The role of founding engineer is generally a rip-off if the salary isn't market rate. If you're not an actual founder, my advice is to ignore the equity entirel

The role of founding engineer is generally a rip-off if the salary isn't market rate. If you're not an actual founder, my advice is to ignore the equity entirely, try your best to get market rate, and look at the opportunity as a means to grow. If you can't get close to market rate or you're not breaking into some hard-to-reach industry/vertical that will help your career, then keep moving.