Zero-to-One Engineer
I’m reaching out because your background suggests you’re someone who’s comfortable building things from the ground up — the kind of engineer who thrives early, when the problems are real, the path isn’t fully defined, and impact is very tangible.
I’m working with Soma Energy ( https://www.soma.energy/ ), an AI company tackling genuinely meaty, real-world problems — using modern ML, optimization, and software engineering to make the power grid smarter, cleaner, and more resilient.
The founding team brings deep energy-market experience and serious AI chops (including building large-scale energy optimization systems at major cloud platforms). One of their priority hires right now is a zero-to-one engineer: someone very hands-on, comfortable in Python, and excited about shaping core systems from scratch rather than plugging into something already fully formed.
This is an early-stage environment where adaptability matters. You’d be building foundational backend and platform components, working close to ML and GenAI use cases, and helping turn ideas into production-ready systems — often with incomplete information, evolving requirements, and lots of ownership. Experience in early-stage startups is a plus, but mindset matters just as much: curiosity, pragmatism, and comfort with ambiguity.
While Soma is Vancouver-based today, they’re intentionally building a core engineering presence in Montreal, which already includes 3 other Montrealers, and an MLOPS Engineer who was just recruited as well. This role would help anchor that effort, working out of MILA’s office in Little Italy (the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute), where Soma will have a dedicated presence through their partnership. The setup is flexible hybrid — remote-friendly, but designed to let the Montreal team collaborate closely and build momentum together.
When it comes to compensation, they’ve been refreshingly clear: money isn’t the constraint, finding the right builder is.
If this kind of zero-to-one challenge sounds aligned with how you like to work, I’d be happy to share more context and explore further. I’m working closely with one of the founders, Athanasios, and can get you clear, direct answers quickly if questions come up.