Software Engineer - Defense Practice

As a Software Engineer in the Defense Practice, you will help own Navi’s military product from ingest through analysis to the interfaces used by squadron commanders, instructor pilots, and test pilots. This role is based onsite at Edwards and focuses on building integrations and debrief intelligence from military sorties while working within defense security and deployment constraints.

Responsibilities

• Own Navi’s military product end to end, including ingest, analysis, and the interfaces relied on by squadron commanders, instructor pilots, and test pilots
• Build integrations that move flight data off military aircraft into Navi, including telemetry, cockpit audio, and avionics formats, as well as any data available from the airframe
• Convert sortie data into debrief intelligence that meets military debrief standards, including maneuver analysis, grade sheets, and trend detection across a training pipeline
• Work onsite at Edwards and other installations, embedded with operators, translating operational needs into engineering decisions and shipped product
• Navigate defense deployment realities such as restricted networks, accreditation, data handling, and related constraints
• Make architecture decisions that allow the military product and the commercial product to share a common foundation without compromising either
• Serve as Navi’s technical voice with Air Force stakeholders, providing credibility in stakeholder discussions and then executing that alignment into product delivery

Requirements

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a track record of building and operating complex production systems
• Demonstrated ability to own projects end to end, including scoping, design, implementation, launch, and iteration, with minimal direction
• Deep expertise in at least one core area: backend systems, data engineering, distributed infrastructure, or full-stack, with working fluency across others
• Comfort working directly with non-technical users and translating operator needs into engineering decisions
• Ability to stay effective with changing requirements after the first flight and in situations where ownership or process is unclear
• Willingness to travel to military installations regularly and spend time on the ground with users
• U.S. citizenship and eligibility to obtain a U.S. security clearance

Benefits

• Early-stage equity with real ownership in a category-defining company
• Flight training to earn your pilot’s license while building domain expertise
• Access no engineer gets, including flight lines, test squadrons, and the operators using what you built
• A role that can scale into technical leadership for Navi’s defense business as the organization grows

Nice to Have

• Experience as a former fighter pilot who transitioned into software engineering
• Prior service as a military pilot in any airframe, or as a WSO, NFO, or instructor pilot
• Experience at a test wing, weapons school, or formal training unit
• Familiarity with avionics data formats, flight test instrumentation, or aircraft data buses
• Experience building software inside DoD environments, including accreditation, ATOs, and classified networks
• Active or prior security clearance
• Early-stage or founding engineering experience

How We Work

• Find a way: move forward without waiting for permission or perfect information
• Creativity over control: prioritize first principles and solutions that work today over ideal plans for later
• Update fast: bring a hypothesis, learn from data, and adjust quickly
• Intensity with focus: match the effort to the mission, with clarity on what matters to sustain long-term delivery