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jamesjyu

18,070 karma · joined November 28, 2007

Science fiction writer & founder of Sudowrite.

Previously:

- Worked on consumer VR at Facebook before it became Meta.

- Co-founder of Parse (YC S11), acquired by Facebook.

- Psychoacoustics engineer at Dolby.

https://www.jamesyu.org

submissionscomments
jamesjyu··on Feeling Sad about AI
There's nothing new under the sun. The quality of your ideas and execution will still matter in this flood, as it always has been.
jamesjyu··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (September 2026)
Sudowrite | https://sudowrite.com | √ REMOTE (US) | √ PMF | √ PROFITABLE | Full-Time

Kind, smart, low-drama people, seeking the same to help make writing tools authors dream about.

Our users have published thousands of books using Sudowrite, and we're building a sustainable company, not chasing unrealistic growth targets set by VCs.

* We help the next generation of storytellers tell better stories.

* We believe the future of writing is AI & human collaboration.

* Co-founders both had prior exits.

—————————————————————

Hiring: Senior Mobile Developer

* Make writing on a phone a delight.

* You should have: Great taste and product sense, lots of agency, extensive React Native experience, and a sense of humor, adventure, and hope.

Comp: 160-180K, equity, 401K, profit share, retreats, unlimited books.

APPLY: https://sudowrite.com/jobs/mobile

jamesjyu··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (August 2026)
Sudowrite | https://sudowrite.com | √ REMOTE (US) | √ PMF | √ PROFITABLE | Full-Time

Kind, smart, low-drama people, seeking the same to help make writing tools authors dream about.

Our users have published thousands of books using Sudowrite, and we're building a sustainable company, not chasing unrealistic growth targets set by VCs.

* We help the next generation of storytellers tell better stories.

* We believe the future of writing is AI & human collaboration.

* Co-founders both had prior exits.

—————————————————————

Hiring: Senior Full-Stack Developer & Mobile Developer

* Build imaginative tools that help writers turn ideas into stories.

* Work across the stack: from expressive, responsive interfaces and text editing to the systems and AI infrastructure behind them.

* You should have: Great taste and product sense, lots of agency, strong React and backend experience, and a sense of humor, adventure, and hope.

* Comp: $160K–$180K, equity, 401(k), profit sharing, retreats, and unlimited books.

APPLY FULL-STACK: https://sudowrite.com/jobs/full-stack

APPLY MOBILE: https://sudowrite.com/jobs/mobile

jamesjyu··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (July 2026)
Sudowrite | https://sudowrite.com | √ REMOTE (US) | √ PMF | √ PROFITABLE | Full-Time

Kind, smart, low-drama people, seeking the same to help make writing tools authors dream about.

Our users have published thousands of books using Sudowrite, and we're building a sustainable company, not chasing unrealistic growth targets set by VCs.

* We help the next generation of storytellers tell better stories.

* We believe the future of writing is AI & human collaboration.

* Co-founders both had prior exits.

—————————————————————

Hiring: Senior Mobile Developer

* Make writing on a phone a delight.

* You should have: Great taste and product sense, lots of agency, extensive React Native experience, and a sense of humor, adventure, and hope.

Comp: 160-180K, equity, 401K, profit share, retreats, unlimited books.

APPLY: https://sudowrite.com/jobs/mobile

—————————————————————

Hiring: Senior Full-Stack Developer

* Build imaginative tools that help writers turn ideas into stories.

* Work across the stack: from expressive, responsive interfaces and text editing to the systems and AI infrastructure behind them.

* You should have: Great taste and product sense, lots of agency, strong React and backend experience, and a sense of humor, adventure, and hope.

* Comp: $160K–$180K, equity, 401(k), profit sharing, retreats, and unlimited books.

APPLY: https://sudowrite.com/jobs/full-stack

jamesjyu··on Chipotlai Max
Next up: using Chipotle AI to solve Erdős problems
jamesjyu··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (June 2026)
Sudowrite | https://sudowrite.com | √ REMOTE (US) | √ PMF | √ PROFITABLE | Full-Time

Kind, smart, low-drama people, seeking the same to help make writing tools authors dream about.

Our users have published thousands of books using Sudowrite, and we're building a sustainable company, not chasing unrealistic growth targets set by VCs.

* We help the next generation of storytellers tell better stories.

* We believe the future of writing is AI & human collaboration.

* Co-founders both had prior exits.

—————————————————————

Hiring: Senior Mobile Developer

* Make writing on a phone a delight.

* You should have: Great taste and product sense, lots of agency, extensive React Native experience, and a sense of humor, adventure, and hope.

* Nice to have: You write, you code, you're good at animation. Comp: 160-180K, equity, 401K, profit share, retreats, unlimited books.

—————————————————————

APPLY: https://sudowrite.com/jobs/mobile

jamesjyu··on Ping-pong robot beats top-level human players
It was actually called ping pong until it became a trademark dispute, and the sport had to call it table tennis!
jamesjyu··on The struggle of resizing windows on macOS Tahoe
I highly recommend Moves, which makes it possible to resize with a modifier key drag within any part of the window: https://mikkelmalmberg.com/moves
jamesjyu··on This is not the future
This is a very reductionist claim about how people use AI in their art process. The truth is that the best artists use AI in a sort of dance between the human and machine. But always, the human is the prime mover through a process of iteration.
jamesjyu··on Don't push AI down our throats
What's even more impressive is the retention charts: https://x.com/far33d/status/1981031672142504146

Every single cohort is smiling upward from the past two years. That is insane, especially at their scale! AI is useful to people.

jamesjyu··on Two things LLM coding agents are still bad at
For #2, if you're working on a big feature, start with a markdown planning file that you and the LLM work on until you are satisfied with the approach. Doesn't need to be rocket science: even if it's just a couple paragraphs it's much better than doing it one shot.
jamesjyu··on OpenAI Is Just Another Boring, Desperate AI Startup
Huge brand moat. Consumers around the world equate AI with ChatGPT. That kind of recognition is an extremely difficult thing to pull off, and also hard to unseat as long as they play their cards right.
jamesjyu··on AI might yet follow the path of previous technological revolutions
I think a better term is "word synthesizer"
jamesjyu··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (August 2025)
Sudowrite | https://sudowrite.com | √ remote | √ profitable | √ full-time

PROFITABLE, SUSTAINABLE SMALL TEAM, MAKING SOMETHING PEOPLE WANT

Kind, smart, low-drama people, seeking the same to help make writing tools authors dream about.

We're building a sustainable company, not chasing unrealistic growth targets set by VCs.

—————————————————————

Hiring: Staff Product Designer

This is the best job listing you will read this year: https://sudowrite.com/jobs/designer

—————————————————————

jamesjyu··on ALICE detects the conversion of lead into gold at the LHC
There is a great classic sci-fi book that explores this: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Cloud-Fred-Hoyle/dp/0140014667
jamesjyu··on A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn
This is what we did for Sudowrite. Took a small seed and got to profitability within 2 years by hiring within our means and laser focusing on our users. Happy to answer questions!
jamesjyu··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (April 2025)
Sudowrite | REMOTE | √ PMF | Full-Time | Hiring: AI Engineer

PROFITABLE, SUSTAINABLE SMALL TEAM, MAKING SOMETHING PEOPLE WANT.

We are a group of friendly, smart, low-drama people, seeking the same to help us make writing tools authors dream about.

Our users have published hundreds of books using Sudowrite, and we're committed to building a sustainable company, not chasing unrealistic growth targets set by VCs.

We're on year two of profitability, and not planning to raise again. This will be the second year we've paid out a profit-sharing bonus.

- Sudowrite is the best AI for authors. We help the next generation of storytellers tell better stories.

- We believe the future of writing is AI & human collaboration.

- We've been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and everywhere else we care about.

- We're 100% remote. We meet in person a few times of year in places like LA, Portland, and Hawaii.

- We work with a coach and value self-awareness and growth.

- We encourage diverse candidates within 2 hours of USA timezones to apply.

We are hiring an AI Engineer who writes and loves literature. Details here: https://r.people.capital/sudowrite-ai

jamesjyu··on Show HN: I vibecoded a 35k LoC recipe app
Also wow, pho from scratch in 30 minutes? https://www.recipeninja.ai/recipe/r_f0IwybXaymnGzp/spicy-pho...
jamesjyu··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (March 2025)
Sudowrite | REMOTE | √ PMF | Full-Time | Hiring: AI Engineer

PROFITABLE, SUSTAINABLE SMALL TEAM, MAKING SOMETHING PEOPLE WANT.

We are a group of friendly, smart, low-drama people, seeking the same to help us make writing tools authors dream about.

Our users have published hundreds of books using Sudowrite, and we're committed to building a sustainable company, not chasing unrealistic growth targets set by VCs.

We're on year two of profitability, and not planning to raise again. This will be the second year we've paid out a profit-sharing bonus.

- Sudowrite is the best AI for authors. We help the next generation of storytellers tell better stories.

- We believe the future of writing is AI & human collaboration.

- We've been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and everywhere else we care about.

- We're 100% remote. We meet in person a few times of year in places like LA, Portland, and Hawaii.

- We work with a coach and value self-awareness and growth.

- We encourage diverse candidates within 2 hours of USA timezones to apply.

We are hiring an AI Engineer who loves literature. Details here: https://r.people.capital/sudowrite-ai

jamesjyu··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (February 2025)
Sudowrite | REMOTE | √ PMF | Full-Time | Hiring: AI Engineer

PROFITABLE, SUSTAINABLE SMALL TEAM, MAKING SOMETHING PEOPLE WANT.

We are a group of friendly, smart, low-drama people, seeking the same to help us make writing tools authors dream about.

Our users have published hundreds of books using Sudowrite, and we're committed to building a sustainable company, not chasing unrealistic growth targets set by VCs.

We're on year two of profitability, and not planning to raise again. This will be the second year we've paid out a profit-sharing bonus.

- Sudowrite is the best AI for authors. We help the next generation of storytellers tell better stories.

- We believe the future of writing is AI & human collaboration.

- We've been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and everywhere else we care about.

- We're 100% remote. We meet in person a few times of year in places like LA, Portland, and Hawaii.

- We work with a coach and value self-awareness and growth.

- We encourage diverse candidates within 2 hours of USA timezones to apply.

We are hiring an AI Engineer who loves literature. Details here: https://r.people.capital/sudowrite-ai

jamesjyu··on Kimchi Refrigerator
Kimchi is so important in Korean culture they sent it with their astronauts

"If a Korean goes to space, kimchi must go there, too"

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/22/world/asia/22iht-kimchi.1...

jamesjyu··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (December 2024)
Sudowrite | REMOTE | √ PMF | Full-Time | Hiring: AI Engineer and Head of Growth

PROFITABLE, SUSTAINABLE SMALL TEAM, MAKING SOMETHING PEOPLE WANT.

We are a group of friendly, smart, low-drama people, seeking the same to help us make writing tools authors dream about.

Our users have published hundreds of books using Sudowrite, and we're committed to building a sustainable company, not chasing unrealistic growth targets set by VCs.

We're on year two of profitability, and not planning to raise again. This will be the second year we've paid out a profit-sharing bonus.

- Sudowrite is the best AI for authors. We help the next generation of storytellers tell better stories.

- We believe the future of writing is AI & human collaboration.

- We've been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and everywhere else we care about.

- We're 100% remote. We meet in person a few times of year in places like LA, Portland, and Hawaii.

- We work with a coach and value self-awareness and growth.

- We encourage diverse candidates within 2 hours of USA timezones to apply.

We are hiring an AI Engineer and Head of Growth.

Details here: https://sudowrite.notion.site/We-re-hiring-engineers-to-make...

and here: https://sudowrite.notion.site/We-re-hiring-a-Head-of-Growth-...

jamesjyu··on Ask HN: Founders, what was the major sourcing channel for your first 100 users?
First startup: HN

Second startup: word of mouth

jamesjyu··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (October 2024)
Sudowrite | REMOTE | Full-Time | Hiring: AI Engineer and Head of Growth

- We believe the future of writing is AI & human collaboration. Sudowrite is the best AI for creative writers.

- We are profitable with a rapidly growing paying user base.

- We've been featured in The New York Times, New Yorker, Verge, etc.

- We believe new tools will enable a renaissance in art & creativity and we want to help the next generation of storytellers tell better stories.

- We’re 100% remote and support work-life balance. We meet up in person a few times of year, last time in Los Angeles. We encourage diverse candidates who can work within 2 hours of USA timezones to apply.

We are hiring a staff AI Engineer and Head of Growth. Details here: https://r.people.capital/sudowrite-ai and https://sudowrite.notion.site/We-re-hiring-a-Head-of-Growth-...

jamesjyu··on SpaceX launches mission for 2 NASA astronauts who are stuck on the ISS
Time to deploy trusted AI managers to all reference frames.
jamesjyu··on SpaceX launches mission for 2 NASA astronauts who are stuck on the ISS
This brings up an interesting question of salary for near-lightspeed travel. Is it Earth's frame of reference, or the astronauts?
jamesjyu··on Show HN: Laminar – Open-Source DataDog + PostHog for LLM Apps, Built in Rust
How do you compare to say, Langfuse?
jamesjyu··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (September 2024)
Sudowrite | REMOTE | Full-Time | Hiring: AI Engineer

- We believe the future of writing is AI & human collaboration. Sudowrite is the best AI for creative writers.

- We are profitable with a rapidly growing paying user base.

- We've been featured in The New York Times, New Yorker, Verge, etc.

- We believe new tools will enable a renaissance in art & creativity and we want to help the next generation of storytellers tell better stories.

- We’re 100% remote and support work-life balance. We meet up in person a few times of year, last time in Los Angeles. We encourage diverse candidates who can work within 2 hours of USA timezones to apply.

We are hiring a staff AI Engineer. Details here: https://r.people.capital/sudowrite-ai

jamesjyu··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (August 2024)
Sudowrite | REMOTE | Full-Time or Contract | Hiring: AI Engineer

- We believe the future of writing is AI & human collaboration. Sudowrite is the best AI for creative writers.

- We are profitable with a rapidly growing paying user base.

- We've been featured in The New York Times, New Yorker, Verge, etc.

- We believe new tools will enable a renaissance in art & creativity and we want to help the next generation of storytellers tell better stories.

- We’re 100% remote and support work-life balance. We meet up in person a few times of year, last time in Los Angeles. We encourage diverse candidates who can work within 2 hours of USA timezones to apply.

We are hiring for two roles:

1/ A short-term contracting position for an experienced AI Engineer to create a turnkey fine-tuning process that matches author styles. Email james@sudowrite.com to apply.

2/ A full-time position as staff AI Engineer. Details here: https://r.people.capital/sudowrite-ai

jamesjyu··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (July 2024)
Sudowrite | REMOTE | Full-Time | Competitive Salary + Equity | Hiring: AI Engineer

- We believe the future of writing is AI & human collaboration. Sudowrite is the best AI for creative writers.

- We are profitable with a rapidly growing paying user base.

- We've been featured in The New York Times, New Yorker, Verge, etc.

- We believe new tools will enable a renaissance in art & creativity and we want to help the next generation of storytellers tell better stories.

- We’re 100% remote and support work-life balance. We meet up in person a few times of year, last time in Portland. We encourage diverse candidates from all over the world to apply.

- Details: https://r.people.capital/sudowrite-ai

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