Engineer in Residence: CAD AI

Team: AI Fund

Location: Mountain View, CA

Commitment: Contract

Workplace Type: onsite

Most people who want to make something physical can't bridge the gap between their idea and a usable CAD model. This role is to build a text-and-image-to-CAD system that turns natural language and sketches into editable, parametric 3D geometry with manufacturing constraints built in starting with consumer product design.

What you'll build

• A workflow that accepts text prompts, sketches, or reference images and produces editable parametric geometry rather than a dead-end mesh.
• An iterative editing loop where conversational changes preserve the same underlying model instead of restarting from scratch.
• Manufacturing-aware constraints, geometry validation, or export flows that make the output usable in the real world.
• A focused interface for a concrete wedge such as cases, housings, brackets, or other consumer product parts.

What you'll do

• Own the prototype architecture across geometry generation, representation, editing, and user interaction.
• Translate ambiguous user intent into structured geometry operations and manufacturable outputs.
• Choose the right mix of foundation models, parametric systems, and deterministic geometry logic.
• Pressure-test the product with real builders, makers, or designers and learn where the workflow breaks.
• Work closely with AI Fund's build team on product scope, technical risk, and the fastest route to strong user signal.

What you need

• Deep experience in CAD/CAM, computational geometry, parametric modeling, simulation, computer graphics, or adjacent 3D systems.
• Strong engineering judgment about what should be generated by models and what should remain deterministic and editable.
• Comfort moving between backend systems, interface design, and domain-specific technical constraints.
• Current GenAI fluency and the ability to build quickly with modern AI tools without losing rigor.
• A bias toward working prototypes over conceptual demos.
• US work authorization. We are unable to sponsor visas for this role.

Helpful but not required

Experience with CADQuery, OpenSCAD, Parasolid, STEP workflows, FEA, or manufacturing toolchains.
Background in additive manufacturing or consumer product design tools.
Experience at Autodesk, Onshape, Shapr3D, or similar products.

Who this is for

A builder who cares about turning language, geometry, and manufacturing constraints into one coherent product.
Someone who wants to work on a hard technical problem with clear founder potential if the wedge is real.

What to know upfront

This is a 12-week, full-time, on-site residency in Mountain View, California.
Not every residency becomes a company. The goal is to pressure-test the idea quickly and honestly with real users and customers.
You will be building an AI Fund idea, not bringing your own startup idea into the program.
The process typically includes a Builder Event or equivalent working conversation, then a 48-hour Builder Challenge, then panel review with AI Fund build leadership.
The compensation is intentionally modest during the residency because the upside, if the idea works, is a founder-level role.

Compensation

$10,000/month for 12 weeks ($30,000 total). This is a contract role during the residency. If the build leads to a funded company, the next step is a founder-level role with meaningful equity upside.