San Francisco, On-site: Join Enhanced Radar as a Founding Engineer for next-gen air traffic control systems. Must be a licensed pilot with early-stage startup experience. Proficient in C, Rust, or Go. Work across the stack on AI and hardware. Visa sponsorship available. Salary: $170k-$270k.

Enhanced Radar is building AI for air traffic control. We train our own state of the art transcript, language, and vision models for airspace understanding. Our data stack is entirely self-managed from building the radio hardware to running data labeling. Our AI is currently deployed alongside radar + ADS-B services for airspace compliance monitoring.We're the team behind Y2, aviation's state of the art speech recognition model and are a team comprised 100% of pilots.

Co-Founder and CEO

Enhanced Radar

You'll be joining at the ground floor of building next-generation air traffic
control systems, working across our entire technology stack as needed. Given our
early stage, your role will be highly flexible – you might work on backend
systems, AI model training, hardware integration, or whatever technical
challenges arise. We need someone who can adapt quickly and take ownership of
critical projects that directly impact our mission to improve aviation safety.

Eric Button

default plan

Behavioural and culture fit with deep dive into prior experience and mission alignment

CEO Screen

Technical screen and problem solving ability

CTO Screen

Understanding how they work with the team

Paid Work Trial

Founding Engineer

You'll be joining at the ground floor of building next-generation air traffic control systems, working across our entire technology stack as needed. Given our early stage, your role will be highly flexible – you might work on backend systems, AI model training, hardware integration, or whatever technical challenges arise. We need someone who can adapt quickly and take ownership of critical projects that directly impact our mission to improve aviation safety.

Accomplished backend engineer (proficient in C, Rust, or Go) but willing to work across the stack if required

Degree in aeronautical engineering is a good signal but not required

Licensed pilot or unparalleled passion for aviation is a critical must-have

Aviation industry experience (e.g., aircraft manufacturing, aviation systems or software) preferred; knowledge of regulations and technical requirements helps

Founding engineer or other true early stage start-up experience (e.g., first 5-10 employees rather than 30th employee)

Must have worked at product companies only (no consultants or strategists or service companies)

Here's a summary of key insights for evaluating Founding Engineer applicants:

*   **Core Technical Skills:** Prioritize strong backend fundamentals in languages like C, Rust, or Go. While willingness to work across the stack is valued, deep backend proficiency is essential.
*   **Aviation Passion/Expertise:** A licensed pilot or someone with unparalleled passion for aviation is a critical requirement. Aviation industry experience (manufacturing, systems, software) and knowledge of regulations are highly preferred.
*   **Early-Stage Startup Experience:** Candidates must have true early-stage startup experience (e.g., first 5-10 employees), not just experience in larger, established companies. Product company experience is a must; consultants or service companies are not a fit.
*   **Mission Alignment & Drive:** Look for candidates who demonstrate clear mission alignment and can thrive in a high-pressure, ambiguous startup environment. Candidates who value "doing" over "style" are preferred.
*   **AI/ML Background (Secondary):** While not the primary focus for the general Founding Engineer role, AI/ML experience is a plus, especially if it complements aviation knowledge. Avoid candidates whose primary background is data science without strong engineering fundamentals.
*   **Success Factors:** Ideal candidates possess a strong technical foundation, founder mentality, and relevant experience in high-growth, non-big tech startups.
*   **Failure Factors:** Lack of mission alignment, inability to handle ambiguity, weak technical ability, and a lack of aviation passion or experience are key disqualifiers. Candidates who are primarily "architects" without recent daily coding experience may also be a concern.

100% in-person in SF (c.70-80 hours per week)

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