Bullseye search · Founding Engineer
Your first engineers set the architecture, the pace, and the bar for everyone after them. I run a bullseye search for the one builder who fits, recruited directly out of teams where they are shipping right now.
The short answer
Chasen Talent is a founder-led recruiting firm that finds founding engineers for early-stage to growth startups. Founder Chasen Nick runs every search personally as a bullseye search: one specific profile, recruited directly from teams where that work is happening now, and verified before a client ever sees them. In 2026 he has worked 10 founding engineer searches, with base salaries from $150K to $250K.
2026 market read, from my desk
Most requested: TypeScript, Python, React and GCP. Figures come from real searches on my desk this year. Client names stay confidential.
The target
Took a product from nothing to real users, not just features on a mature codebase.
Owns the data model, the backend, and the UI when nobody else is there to.
Knows what to skip and what has to be right on day one.
Chooses equity and scope over title and brand name.
Where I find them: Early engineers from seed-stage companies that were acquired or wound down, first hires at venture-backed startups, and senior engineers at larger companies who have been shipping their own products on the side.
How a bullseye search works
We pin down the exact profile together: what they've shipped, the stack, the stage, and the dealbreakers. No keyword lists.
I map who's doing this work right now and recruit them directly with your specific role. Most of them are not applying anywhere.
I check real track record and current role before anyone reaches you, so you meet finalists, not a stack of resumes.
Every step is run by me, Chasen Nick. No handoffs to junior recruiters. How that compares to a big agency →
Questions founders ask
Across the 10 founding engineer searches I've worked in 2026, base salary ran from $150K to $250K, with a typical midpoint around $200K. Equity, where stated, ran 0.3% to 0.7%. 8 of the 10 were based in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1 in New York, and 8 were in-person roles.
A senior engineer is measured on depth inside an existing system. A founding engineer is measured on getting a product from nothing to users, across the whole stack, with very little structure. Plenty of excellent senior engineers are the wrong founding hire.
When the founders' own network is tapped out and the hire can't wait. The best founding engineers are employed and not applying, so a job post mostly reaches people who are available rather than people who fit.
California, New York, and remote across the United States. Most searches on my desk right now are in-person roles in San Francisco.
Other bullseye searches
Tell me about the role. If I'm not the right fit for it, I'll tell you that too.
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