AI-Native Builder Contractor
₹50–70k/month for full-time
Apply for this role →We’re looking for an AI-native builder who can turn messy organizational problems into useful software, automations, and systems.
This is a paid contract with substantial ownership. You’ll work directly with the founder of Sapiens First to identify problems, prototype solutions, and ship tools that help a growing political movement operate at scale.
About Sapiens First
Sapiens First is building political power to ensure technology serves the common good.
We operate somewhere between a political campaign and a startup: small team, high ownership, fast iteration, direct communication, and a strong bias toward shipping.
We organize people, train leaders, run campaigns, build media, and develop the infrastructure needed to scale a political movement.
Experience with startups, political campaigns, advocacy, or social movements is a plus.
How we work
We want Sapiens First to be an unusually high-autonomy place to work.
Our management system draws from Holacracy: clear roles, distributed authority, and the expectation that people take ownership within their areas rather than waiting for permission.
Our culture also draws from the Netflix culture memo. We aim for:
-
Freedom and responsibility: substantial autonomy paired with strong ownership.
-
Context, not control: understand the goal and make good decisions rather than waiting for instructions.
-
Candor: communicate directly, give useful feedback, and surface problems early.
-
Continuous improvement: experiment, learn quickly, and make the organization better.
This environment works best for people who are curious, self-directed, comfortable with ambiguity, and excited to take responsibility early.
For a related perspective on AI and organizational design, read Block’s “From Hierarchy to Intelligence.”
Why this role exists
Sapiens First needs to scale volunteer recruitment, organizing, campaigns, fundraising, media, and internal coordination.
We want to solve these problems AI-first rather than by adding layers of manual operations.
You’ll work with the founder to identify priorities, then take substantial ownership over researching, building, and improving solutions. Over time, we hope you to notice important problems yourself and propose ways to solve them.
What you might build
-
Movement infrastructure: Tools for volunteer onboarding, training, events, local groups, and organizer workflows.
-
AI and automation systems: Connect documents, CRM data, workflows, and AI agents; automate repetitive work.
-
Campaign and fundraising tools: Systems for outreach, volunteer coordination, donor research, and follow-up.
-
Media systems: Tools for editing, repurposing, publishing, scheduling, and analytics.
You will not just receive engineering tickets. Part of the role is figuring out what should be built.
What excellent looks like
You can take a vague goal, clarify what matters, reduce the scope, and ship something useful quickly.
You use AI heavily in your workflow. You can independently research tools, compare approaches, make sensible technical decisions, and know when to build something custom versus use an existing product.
You care about product quality and interface design. Most importantly, you have high agency: you notice problems and try to solve them without waiting for detailed instructions.
Who we’re looking for
We care most about:
-
Strong engineering ability
-
Strong AI fluency
-
Product and design judgment
-
High agency and good judgment
-
Mission alignment
You should be comfortable building web products, working with APIs and databases, and using modern AI and automation tools.
We care much more about what you can build than degrees, credentials, years of experience, or specific frameworks. Students and early-career applicants are welcome.
Learn and grow with us
Sapiens First is a young and growing organization. That means the contract may be less structured than one at a large company—but you’ll also have far more opportunity to take ownership, work directly on important problems, and shape how the organization operates.
You’ll get exposure to engineering, product, AI, operations, and movement-building. As the organization grows, the scope of the role can grow with it.
If the contract goes well, there is a real path to a full-time role. We hope to find someone who can eventually become a core member of the team and take ownership of increasingly important technical and product work.
Practical details
| Commitment: | Choose either 20 hours/week or 40 hours/week for an initial 3-month contract. |
|---|---|
| Compensation: |
|
| Location: | Remote, with a preference for candidates based in India. |
| Schedule: | Mostly flexible and asynchronous, with up to 3 hours/week of meetings overlapping with normal California business hours. |
| Future: | Strong performers may be offered a longer-term or full-time role. |
How to apply
Email rohan@sapiensfirst.org with “AI-Native Builder” as the subject line.
Please answer four questions:
1. What are 2–3 things you’ve built?
Show us what you’re proud of. Links, demos, GitHub repositories, screenshots, or short explanations are welcome. Briefly explain what you personally did.
2. What about Sapiens First’s mission appeals to you? (<100 words)
3. What do you hope to get out of this experience? (<100 words)
4. Are you applying for 20 hours/week or 40 hours/week?
Hiring process
Application → 15-minute interview → 1-hour practical exercise → offer
We may not be able to reply to every application.