CTO & Technical Co-FounderLead the engineering of Sentinel Command, our platform coordinating drones, robots and human teams for autonomous emergency response. Hands-on co-founder role with meaningful equity.About TRALKANTRALKAN is a Swiss company building SENTINEL Command, a command and coordination platform for autonomous aerial emergency response. We work with the organisations that respond when something is on fire, someone is missing, or infrastructure fails.The roleYou'd be joining as the first technical hire and co-founder, working alongside a founding team that is already contributing part-time toward the same funding milestone - this isn't a leap of faith into an empty room.Sentinel Command exists today as a working software platform, validated through progressively integrated operational use cases. You'd own the technical architecture required to take it from its current state toward coordinating real drones and ground robots in the field - leading the transition from software prototype toward increasingly integrated operational validation.What you'll doAssess the current platform and define the technical path toward operational validationDevelop core workflows for operational requests, approvals, asset coordination and traceabilityDesign modular interfaces for drones, robots, sensors and external systemsEnsure reliable telemetry, video and operational state management under poor connectivityEstablish standards for security, access control, testing, deployment and observabilityAssess and integrate AI assistance with clear human oversightEngage prospective users to validate assumptions and translate operational needsRecruit and mentor the initial engineering team as we scale post-fundingWhat you bringDemonstrated track record shipping software used by real customers or operational teamsStrong backend and systems engineering: APIs, event-driven workflows, databases, real-time dataExperience integrating software with devices, robotics or industrial systemsFull-stack capability with direct involvement in implementation and debuggingSound judgment on reliability, security and failure handlingProduct mindset: scope reduction, assumption testing, clear technical trade-off communicationAbility to share ownership and navigate uncertainty with founding teamsProfessional English proficiencyNice to havePython, TypeScript, React or Next.js experienceFamiliarity with autonomous-systems middleware, flight-control integration or manufacturer SDKsGeospatial applications, video streaming, edge computing or disconnected operationsAI model evaluation and workflow integration experienceEmergency response, critical infrastructure, robotics or defence sector exposureRegulatory or certification experience relevant to drone operations (EASA, BVLOS, U-space)Field trials or early customer deployment experienceGerman language proficiency - genuinely useful given the operational stakeholders (fire services, civil protection, municipalities) we work with in SwitzerlandWhat we offerWe're upfront that this is a two-phase arrangement, and we'd rather you know that going in than discover a mismatch later.Phase 1 - pre-financing (current stage): part-time or parallel commitment, structured around your availability - the same arrangement the rest of the founding team operates under today. No salary during this phase, but equity vesting begins on your start date, not on funding close.Phase 2 - post-financing: transition to full-time at the compensation listed below, with continued vesting under the same schedule agreed in Phase 1 - no re-negotiation required to convert.Co-founder equity in the 12-18% range, vesting over 4 years with a 1-year cliff. Where you land in that range depends on timing of commitment, scope of ownership, and risk assumed pre-funding - we'll walk through the specific reasoning with you directly. Standard double-trigger acceleration applies on acquisition or founder departure (negotiable). Founder equity is subject to the same vesting logic - this is built with symmetric skin in the game, not just yours.Our hiring processApplication review - We read every application. You hear back either way, within 5 working days.First conversation - 45 minutes with the founder. What you have built, what you want to build.Technical conversation or case - Real work, scoped to a couple of hours. Never unpaid production work.Final conversation - Scope, expectations, compensation, and your questions.Offer - Written, with the numbers spelled out.Practical detailsLocation SwitzerlandWork mode HybridContract Part-timeSeniority Executive / Co-founderStart date By agreementLanguages English, German (nice to have), Spanish (nice to have)Compensation CHF / year #J-18808-Ljbffr
CTO & Technical Co-Founder in Zürich
