Josh Valdez

Let me drop some knowledge about Josh Valdez. This guy’s the real deal in the startup scene, especially when it comes to AI and developer tools. He’s a YC W24 alum, which already tells you he’s got the chops, but his process’s pretty sick if you ask me.

So, Josh’s story starts with his time at Stanford – yeah, he’s got that computer science background from there, which is basically the gold standard for tech folks. After that, he jumped straight into the trenches, working at Uber as an infrastructure engineer. Think about it: he was on the ML Platform and Reliability teams – so dude was deep in the weeds of making sure massive-scale apps run smooth, reliable, and fast. That’s some serious technical cred right there.

Then, he jumped into startups – first at Gem, a recruiting software company he was an early engineer and engineering manager at. Gem was part of YC S17, so he’s already got that YC stamp, showing he knows how to build and scale a startup from the ground up. That experience must’ve given him a solid understanding of what it takes to move fast, build something people actually want, and survive the rollercoaster of early-stage chaos.

Fast forward, he co-founded Engines in 2023 – a company all about simplifying codebase setup and infrastructure management with AI. Basically, he saw how complicated developer environments are and decided to build a tool that makes life easier. It’s super ambitious, and honestly, the kind of problem that’s gonna be a big deal if it works. Even though Engines is currently inactive, you can tell he’s still all about pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with AI and dev tools.

What jumps out to me about Josh? He’s driven by a real passion for making developer life easier, backed by solid tech chops and startup hustle. He’s not just building for the sake of building – he’s solving legit pain points that every developer and company faces. Plus, his background at Uber and Gem shows he’s been in the trenches, understands what it takes to scale, and knows how to jump into new tech frontiers.

Bottom line – Josh Valdez is one of those guys who’s been around the block, knows the pain points, and is not afraid to jump into the future trend. His process screams hustle, tech mastery, and a real desire to push the envelope on what’s possible in developer infrastructure. No Cap, he’s a dude to watch.