- Published on
How David Mount became employee #2 (for the second time) at 10x Science
- Authors
- Name
- DeepHorus
David Mount joined 10x Science as employee #2. The YC W26 startup uses AI for scientific data and bio-chemical discovery. Mount's previous startup ran out of money, so he signed up on YC's Work at a Startup. A founder reached out after experiencing his nuclear energy passion project, Atomic Ambitions.
Mount has started four companies and served as CTO. 10x Science aims to unlock advances in medicine, biotech, and pharmacology, with proven cellular-scale work. The hiring process included a two-day, on-site work trial that Mount called 'more than a stretch.'
He crammed proteomics, deep AI theory, and new frameworks overnight. On day two, he directed Codex to build until time ran out. 'I felt like I was back at college going for as much partial credit as I could get,' he said. He is employee number two, a title he calls 'Elder Statesman.'
At 10x Science, Mount does full-stack development, mostly Rust and Vue.js. He handles zero-to-one features, agent orchestration, benchmark runners, and a showcase for newcomers. He says at a big company he would be a VP or CTO with delegation, but here he is hands-on.
Mount evaluated the company with a checklist: helping humanity, smart people, real product, favorable timing, green field, and mutual like. Founders' backgrounds vary—Bahamas, Silicon Valley, North Carolina, Stanford lab. Their first hire was a circus performer.
Mount calls working with founders 'amazing,' with open, visionary, productive leaders. He has a MacBook Pro, Keychron Q1 Max keyboard, ultrawide monitor, and unrestricted access to Claude and Codex. His advice for early roles: embrace ambiguity, forget work-life balance, work in bursts. The company seeks engineers who want to help scientists find cures and can handle a two-day work trial.
