Look for clear evidence on the resume that someone is a strong engineer, not just employed at a startup. Key signals: 
At least 1 is required, stronger candidates may have 2 or 3.

• Education at a top engineering school (MIT, Stanford, etc.), ideally started coding before ChatGPT
• Startup experience with slope -- joined early and grew with the company, or joined a well-known growth-stage company (e.g., Ramp at 200 to 600 people). 
• Rigorous engineering orgs -- certain FAANG teams (Amazon, Meta, select Google teams), not just any big tech role
• Yellow flag: founding engineer (or founder) at a startup with no traction and no other signals of rigor -shows work ethic but not engineering quality
• Jumpiness- people who moved around a ton with no good recommendations
• 2. Experience Filter (resume filter)
• Ownership track record (required): shipped things, growing responsibility, clear progression
• AI/agents experience (very nice to have): has worked on agentic systems, not just used Cursor or Claude Code
• Healthcare adjacency (nice to have): experience at companies like Abridge, Ambient, Heidi, or similar
• Role split: one hire leaning backend (architecture, systems), one leaning frontend (UI/design)
• Experience range: 2 to 10 years; 1 year is fine with the right signals
• Technical requirements: Experience in our stack
• Stack: Python, FastAPI, Postgres, GCP, state-of-the-art LLMs and transcription APIs, React Native on the front end.
• 3. Motivation for Early-Stage (phone screen filter)
  We want people who want the seed-stage experience specifically, not just "a startup." Key signals:
• Desire for ownership -- felt stifled, segmented into narrow features, or separated from the customer
• Hunger and grind mentality -- willing to work hard, something to prove
• Life circumstances that support the commitment (lives in the city, fewer competing constraints)
• Red flag: overly title-driven or negotiates excessively -- often a sign of misalignment
• 4. Values (phone screen + Matt interview)
  Ownership & Autonomy The engineers we want have felt constrained -- segmented into a narrow feature, separated from the customer, or lost in a big machine. They're coming to Marlow because they want real ownership and a direct line to their work's impact. This is also a signal that they understand what early-stage means and are choosing it deliberately.
  Hunger & Commitment Seed-stage is a grind, and we want people who are energized by that, not just tolerant of it. We're looking for candidates who have something to prove, are motivated by something bigger than themselves, and are at a point in their life where this kind of commitment is a genuine priority.
  Mission Alignment Think about this in fours layers:
• Layer 1: They want to see their work directly help people. This is the minimum bar.
• Layer 2: They want to work on cutting edge AI that actually helps the world
• Layer 3: They care about applying AI to healthcare specifically.
• Layer 4: They're drawn to helping senior care or nurses specifically. Usually from personal experience. 
• Layer 1 is required. Layers 2 is a strong add on. Layers 3 and 4 can be meaningful differentiators but not filters.
  Low Ego We're a small, close-knit founding team. We want people who are confident but don't lead with titles or self-promotion. Red flags: excessive negotiation, title obsession, more focused on the offer than the opportunity.
  Growth Mindset We want people who have consistently taken on more responsibility over time -- not just held a role, but grown within it. Trajectory matters more than prestige.