How David Mount became employee #2 (for the second time) at 10x Science

David Mount has started four companies, served as CTO, watched funding dry up, and built a passion project about nuclear energy called Atomic Ambitions. When his previous startup, Chinchill.AI, ran out of money, he signed up on YC's Work at a Startup. Two weeks later, a founder from 10x Science reached out — someone who had actually taken the time to experience Atomic Ambitions. That detail mattered.

10x Science (W26) uses AI to process scientific data and unlock bio-chemical discovery, with work already proven in cellular-scale advances across medicine, biotech, and pharmacology.

A work trial that felt like a final exam

The interviews clicked, and Mount was invited for a two-day, on-site work trial. The problem he was given to solve was, in his words, "more than a stretch." After a day of research and design, he spent the night cramming proteomics, deep AI theory, and new frameworks in a proprietary application. On the second day, he explained to Codex what to build and cranked away until time was up.

"I felt like I was back at college going for as much partial credit as I could get, while having to face the fact that I hadn't quite measured up," he says. "Or had I? Perhaps the best measure comes from a challenge that pushes someone to the limit."

Full stack, zero delegation

Mount is employee number two — a position he has held before at another company, which earns him the self-appointed title of "Elder Statesman." At a big company, he says, he would be a VP or CTO: lots of responsibility, all delegation, no hands-on action. At 10x Science, he works directly on anything and everything:

• Full-stack development, mostly Rust and Vue.js
• Zero-to-one features and rapid improvements
• Agent orchestration
• Benchmark runners and a showcase for newcomers who want to run scientific analysis routines in isolation and learn the associated science and math
• The build process itself

He is still on a steep learning curve and says one of his coolest accomplishments so far is learning to identify the twenty amino acids found in humans. "Neat," he adds, without irony.

Why this company, why now

Mount evaluated 10x Science the way he evaluates any opportunity — with a short checklist:

• Is this company helping humanity?
• Are the people smart, upbeat, driven, friendly?
• Is the product idea real enough? Is the timing favorable? Is the field green and open?
• Do they like me?

"The founders made it easy. Everything they said checked the boxes for me. Their rigorous yet compassionate evaluation of me sealed the deal."

He describes the founders' backgrounds as uncommonly varied — one from the Bahamas, one a product of Silicon Valley, one from Michigan, all converging in a research lab at Stanford. Their first hire was a circus performer before jumping into software. "10x is assembling quite the crew for this grand adventure. Real diversity."

Working with the founders

Mount calls the experience of working directly with the founders "amazing." They are open, visionary, and productive. "Assignments feel more like opportunities. We get all of the rope we need along with a safety harness, the sense that nothing can go too far off of the rails. We're building a warp drive, so to speak."

His setup reflects the company's willingness to invest in its engineers: a top-of-the-line MacBook Pro, a Keychron Q1 Max keyboard ("for that extra clicky-clacky typing"), an ultrawide monitor, and unrestricted access to Claude, Codex, and whatever models help maximize leverage.

Who would thrive here

Mount has been through a dozen startups. He has no illusions. His advice for anyone considering an early role: "Learn to be okay with ambiguity. Forget about work-life balance. Work in bursts. Take breaks as needed. Stay fluid. Try ideas quickly. Shed whatever is not working. Polish nothing. Despair leads to inspiration. Enjoy the ride."

If you want to help scientists searching for cures, are comfortable building across the entire stack, and can stomach a two-day work trial that might keep you up studying proteomics — 10x Science is hiring.