Backend Engineer
CTO & Technical Co-Founder
Zurich
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CTO & TECHNICAL CO-FOUNDER
Location: Zürich, Switzerland
Commitment: Part-time initially, transitioning to full-time after financing
Equity: 12–18%
Salary after financing: CHF 125,000 / year
Stage: Pre-seed / Prototype
ABOUT TRALKAN
Tralkan is building Sentinel, a command-and-control platform designed to coordinate autonomous systems, sensors and human teams from a single operational environment.
Our initial focus is complex operations involving drones, robotic systems and field teams, where fragmented tools and disconnected systems slow down decision-making.
Sentinel brings these elements together through a common operational picture, mission planning, live telemetry, video, incident management, AI-assisted detection and operational decision support.
Our ambition is to build an interoperable command-and-control layer for autonomous and human systems across civil protection, critical infrastructure, security and defence environments.
WHERE WE ARE TODAY
Sentinel has moved beyond the concept stage.
We currently have a functional, high-fidelity software prototype built around:
• Next.js / TypeScript
• Python services
• PostgreSQL / Neon
• Drizzle ORM
• Clerk
• MAVLink-oriented integration architecture
Hardware and flight-system experimentation has started, but end-to-end live integration is not yet production-ready.
The next stage is clear:
Software Prototype → Hardware Integration → Operational Pilot → Customer Validation → Scale
This is where the CTO comes in.
THE ROLE
You will join Tralkan as Technical Co-Founder and CTO, taking ownership of the technology function from its current prototype stage.
This is initially a highly hands-on role.
You will design architecture, write code, integrate systems, test hardware and make foundational technical decisions.
As the company grows, you will progressively build and lead the engineering organisation.
You will work directly with the founding team on product strategy, pilots, fundraising and the long-term technical direction of the company.
WHAT YOU WILL OWN
• Define Sentinel’s technical architecture
• Transform the current prototype into a robust operational platform
• Design the integration layer for drones, robotic systems, sensors and external platforms
• Build telemetry and command interfaces
• Develop MAVLink and potentially ROS / ROS2 integrations
• Design real-time communication architecture
• Integrate live video and payload control
• Build systems capable of operating under degraded connectivity
• Establish security, reliability and observability standards
• Integrate AI-based detection and decision-support systems
• Define engineering standards and processes
• Recruit and lead the future engineering team
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are looking for someone who combines strong software engineering fundamentals with systems thinking.
Relevant experience may come from areas such as:
• Robotics
• Autonomous systems
• Drones / UAVs
• Distributed systems
• Aerospace
• Defence technology
• Industrial automation
• IoT
• Mission-critical software
We would expect strong experience in several of the following:
• TypeScript / JavaScript
• Python
• Backend architecture
• APIs and distributed systems
• PostgreSQL
• Real-time systems
• WebSockets / messaging systems
• Cloud infrastructure
• Hardware / software integration
Experience with MAVLink, PX4, ArduPilot, ROS / ROS2, video streaming, computer vision, edge computing or secure communications would be particularly relevant.
You do not need experience in all of these areas.
What matters most is the ability to work across software, hardware and operational systems.
FOUNDER MINDSET
Technical capability is necessary, but it is not enough.
We are looking for someone who wants to build a company, not only a product.
That means being comfortable with:
• Ambiguity
• Rapid experimentation
• Customer discovery
• Field testing
• Fundraising
• Recruiting
• Making decisions with limited resources
You should be willing to challenge assumptions, take ownership and help shape both the technical and strategic direction of Tralkan.
COMMITMENT, EQUITY & COMPENSATION
The initial collaboration will be structured as a part-time founder phase.
Expected commitment:
Approximately 8–15 hours per week for an initial period of around 3 months.
The initial focus will be on:
• Reviewing the current architecture
• Defining the target technical architecture
• Establishing the hardware integration strategy
• Implementing the first end-to-end integrations
• Defining the roadmap toward a field-testable pilot
• Evaluating technical and founder alignment
**There is no salary during this initial phase.
Equity vesting begins from the agreed founder start date.**
We expect the CTO / Technical Co-Founder equity position to be approximately:
12–18%
with standard four-year vesting and a one-year cliff.
Following financing and successful founder alignment, the role transitions to full-time with an expected salary
of:
CHF 125,000 / year
plus the agreed founder equity position.
WHY JOIN
This is an opportunity to help define the technical foundations of a company working at the intersection of:
Autonomous Systems × Robotics × AI × Command & Control
You will not be joining an established engineering organisation.
You will help build it.
You will have significant influence over:
• Architecture
• Technology strategy
• Product direction
• Technical hiring
• Engineering culture
• Company strategy
If you want to help transform an existing prototype into a real operational platform and build the technology organisation behind it, we would like to hear from you.
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