SpruceID (YC W21)
REMOTE (US-Based Preferred) | Full-Time
hn · REMOTE (US-Based Preferred)
Jose is a talented full-stack engineer with proven ability to ship 0-to-1 products and strong technical depth across systems that matter (emergency response, crypto, AI). However, his background is heavily weighted toward AI/ML and consumer-facing applications rather than the identity, cryptography, and policy-adjacent infrastructure work that defines SpruceID. His experience with real-time systems and managing complexity across multiple platforms is valuable, but the job description emphasizes domain-specific expertise (W3C standards, public key infrastructure, government digital ID standards) and a different engineering culture than what his resume highlights.
Hook: You've built production AI systems at scale and shipped infrastructure for high-stakes domains—SpruceID needs that same execution rigor, but applied to digital identity and privacy standards that shape policy.
Missing: public key infrastructure and cryptography, government compliance and policy knowledge (NIST, W3C standards, digital ID regulations), identity and credential systems, experience with regulatory or public sector engineering cultures, Rust (primary language for this domain)
Posting
SpruceID (YC W21) | REMOTE (US-Based Preferred) | Full-Time | spruceid.com Spruce lets users control their data across the web. Instead of users logging into platforms, we believe platforms should request to access data vaults controlled by users. The demand for trusted digital ID is accelerating as AI deepfakes begin to destroy most of the ways we use to verify identity today. How private or secure is it to hold your driver's license or passport up to a webcam to get a bank account? Was it ever private or secure? Stable diffusion can break so much of this already. Society will need trusted digital IDs and credentials. Our mission is to allow them to be controlled by individuals, with safeguards to prevent descents into surveillance states and checkpoint societies. We are the main implementers of category-defining initiatives such as the digital ID program for the California DMV, and the verifiable digital credentials program in Utah. We are private sector participants in NIST's National Cyber Security of Excellence initiative for privacy-preserving digital ID. We are hiring skilled engineers who care about making a real impact in improving public services, digital autonomy, and user privacy for the world. We work closely with public sector agencies, and have high regard for public servants. We have a strong engineering and customer-oriented culture, and are not simply a SaaS product or AI wrapper. Our roles are not for the faint of heart: you will be expected to work hard and learn a lot in this role. Our engineers are ambitious to get outcomes for our customers and their constituents. On any given day, they may write great Rust/C#/TypeScript, deal with mainframe dumps, read policy documents, respond to technical RFIs/RFPs, manage on-prem environments, implement new NFC + Bluetooth protocols in Swift/Kotlin, create CI/CD processes that enforce W3C accessibility guidelines and i18n requirements, rewrite lost specs from disassembled binaries, figure out stablecoin payments, and design new protections for public key infrastructure. It is a team effort, and people with T-shirt shaped skills are able to collaborate and learn a ton from each other every day. We are interested in candidates who want to be proud of the meaningful impact they make for society, even if it takes time to get right. This is not the right job for someone who wants to "join a cool new AI startup" that implodes or exits in under a year. See our roles here: https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/spruceid