Front-End Software Engineering Intern

**Ideal start date is September 1st**



NOTE: Do not apply via whichever website you are seeing this job description. Apply via this link instead: https://forms.gle/YkUNuHDijFNNJjj68 (see details below)



IMPORTANT - MUST READ: One note on this, this is for an early stage startup thats gone through a prestigious incubator. As such, it'll be an extremely unique learning experience you wouldn't find anywhere else, but it does mean that it doesn't make financial sense to do salaried internships at this time, so this is not salaried (but we hope they will turn into our core team), but happy to compensate with equity depending on how much you contribute. Its ultra-flexible, you can pick your own projects, and its less than part-time (10-20 hours is fine), so that if you do need an income during the time you're with us you can also be working any other job to get that, which wed help you secure, as well as providing excellent letters of recommendation. This is obviously a unique situation, but we've given a lot of thought towards how we can make it a worthwhile and ethical one, so take a look and read the job description below. Also there is no specifically defined end date for this internship, so you can continue to work as long as you're getting value out of it! We hope you'll consider it!

Hey, Hi, Hello!

My name is Connor Wilson. Im the Founder and CEO of Pilot.

We're a travel app company with the mission of helping people like you around the world have an awesome time and make memories offline, so you and others can live a happier, more fulfilling life.

But before I talk about us, I want to talk about you.

If you're reading this job description, you're probably looking for an internship this summer

You'll only do a couple of these in your life, so you want it to be good.

Unfortunately, most interns end up like this:

• Overworked and/or under appreciated

• With more senior staff lacking faith and trust in your abilities, giving you 

  menial tasks instead of impactful ones

• Lacking autonomy, freedom, or growth potential

• Given work that is boring, doesn't teach you anything, or that you wont care about
• In a company with an unhealthy/undesirable or overly bureaucratic culture that wont act on your ideas

We've been there.

Im here to tell you it doesn't have to be that way.

You know it doesn't.

Remember that project back in school or earlier in your life/career that you really enjoyed or got super passionate about? That didn't feel like work did it? It was fun. Well your job shouldn't either. Especially considering we spend most of our lives at our jobs.

Are the other companies you're looking at going to give you that?

Why you should work at Pilot ‍️

If you think you'd like working at a company whose very purpose is to give you and others the absolute best life possible, in the most fun way possible, working on cool things with cool people, to help people have an awesome time and make memories

well then Pilot might just be the place for you.

It's embedded into who we are. Thats why we have a public 21-page culture code. Read it here to see if we vibe: https://bit.ly/3KmavZF

At Pilot you'll get

• Near total autonomy and freedom. You pick your own projects, set your own goals, and work the hours you want, where you want, with who you want. Our team travels all over the world - you can too.
• Work with people who all want to be your friend (we actually hang out). Our team is incredibly talented, but we value humility.
• Leaders who own their mistakes (yes, that includes me), actively seek feedback to identify & solve them, and are pretty experienced. You can learn more about me here: connorjwilson.com. TLDR: this isn't my first startup; my last tech startup sold for 8-figures after we grew it for 3 years without investors, reaching $3.5 million in annual recurring revenue.
• Decisions based on data, not based on that Linkedin post your manager saw that one time. Everyone at any every level is empowered to make decisions because we share everything and have a culture of transparency, trust, and experimentation.
• ️Its travel, so its super fun. It's a startup, so its super challenging with a huge upside. And, it's social impact focused, so you'll actually be helping people, not just maximizing profits.
• We're proud to have a diverse team, with an equal gender split, with plans to become a B-Corp.
• ⭐ We also have some great employer reviews here: glassdoor.ca/Reviews/Pilot-Reviews-E3311415.htm

Okay, but what even is Pilot?

Great question. Glad you asked.

For young professionals looking to have an awesome time and make memories, Pilot is a travel creator companion that brings everything they need to discover, plan, book and relive trips with friends in one place. It's a collaborative platform that helps them stress less and have more fun, while saving time & money.

• We're a Next Canada Accelerated Startup. Thats this: nextcanada.com

• We incorporated on Sixto de Mayo 2020. We missed Cinco de Mayo by one day and are still bitter about it. We spent the time since then iterating towards our current platform.
• We raised a small amount of money from investors in December 2021, with plans to raise more.

• Today we're a team of 12. Check out the team at pilotplans.com/careers

• We recently released our beta publicly (try it at pilotplans.com)

• We're testing with an early access signup list of ~6,000 people 

• And it seems to be working! Ie. In the last 30 days, our average user spent 46 minutes in our app, and 58% of users who spent more than 5 minutes in the app clicked the invite friends button.
• Were growing crazy fast: In December 2022 we had about ~30,000 people visit our website per month. It will be +180,000 people per month or higher by the end of August 2022. Thats all from organic traffic, no ads.

So thats us. Feel free to learn more about us at: pilotplans.com/careers

The role. The goal. ️

Heres what were looking for from you:

It's very simple. We want our product developed faster.

What you'll be doing and learning ‍

These are entirely subject to change based on what gets the most results, but here goes:

• HTML, CSS

• React

• Javascript

• Configuring product analytics tools to help inform product decisions

• Google Cloud Platform (currently Firebase), including: Firestore, Firebase Hosting, Cloud Functions, Realtime Database

• Working in a CI/CD environment

• What makes a great user experience

You'll need to be eager, ready to work hard, and able to work independently. We're moving fast, and that means doing a lot more in less time, sometimes cutting corners to do so.

Still, work-life harmony is important so you'll be the one setting your own goals to make sure they can be reasonably accomplished during your working hours.

Should I apply??!??!?

First of all, obviously.

Its easy, and you can do it here: https://forms.gle/YkUNuHDijFNNJjj68

Second of all, as long as you think you have either the necessary skills, or the ability to learn them very quickly to do this role, you're good. We care about your ability to execute, not your experience - though it certainly can be an indicator.

That said, the ideal candidate

• Extremely reliable, and highly communicative, but concise

• Loves traveling, and has stayed in hostels before

• Fluent (or native speaker) in English

• Understands best practices for working in a development team environment, including documentation, commenting, and semantic naming

• Can convey complex topics simply

• Someone with a good understanding of human psychology, who understands how the product SHOULD work when presented to them, and isn't afraid to ask questions for clarification
• Strong emotional intelligence, but someone who makes decisions primarily using logic not feel
• Very humble, without a fragile ego. Can take and give feedback well and often.

If you meet even 50-70% of these you could be a great fit!

Im Interested, now what? ️

Wherever this job is posted (be it Angellist, Linkedin, Indeed, or some other site), submit your application here instead: https://forms.gle/YkUNuHDijFNNJjj68

This form replaces the need for a screening call so we can move straight to a proper interview if you're selected!

Feel free to slide into our DMs with any questions.

Hope to hear from you soon!! ‍️

Proudly an Equal Opportunities Employer

At Pilot, we don't just accept diversity we celebrate it, we encourage it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products, and our community.

We are committed to fostering belonging through a diverse and inclusive workplace.

We do not discriminate against any race, gender, religious affiliation, ethnicity or any other demographic - instead, we celebrate diversity.

Lastly, we hire for culture add, not culture fit so that we can gain unique skills, viewpoints, and ultimately innovation.