Senior Software Engineer Data

Location: Santa Monica, CA (Onsite)
Position Type: Full-Time (Permanent)
Work Policy: In-Person
Start Timeline: ASAP

About

A high-growth aviation tech startup building the future of airside operations through an integrated AI ecosystem that connects ramp crews, vehicles, and aircraft. Their flagship product, HALO, is the world’s first AI-powered Ground Traffic Control platform, automating and streamlining aircraft turnaround processes. With multi-million dollar contracts across commercial and defense sectors, they are modernizing aviation logistics to maximize efficiency and reduce delays. The engineering team operates with high autonomy and focuses on building quickly, learning rapidly, and owning outcomes end-to-end.

Why join

• Join a high-growth aviation tech startup solving real-world operational problems

• Build foundational data infrastructure for the first-ever AI Ground Traffic Control platform

• Experience a startup environment with strong ownership and product influence

• Competitive compensation and equity, full medical benefits, catered lunches, and global travel to airfields

Compensation

Base Salary: $180,000 - $200,000
Equity: Competitive
Visa Sponsorship: Not available

Tech environment

Languages: Go, Java (or similar backend languages)
Frameworks/Systems: Kafka, Airflow, Debezium
Infrastructure: AWS, GCP, Terraform
Databases: SQL and NoSQL databases
APIs: REST, gRPC
Other: Real-time, event-driven systems (MQTT, WebSockets)

Role summary

Seeking a cross-functional Senior Software Engineer Data to take end-to-end ownership of HALO’s real-time data platform. This includes ingesting and processing data from ground equipment and sensors, architecting infrastructure and APIs, and collaborating directly with hardware vendors, end users, and internal teams. This is a full-stack role focused on high-throughput, low-latency systemsnot a backend-only position.

Responsibilities

• Own the full data lifecycle: ingestion, validation, processing, storage, and delivery

• Build infrastructure-as-code and deploy scalable ingestion services

• Design and expose well-structured REST and gRPC APIs

• Collaborate with vendors and operations teams to resolve field-level edge cases

• Maintain high reliability, performance, and observability across systems

• Ensure data integrity through testing and real-time monitoring

• Lead CI/CD practices and improve system scalability and uptime

Must-have qualifications

• 4+ years of experience as a software or data engineer

• Deep experience building and operating data pipelines (Kafka, Airflow, Debezium, etc.)

• Familiarity with cloud-native infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Terraform)

• Strong command of SQL and NoSQL databases, including schema design and tuning

• Proficient in Go, Java, or similar backend language

• Experience with REST and/or gRPC APIs

• Strong product sensecomfortable working directly with users and vendors

• Excellent communication and problem-solving skills

• Startup experience with high autonomy and cross-functional collaboration

• Must be based in or willing to relocate to Los Angeles (on-site role)

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with real-time, event-driven systems (e.g., MQTT, WebSockets)

• Background in aviation, mobility, IoT, logistics, or fleet telemetry

• Prior experience at an early-stage VC-backed startup

• Experience with GPS, sensor, or telematics data systems