Demo

ML/AI Founding Engineer

Navi AI
San Francisco, CA Full Time
POSTED ON 1/6/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 7/4/2026

As an AI/ML Engineer, you’ll design and deploy the machine learning systems that power everything from student training flights to commercial airline operations to high-performance fighter jet sorties.


Mission

At Navi, artificial intelligence isn’t an experiment — it’s mission-critical. We’re building the AI co-pilot that will analyze flight data, interpret human performance, and deliver feedback that makes pilots safer and more effective. As an AI/ML Engineer, you’ll design and deploy the machine learning systems that power everything from student training flights to commercial airline operations to high-performance fighter jet sorties.


Responsibilities
  • Model Development: Design, train, and deploy machine learning models that assess pilot performance and generate actionable feedback.
  • Integration: Collaborate with full-stack and product teams to ensure AI models integrate seamlessly into cockpit-ready tools.
  • Optimization: Tune algorithms for speed and accuracy to handle real-time telemetry, cockpit audio, and large-scale flight datasets.
  • Infrastructure: Build robust APIs and backend systems for scalable inference across schools, airlines, and squadrons.
  • Continuous Learning: Architect systems that improve over time, incorporating new data and evolving with pilot performance.
  • Research: Stay ahead of the curve on ML techniques, applying advances in AI to aviation and defense.


About You
  • Strong background in machine learning and AI, with hands-on experience in Python and frameworks like TensorFlow or PyTorch.
  • Skilled in backend engineering: APIs, databases, and scalable infrastructure.
  • Experience deploying ML models in cloud environments (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
  • Comfortable working with large, complex datasets and building real-time data pipelines.
  • Analytical, collaborative, and relentless about solving hard problems.
  • Bonus: knowledge of aviation, simulation, or flight dynamics.


Why This Role Matters

Pilots trust their instruments with their lives. The models you build must earn that same trust — precise, reliable, and battle-tested. As one of Navi’s first AI engineers, you’ll help define the intelligence behind our co-pilot system and shape how aviation training evolves across the world.


What You’ll Get
  • Early-stage equity — ownership in a company redefining aviation and defense.
  • Flight training — earn your pilot’s license and apply AI insights with firsthand knowledge.
  • Cutting-edge challenges — real-world ML on telemetry, audio, and human performance data.
  • Community — join a crew that codes by day and flies together on weekends to destinations like Truckee, Sedona, or Catalina.


Salary.com Estimation for ML/AI Founding Engineer in San Francisco, CA
$177,752 to $225,475
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