What This Company Actually Does

This is a European defence software startup operating between Paris and Warsaw. They build software for military and police units, tools designed to work in hostile, constrained, real-world conditions. No weapons systems, no hardware. Pure software, deployed into environments most developers never see.

They are in stealth, already recognized as one of France's top 20 seed companies, and backed by Project A (a leading European defence VC) alongside angel investors who founded Cloudflare, Quantum Systems, and ElevenLabs.

What You'll Actually Do

This is a founding-team role, meaning you are among the first hires and your fingerprints will be on how this company operates. Day to day, you will:

• Deploy working software prototypes directly with early military and police customers in Warsaw

• Travel frequently to customer sites — this is not occasional, it is a core part of the job

• Close the gap between what the product does in general and what each customer needs in the field, meaning bespoke integrations, quick patches, and adaptations that don't scale yet

• Work with real-time audio streaming systems and low-latency voice technology

• Communicate complex technical behaviour clearly to non-technical people in high-stakes settings, since commanding officers are not engineers

• Work directly with the founders, with no PM layer, no sprint ceremonies, no tickets handed down from above

What the Work Is Actually Like

Rapid prototyping is the mode, not the exception. You will regularly work with incomplete briefs, short timelines, and customers who expect things to work under pressure. Solutions often won't be elegant. Getting real-world signal from the field matters more right now than clean abstractions. This is intentional, not a failure of planning.

You will also be operating in environments that are new to most software engineers. Military and police organisations have distinct decision-making structures, security constraints, and operational cultures. If you've never worked near these environments before, be honest with yourself. This gap is real and will show up early.

What You Need to Bring

Must-haves:

• Solid software engineering generalist skills, comfortable across the stack, able to ship without ideal conditions

• Hands-on experience implementing AI systems in resource-constrained or operationally sensitive environments (edge devices, degraded networks, field hardware)

• Working knowledge of audio processing and real-time/low-latency systems — you don't need to be a specialist, but you need to be comfortable getting into it

• High tolerance for ambiguity, meaning you figure things out rather than waiting for a clearer brief

Strong advantage (honestly assessed):

• Prior experience working with or inside military or police organisations. Understanding how these customers think, buy, and operate makes a concrete difference in this role.

What You Won't Find Here

• Remote work. This role is on-site in Warsaw, with regular travel to customer locations.

• A large team to hide in. This is a small, senior group where everyone owns their work fully.

• Defined career ladders or structured onboarding. The company is too early for that.

• Work that is fully scoped before you start. If that's what you need, this isn't the right fit.

Compensation

• Salary: €70,000 to €110,000 depending on experience

• Equity: Meaningful founding-team equity (vesting terms to be discussed)

• Relocation support: Available if needed

A Note on Inclusion

This company works in defence, a sector that has historically been less diverse than it should be. They are not looking for a particular background, gender, nationality, or military pedigree. What they need is someone who can ship software in difficult conditions, communicate clearly under pressure, and operate with autonomy. If that's you, regardless of your path to this point, this role is genuinely open to you.