Part-time CFI at Navi AI (San Francisco, CA)

Navi AI· San Francisco, CA·2d ago

Role details

Work type

Remote

Employment

Part-Time

Job description

We're on a mission to make aviation safer, and we're looking for contractors who have firsthand experience in the cockpit. At Navi AI, your practical flying knowledge will play a pivotal role in shaping our product. If you're passionate about aviation and eager to use your expertise to make a real impact, we want to work with you.

Why work at Navi AI

High-Impact Mission: Work directly on making aviation safer, with a tangible product already in use by pilots and the military. The company culture emphasizes building for a critical national need ("Your country needs you").
Early-Stage, High-Growth: With only 7 employees and a plan to hire 15 more, this is a true seed-stage startup where new hires will define the product, culture, and engineering practices from the ground up.
Engineering-Centric: The open roles (Founding Software Engineer, ML/AI Founding Engineer, Founding Hardware Engineer, Deployment Engineer) indicate a deep focus on core product engineering and infrastructure.
On-Site / Hybrid: San Francisco headquarters is primarily in-office; Bengaluru office also exists. The company favors on-site work for its core team.
Fast-Paced Culture: The careers page signals an expectation of high agency: "if ten things a day sounds like a slow Tuesday - we need you."
Interesting Tech Stack: Working with cockpit telemetry, audio, domain-specific LLMs, avionics integration (Garmin), and real-time data pipelines — a mix of hardware, software, and AI.
Founding Team Access: Opportunity to work directly with the co-founders (Nikola Kostic, CEO; Vivek Velivela, CTO) and shape the company's technical direction.

About Navi AI

Company Overview

One-liner: Navi AI builds the first purpose-built generative AI platform for aviation, providing an AI co-pilot for pilot training that turns every aircraft into a data source to deliver automated, data-driven flight debriefs and safety intelligence.
Entity Type: Private (Seed stage)
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, USA (also has an office in Bengaluru, India)
Founded: 2024
Founders: Nikola Kostic (CEO) and Vivek Velivela (CTO)

Core Business

Primary Industry: Aviation Technology / Aerospace / Defense / Artificial Intelligence
Target Customers: B2B — flight schools (Part 141), universities (aerospace programs), and military/defense organizations (U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School).
Mission/Purpose Statement: To make aviation safety proactive — starting in training. Navi gives every pilot and squadron the intelligence edge they deserve.

Products & Services

Navi AI Platform: An AI-driven platform that ingests cockpit audio, aircraft telemetry, and environmental data (weather, traffic, aircraft history) to generate moment-by-moment, automated flight debriefs. It provides 40–50 key insights per flight through text, visuals, and animations. The platform is grounded in the flight school’s syllabus, POH, PHAK, and FAA regulations.
AI Debrief Assistant: A context-aware conversational AI that trainee pilots can query about their performance, referencing their own flight data, standard operating procedures, and FAA regulations.
Automated Maneuver Analysis: Analyzes intent, behavior, and performance for every maneuver during a flight, aligning outputs to the specific lesson or maneuver being taught.
Full Sortie Replay: Provides a phase-by-phase breakdown of every training flight from engine start to shutdown.
Institutional Analytics (FOQA+): Goes beyond traditional FOQA by combining flight data with instructor interactions, environmental data, and procedural context, giving flight academies real-time visibility into trainee progression, trend analysis, and early safety pattern detection.

Market Standing

Valuation: Not publicly available (seed-stage company).
Key Metric – Total Funding: $6.7 million raised to date.
Notable Investors/Partners:
- United Airlines Ventures (strategic investor)
- BVVC (lead investor)
- New Vista Capital
- Raptor Group
- I2BF
- U.S. Department of War ($1.27M SBIR Phase II grant)
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (strategic partner and equity stakeholder)
- Garmin (technology partnership, integrated with their avionics ecosystem)
Growth Signals:
- Launched from stealth in March 2026 with $6.7M in funding.
- First commercial deployment in September 2024 with Sling Pilot Academy; now logging 55,000+ flight hours annually at Sling.
- Platform deployed or under evaluation at leading flight schools: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, University of North Dakota, Purdue University, Utah State University, Delta State University, and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School.
- Plans to hire 15 additional employees in 2026 (currently 7 employees), aggressively scaling the team.
- Has a $1.27M SBIR Phase II contract from the U.S. Department of War to adapt its platform for the T-38 fleet at Edwards AFB.

Competitive Advantages

First-Mover in AI-Powered Debriefing: No other company offers a purpose-built, commercially operational generative AI platform specifically for pilot training that automates post-flight analysis.
Domain-Specific LLM: Trained on 100,000+ real flight hours, analyzing intent, behavior, and performance — not just generic AI.
Deep Institutional Partnerships: Already embedded in the world's largest aerospace university (Embry-Riddle) and working with the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, providing credibility and a strong go-to-market signal.
Strategic Backing: Backed by United Airlines Ventures (a direct channel to commercial aviation) and the U.S. Department of War, giving it a dual commercial and defense pathway.
Real-World Traction: 55,000+ flight hours annually processed at Sling Pilot Academy, proving the product works at scale in a live training environment.

Strategic Focus

Near-term: Dominate the U.S. pilot training market by equipping every training aircraft with the Navi platform.
Medium-term: Expand into commercial aviation, applying the same real-time analysis and performance intelligence to airline operations.
Defense: Adapt and scale the platform for military use (U.S. Air Force), starting with the Test Pilot School and the T-38 fleet.
Product: Continue to deepen the integration with Garmin avionics and expand the platform's ability to ingest more data sources.

Sources

Job description

Why work at Navi AI

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