Company stage: Pre-launch / product development
Compensation: Founder equity; cash compensation dependent on funding and commercial progress
About SkyGuard Intelligence:
SkyGuard Intelligence is building an autonomous aerial-security platform for businesses, public-safety agencies and residential environments.
Our objective is to put intelligent eyes on a security incident within seconds, giving operators and emergency-response teams real-time information before personnel arrive on site.
The SkyGuard platform brings together three core components:
- Autonomous security drones equipped with visual and thermal sensors
- Automated docking stations for launch, landing, charging and continuous readiness
- A browser-based command platform for mission planning, fleet monitoring, live video, AI-generated alerts and incident management
Potential applications include autonomous perimeter patrols, alarm verification, Drone-as-First-Responder operations, search and rescue, industrial-site monitoring, event security and emergency-response support.
SkyGuard Intelligence is currently in the product-development and pilot-design stage. We are now looking for a highly committed Technical Co-Founder who can turn the company’s vision and product architecture into a deployable, secure and scalable platform.
The Opportunity:
This is not a conventional employee position.
You will join SkyGuard Intelligence as a true co-founder and take ownership of the company’s technology, product-development strategy and engineering execution. You will work directly with the founder to validate the product, build the technical team, develop pilot deployments and prepare the company for fundraising and commercial launch.
The ideal person combines strong engineering ability with founder-level ownership. You should be comfortable moving between architecture, coding, hardware integration, product decisions, customer discussions and investor conversations.
You do not need to have built an entire drone platform before, but you must be able to lead the development of a complex system involving autonomous hardware, real-time software, video, artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure and operational safety.
Your Responsibilities:
As Technical Co-Founder and CTO, you will:
- Define the technical architecture and development roadmap for the SkyGuard platform
- Lead the development of the SG-Command fleet-management and mission-control platform
- Build or supervise real-time drone telemetry, live mapping, alert management and video-streaming capabilities
- Integrate drones, docking stations, sensors, cameras and third-party hardware into one operational platform
- Develop integrations with alarm systems, video-management systems and emergency-dispatch platforms
- Evaluate whether key components should be developed internally, licensed or integrated from specialist partners
- Build secure cloud infrastructure for fleet management, mission data, video storage and audit logs
- Implement privacy-by-design features such as geofencing, privacy zones, role-based access and configurable data-retention policies
- Support computer-vision capabilities for detecting people, vehicles, fires, smoke, thermal signatures and perimeter intrusions
- Design safety systems for low battery, loss of communication, GPS degradation, adverse weather and emergency return-to-home procedures
- Recruit and lead the initial engineering team and manage external technology partners
- Translate customer and pilot-partner requirements into clear technical priorities
- Support technical due diligence, fundraising and discussions with investors, regulators and strategic partners
- Establish engineering standards covering cybersecurity, testing, documentation, deployment and operational reliability
- Participate in pilot installations and take responsibility for resolving technical issues in the field
What We Are Looking For:
We are looking for an entrepreneurial engineer or technical product leader with several of the following capabilities:
- Strong software-engineering experience in Python, C++, JavaScript, TypeScript, Rust, Go or comparable technologies
- Experience building production-grade web applications, cloud platforms or real-time operational dashboards
- Knowledge of robotics, autonomous systems, drones, aviation software or connected hardware
- Experience with UAV protocols and ecosystems such as MAVLink, PX4, ArduPilot or DJI development tools
- Understanding of real-time telemetry, mapping, geospatial data and mission-planning systems
- Experience with video streaming, computer vision, thermal imaging or edge-AI applications
- Familiarity with cloud infrastructure, APIs, databases, message queues and event-driven systems
- Strong understanding of cybersecurity, encryption, identity management and secure system design
- Ability to integrate software with physical hardware, sensors and third-party systems
- Experience building a technical team, managing engineers or leading complex product development
- Professional proficiency in English; German, Italian or French would be valuable
- Ability to work in or regularly travel to Switzerland and European locations
Experience with EASA drone regulations, BVLOS operations, GDPR, public-safety technology, physical security or critical infrastructure would be highly valuable, but is not required in every candidate.
Founder Profile
Technical skills alone are not enough for this role. We are looking for someone who:
- Wants to build a company rather than simply complete assigned engineering tasks
- Can make decisions with incomplete information and limited early-stage resources
- Is prepared to write code and solve practical problems personally
- Takes responsibility for results, deadlines and product quality
- Communicates clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Is comfortable speaking with customers, regulators, investors and commercial partners
- Understands the responsibility involved in developing autonomous systems used in security and public-safety environments
- Shares our belief that privacy, accountability and operational safety must be built into the product from the beginning
- Is prepared to make a meaningful, long-term and full-time commitment to the company
What You Will Receive:
- A genuine co-founder position with meaningful founder equity
- Direct influence over the product, architecture, team and company strategy
- The opportunity to build a European autonomous-drone-security company from an early stage
- Access to potential commercial, public-safety and technology partners
- A leadership position in a product combining robotics, artificial intelligence, security and emergency-response technology
- The opportunity to recruit and lead the company’s engineering organization
- Cash compensation as company financing and commercial progress permit, with the structure discussed transparently during the process
Benefits:
- Company events
- Long-term profit-sharing plan
- Parental leave
- Work from home
Application Question(s):
- LinkedIn link:
- What is the most technically complex product or system you have personally built or launched?
- What relevant experience do you have with drones, robotics, computer vision, real-time software, cloud platforms or connected hardware?
Education:
Language:
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Lugano, TI
