The Problem

36 million businesses in America need insurance—it’s not optional. 77% are underinsured. 40% have no coverage at all. The distribution system failed them: too slow, too opaque, too confusing.

Over 90% of commercial insurance is still human-led. We’re building the inverse: 90%+ AI-led, pushing toward the higher 90s. Not by patching legacy workflows—by building AI that makes humans more effective, improves the customer experience, and eliminates friction at every step.

We’re adding ~1,000 customers per month. We’ve grown 100x since last year. We’re looking to do even more this year—and that’s why we’re hiring.

Somewhere in that transition, there’s leverage hiding everywhere—inefficiencies the right engineer could eliminate with the right solution built in the right week.

The Thesis

Turning judgment into compute isn’t a one-time project. It’s a constant hunt for leverage. New models drop monthly. What was impossible in January is table stakes by June. Someone needs to be on the frontier—figuring out what’s newly possible and applying it before anyone else does. That’s this role.

The Role

You’re a technical generalist who views engineering as a tool for solving business problems—not the end goal itself. You embed with operations: sales, customer service, underwriting, carrier relations. You see where things break. You identify the 20% of problems that cause 80% of friction. Then you build the solution.

Prototype Monday, ship Tuesday, measure Wednesday. If it works, push to production. If not, try something else.

What You’ll Do

Find leverage — Sit with teams, discover what nobody’s automated because nobody knew it could be

Build solutions fast — AI agents, automations, internal tools—prototype in days, ship in weeks

Stay on the frontier — New model drops? You’re testing it that day

Prove impact — Set up metrics, track results, show what worked

Communicate what you learn — Present to the company; shape the roadmap

You Might Be a Fit If…

You get energy from business impact, not code elegance

You’re a technical generalist (Python, TypeScript, SQL—you learn new tools in days)

You write code with AI (Cursor, Claude Code) and can manage multiple coding sessions

You can present to non-technical people and explain why conversion dropped

You think in business terms: “we increased conversion by 15%,” not “we shipped the feature”

You’re 2-5 years into your career

Requirements

2-5 years software engineering experience

Proficiency in Python, TypeScript, or similar

Experience building and shipping internal tools or automations

Ability to work autonomously and move fast

Based in San Francisco or willing to relocate

Nice to Have

Experience with LLMs, AI agents, or voice AI

Background in operations, sales tech, or workflow automation

Prior startup experience

Compensation

Salary: $140,000–$200,000 + performance bonuses & equity

Location: San Francisco, in-office

Benefits

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Commuter benefits

Team meals and snacks

The Process

15-min founder call — Alignment on mission and pace

If in SF: Super Day on-site

If outside SF: Technical phone screen, then on-site

To Apply

If you want autonomy, impact, and the chance to build AI capabilities against business problems you discover yourself—send your resume and tell us about something you built that had measurable business impact.

About the company

At Harper, we are building a fully autonomous commercial insurance brokerage powered by AI. Our initial focus is on mid-sized businesses with complex insurance needs, but our vision is to eventually serve every business in the country.

By leveraging AI to automate key workflows in the insurance process, we efficiently secure optimal coverage for each client's unique requirements at competitive prices and with rapid turnaround. Our AI system learns from the expertise of our brokers, accumulating not just knowledge but also the specific workflows, data, and capabilities that pave the way to full autonomy.

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