Software Engineering Internship at Dalus (San Francisco, CA)

Dalus· San Francisco, CA·6d ago

Role details

Work type

Onsite

Employment

Full-Time

Job description

Why Dalus Exists

At Dalus, we're building AI-powered software to reimagine how complex hardware systems are designed — think rockets, satellites, EVs, aircraft, nuclear plants.

Right now, companies building these systems are held back by legacy tools that were never built for today’s fast-paced engineering teams. We’re changing that. Our platform makes hardware development faster, safer, and more scalable, even with smaller teams. We believe that designing atoms should feel more like working with bits — and that the next industrial renaissance needs better software.

About the Role

We’re looking for an SWE Intern — someone who wants to go deep, build fast, and shape the future of our product and team. You’ll be working across the entire stack (frontend, backend, AI, systems modeling) and helping us deliver real value to some of the most advanced hardware companies in the world.

You’ll thrive in this role if you:

Love wearing multiple hats and learning new things fast
Have strong product intuition and care about UX
Are excited to build the future of complex system design, not just work on it
Don’t mind getting your hands dirty with hard problems (and hard schedules)

Our Stack

Frontend: Next.js, Typescript, React
Backend: Node.js, Python (for simulation/AI), AWS
AI: Different LLMs, Langfuse, agent tooling workflows

Who We Are

We started Dalus in 2024.

Eliot was a test/systems engineer at Aerojet Rocketdyne (L3Harris), where he saw firsthand how siloed communication slowed down hardware teams.
Sebastian previously founded a neurotech hardware startup and scaled a software company to exit.

We just wrapped up YC W25, have revenue, and are working closely with aerospace, robotics, and defense customers

Nice to Have

Experience with systems engineering, aerospace, manufacturing, or industrial software
Interest in simulation, modeling tools, or AI workflows
Past startup experience or personal projects that went deep

If there appears to be a fit, we'll reach to schedule 2-3 short technicals. The final step is an onsite in our office, where you'll work on a small project, discuss ideas, and meet the team.

Base Salary: $50-$80k

Must be a US Citizen to apply

Why work at Dalus

Culture: Early‑stage startup (team of ~3) with a mission to revolutionize hardware design. Founders are hands‑on and come from Aerojet Rocketdyne (defense) and software backgrounds.
Remote/hybrid policy: Roles are listed as “in office or remote” (San Francisco) and “remote” (Germany). The company embraces remote work with a presence in both the US and Europe.
Notable perks: Influence product direction from day one, work directly with founders, tackle hard engineering problems at the intersection of software and hardware, and contribute to open‑source‑like adoption of SysML v2.
Engineering culture: Fast‑paced, iterative, and focused on building tools that engineers actually love. The company values autonomy, deep technical work, and cross‑domain collaboration (aerospace + software).
Open roles (as of Sept 2025): Founding Software Engineer #1 (San Francisco or remote) and Software Engineering Internship.

About Dalus

Company Overview

One-liner: Dalus is an AI-native, cloud-based Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) platform that helps teams design, simulate, and manage complex hardware systems — from rockets and satellites to EVs and aircraft.
Entity Type: Private (startup; Y Combinator Winter 2025 batch)
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, USA (also has a presence in Munich, Germany)
Founded: 2024
Founders: Eliot Khachi (Co‑founder & CTO), Sebastian Völkl (Co‑founder)

Core Business

Primary industry: Software for systems engineering, serving aerospace, defense, automotive, energy, and robotics.
Target customers: B2B – engineering teams at startups and large enterprises (e.g., Israel Aerospace Industries).
Mission or purpose: Make hardware development as fast, iterative, and collaborative as software development by replacing outdated document‑based systems engineering with a living digital model.

Products & Services

Dalus MBSE Platform: A cloud‑based, AI‑powered platform that centralizes system requirements, architecture, behavior, and verification into a single source of truth. Key modules include:
- Requirements Management – Real‑time tracking, assignment, and status updates.
- System Architecture – Decompose systems into subsystems, parts, and interfaces using SysML v2.
- Analysis & Verification – Run Python scripts to simulate behavior and verify requirements.
- Test Cases – Plan, execute, and trace V&V tests with full audit trails.
- System Safety & Hazards – Identify hazards, assess risk, and document controls.
- Collaboration – Live co‑editing, branching workflows, and role‑based permissions.
- Mission Planning – Define missions, manage stakeholders, and track program phases.

Market Standing

Valuation/Market Cap: Not disclosed (early‑stage startup).
Key Metric: Total funding not publicly available; company is a Y Combinator Winter 2025 graduate, which typically provides ~$125K–$500K in seed funding. No subsequent rounds announced.
Notable Investors/Partners: Y Combinator; design partner Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the largest aerospace/defense company in Israel.
Growth Signals:
- Launched in spring 2024, already serving a major defense contractor (IAI).
- Active hiring for Founding Software Engineer #1 and internships.
- SOC 2 Type 2 certified, AWS GovCloud compliant, and offers on‑premise / EU data residency options — critical for regulated industries.

Competitive Advantages

AI‑first approach: Automates tedious updates, generates insights from hundreds of pages of engineering docs, and accelerates model creation.
Cloud‑native & intuitive: Unlike legacy tools (e.g., IBM Rhapsody, Cameo Systems Modeler), Dalus is built for modern, agile hardware teams — no steep learning curve.
SysML v2 compliance: Supports the latest industry standard for model‑based systems engineering.
Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type 2, AWS GovCloud (ITAR/EAR), on‑premise hosting, and EU data residency — rare for a startup.
Design‑partner validation: Already working with Israel Aerospace Industries, validating the product in a high‑stakes environment.

Strategic Focus

Current priorities:
- Add native integrations with physical simulation tools (e.g., Simulink, Ansys).
- Implement version control for hardware models.
- Build the “best AI on the market for hardware systems engineering.”
- Expand sales to aerospace, defense, and automotive customers.
Growth direction: Become the standard platform for model‑based systems engineering in mission‑critical industries, enabling smaller teams to build complex hardware faster.

Sources