About us
HyLight’s mission is to help society become more resilient to climate change by improving the observation and inspection of infrastructure.
We build HyLighters, airships that collect data across vast distances with zero emissions.
Our activities include:
Detecting methane leaks from gas infrastructures (4% of global GHG emissions)
Inspecting power lines to prevent outages and wildfires
By 2030, we aim to become the global leader in aerial monitoring.
In just 3 years, we have pushed the realm of possibilities: as we have:
Developed 8 iterations of the HyLighter
Logged over 200 flight hours
Secured our first inspection contracts with Europe’s largest infrastructure operators
Joined the world’s top startup accelerator, Y Combinator
Raised €6 millions
HyLight is aiming for a diverse and included team, if your profile doesn't fit all the description but you can bring a diverse point of view, push it forward, it will be highly appreciated.
We’re well-funded and backed by top investors, providing the resources you wish you had when building your own business. We don’t care about traditional roles or titles—just that you’re smart, proactive, and bring the same founder-level ownership and drive to help us build something massive.
Job Description
The HyLighter collect high-value datasets (LiDAR, imagery, methane) to help utilities and infrastructure operators maintain their assets with lower cost and carbon impact. We are now building the data platform that transforms this raw sensor data into actionable insights for our clients.
As Head of Data Platform / Tech Lead, you will be the technical leader responsible for designing, building, and securing this platform end-to-end: from ingestion pipelines to geospatial storage, processing, visualization, and client delivery. You will work hands-on with cloud services, open-source geospatial libraries, and lead the small team that will grow around you.
The Mission: Under the guidance of our CTO and in collaboration with the technical and regulatory teams, your responsibilities will include:
Architecture & Foundations
Define the technical architecture of our data platform (storage, processing, databases, APIs, client portal).
Ensure scalability, cost efficiency, and robustness from MVP to production.
Data Engineering
Design and implement workflows for LiDAR (PDAL), imagery (photogrammetry), and methane analytics.
Structure storage and metadata catalogs (STAC, PostGIS/Timescale, or equivalent).
Enable fast visualization formats (COG, EPT, 3D Tiles or equivalent) for client portal use.
Security & Compliance
Implement best practices: access control (RBAC/SSO), encryption, audit logging.
Prepare the company toward SOC 2 / ISO 27001 readiness.
Requirement
Education: MSc (PhD) in Computer Science, Geoinformatics, Data Engineering, or equivalent practical experience. 5+ years in software/data engineering, with at least 2 years leading teams or projects. Track record of delivering geospatial or data platforms used by external clients at scale
We are looking for an ambitious and highly motivated person to join our team, participate in building HyLight, and grow with the project!
Technical Skills: This is an exhaustive list of sought after skills, if you have
Cloud architecture: designing scalable storage, compute, and API layers across major cloud providers.
Geospatial: PostGIS, PDAL, raster/vector tiling (COG, EPT, Cesium, titiler).
Backend & APIs: Python (FastAPI), Node.js (NestJS), containerization (Docker, Kubernetes/containers).
Security: RBAC/SSO (Auth0, Cognito, Okta, etc.), encryption, audit logging, SOC 2/GDPR familiarity.
CI/CD & IaC: Terraform, Pulumi, or equivalent; GitHub Actions or similar.
Soft Skills:
Strong sense of ownership, ability to go from architecture to hands-on coding.
Excellent communication: can explain complex systems simply to business stakeholders.
Leadership mindset: mentoring and structuring a growing engineering team.
Startup DNA: pragmatic, resourceful, not afraid of building v1 quickly and iterating.
Languages: French (professional working proficiency), English (fluent – internal communication and documentation)
Benefits
Annual compensation: €50,000 - €70,000 (based on experience)
Real responsibility and direct impact on cutting-edge autonomous flight technology
Mentorship with the Tech and Regulatory teams
Potential to become a shareholder in HyLight
100% reimbursement of public transport pass (Navigo) or €800/year for sustainable commuting
Bike provided for commuting
Free lunch
Bi-annual offsite trips with the whole team
Excellent work environment: international team, team events, beautiful offices on a former airbase
Why You Should Join:
Founder Mentality: We value extreme ownership and want people who think like founders—fast decision makers, natural problem solvers, and executers.
Ground Floor Opportunity: You’ll be helping to shape and grow a revolutionary company with the resources to back it.
Impact & Speed: Work in a fast-paced environment where your contributions will have immediate, tangible effects on the company’s success.
Interview Process:
Introductory phone call (20-30 min)
Technical case study followed by a debrief with team member
Reference calls
On-site meeting with the team (3-4h)
Location:
Office : Base 217, Brétigny-sur-Orge, accessible via RER C.
Lab and Warehouse access
You’ll work side-by-side with experts in embedded, aerospace, and hydrogen propulsion systems—where your impact matters from day one.