoring and leading a team of talented developers.

- 💻 Full Stack Development: Architect, develop, and maintain server-side features using Node.js (TypeScript) and deliver scalable, user-friendly interfaces in React.js.
- 🔧 Operational Excellence: Oversee on-call rotations, troubleshoot issues promptly, and implement robust debugging strategies to ensure continuous service.
- 🎨 Product & Design Collaboration: Translate product requirements into scalable technical designs, collaborating closely with product managers, designers, and stakeholders.
- 🚀 Innovation & Emerging Technologies: Explore industry trends such as LLM fine tuning, OpenAI prompt engineering, and serverless deployments on platforms like Railway or Vercel to drive our competitive edge. Nice-to-Have Skills
- Experience in creating and optimizing OpenAI prompts for AI-powered applications.
- Proven track record of fine-tuning large language models (LLMs) for industry-specific applications.
- Prior experience with VC-backed startups or contributing to zero-to-one projects in large tech companies.
- Familiarity with serverless deployment and scaling platforms like Railway or Vercel.

## Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
- 8+ years of professional software development experience, including leadership or tech lead roles.
- Deep expertise in full stack development with strong proficiency in Node.js (TypeScript) and React.js.
- A solid understanding of UX/UI principles with a keen eye for design and user experience.
- Excellent communication and teamwork skills, with a passion for mentoring and leading technical teams.
- Entrepreneurial mindset with an interest in startups and innovation (bonus points for aspiring founders).

## About tryprotege.com

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Protege AI builds applied AI tools for enterprise operations, automating high-stakes workflows with traceability and human oversight.
- **Entity Type**: Private (funding raised from AppWorks, Nimble Partners, Goodwater Capital – amount not disclosed) [tryprotege.com/about](https://www.tryprotege.com/about)
- **Headquarters**: Menlo Park, California, United States [linkedin.com](https://linkedin.com/company/tryprotege)
- **Founded**: 2023 (per Tracxn) or 2024 (per LinkedIn) – conflicting reports [tracxn.com](https://tracxn.com/d/companies/protege-ai/__ZJ2rKV2MtzsMJkAkJtQ-ZrtbrtZl56p5N1n0ioxd-8U) [linkedin.com](https://linkedin.com/company/tryprotege)
- **Founders**: Alex Chung [tryprotege.com/about](https://www.tryprotege.com/about)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Enterprise AI / Operations Automation
- **Target customers**: B2B, Enterprise operations teams (PMO, Risk, IT, Marketing)
- **Mission**: Automate repetitive, high-stakes work so people can focus on judgment and real decisions [tryprotege.com/about](https://www.tryprotege.com/about)

## Products & Services
- **Hookshot™**: AI agent orchestration platform that automates operational workflows end-to-end – routing work, enforcing review logic, and escalating exceptions. Offers traceability, replay, and audit-ready evidence. Includes Hookshot IDE for ServiceNow development. [tryprotege.com/about](https://www.tryprotege.com/about) [linkedin.com](https://linkedin.com/company/tryprotege)
- **Review**: Document enforcement product that processes over 1M documents annually with median 98.8% accuracy for enterprise clients. [dover.com](https://app.dover.com/Protege%20AI/careers/5d5dfc49-fb74-43ff-b6d2-40ad6aaa9c84/audit)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Cash-flow positive (per company); processes millions of operational workflows annually [tryprotege.com/about](https://www.tryprotege.com/about)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: AppWorks, Nimble Partners, Goodwater Capital [tryprotege.com/about](https://www.tryprotege.com/about)
- **Growth Signals**: 51.6% monthly traffic growth; launching Hookshot IDE beta; hiring founding engineers [linkedin.com](https://linkedin.com/company/tryprotege) [tryprotege.com/careers](https://www.tryprotege.com/careers)

## Competitive Advantages
- Audit-ready traceability and replay for every AI run
- Focus on high-volume, high-stakes enterprise operations where manual processes don't scale
- Small, focused team with deep domain expertise – able to move fast and iterate

## Strategic Focus
- Expanding Hookshot IDE for ServiceNow and other enterprise apps
- Scaling automated document review accuracy and volume
- Building agent orchestration infrastructure that gives operations teams the throughput of automation without losing human oversight

## Why Work Here
- Work on groundbreaking applied AI with real impact at household-name enterprises
- Small team (3 employees) – high ownership, visibility, and direct contribution to product direction
- Flexible hours, remote work options, and visa sponsorship for top candidates [dover.com](https://app.dover.com/Protege%20AI/careers/5d5dfc49-fb74-43ff-b6d2-40ad6aaa9c84/audit)
- Competitive salary, health insurance, generous PTO, and professional development opportunities
- Culture of innovation, craft, and growth – "impact, craft, and growth" are the stated principles [tryprotege.com/about](https://www.tryprotege.com/about)

## Sources
1. [tryprotege.com/careers](https://www.tryprotege.com/careers)
2. [tryprotege.com/about](https://www.tryprotege.com/about)
3. [linkedin.com](https://linkedin.com/company/tryprotege)
4. [dover.com](https://app.dover.com/Protege%20AI/careers/5d5dfc49-fb74-43ff-b6d2-40ad6aaa9c84/audit)
5. [tracxn.com](https://tracxn.com/d/companies/protege-ai/__ZJ2rKV2MtzsMJkAkJtQ-ZrtbrtZl56p5N1n0ioxd-8U)

## Other roles at tryprotege.com

- [Staff Software Engineer (India)](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-software-engineer-india-tryprotege-com-bengaluru-q4cp0p7fet6c) — Bengaluru, India
- [Founding Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/founding-software-engineer-tryprotege-com-palo-alto-aeag3a8kzsxn) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Founding Staff ML Engineer (Tech Lead)](https://feeny.ai/job/founding-staff-ml-engineer-tech-lead-tryprotege-com-palo-alto-ayw66xjy8rm4) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Full Stack Senior Software Engineer (India)](https://feeny.ai/job/full-stack-senior-software-engineer-india-tryprotege-com-bengaluru-8629x6zj6btd) — Bengaluru, India
- [Technical Recruiter (India)](https://feeny.ai/job/technical-recruiter-india-tryprotege-com-bengaluru-6c4vyv6q24fr) — Bengaluru, India