Co-Founder & CTO for an Embedded AI & Acoustic Intelligence Startup

Description
We are looking for a Co-Founder & CTO to join a Paris-based DeepTech startup building an AI-powered acoustic intelligence platform.
This is not a traditional salaried CTO position. It is an opportunity to join as a genuine technical co-founder, influence the company’s long-term direction, and help bring an innovative hardware and embedded AI product to market.
The startup has already developed the majority of its software foundation, attracted paying beta users, and generated early interest from potential B2B partners across several industries. The company has secured 100K in bridge funding and is preparing to raise an additional 500K to support product launch and further growth.
The immediate goal is to move from the current prototype to a validated, market-ready hardware product and launch the first customer pilots.

The product operates at the intersection of:

• embedded and Edge AI;
• acoustic intelligence and sound classification;
• smart hardware and IoT;
• real estate and environmental diagnostics;
• automated AI-generated analysis and reporting.

The company is initially addressing the European market, with opportunities for international expansion. Its long-term vision extends beyond real estate into transportation, hospitality, smart cities, predictive maintenance, health, security, and other industries where acoustic data can generate valuable insights.

The startup already has:

• paying B2C beta users;
• inbound demand from several European markets;
• approximately 70 companies interested in product demonstrations;
• a functional software foundation and AI-assisted engineering workflow;
• access to external experts in acoustics and applied research;
• a presence within leading Paris startup ecosystems;
• a clear roadmap towards its first hardware pilots.
  
  

As Co-Founder & CTO, you will become the founder’s primary technical partner and take ownership of the company’s technology and product validation strategy.
You will combine technical leadership with pragmatic execution, working across hardware, embedded software, AI, testing, product development, and customer-facing activities.
You are not expected to be the deepest expert in every technical area. However, you should be able to understand the complete system, ask the right questions, coordinate specialists, make sound engineering decisions, and ensure that the product works reliably in real-world conditions.

First 90 days
Your initial priorities will include:

• Review and validate the existing technical architecture and core product components.
• Create a practical roadmap for moving from the current prototype to a market-ready V1.
• Support the transition from the Python prototype to a microcontroller-based environment using C, C++, and potentially Rust.
• Validate the PCB architecture, component selection, routing, and hardware integration.
• Establish clear validation protocols for hardware, software, embedded AI, and acoustic performance.
• Collaborate with acousticians, research specialists, hardware engineers, and external laboratories.
• Coordinate the development and validation of the first approximately 100 pilot devices.
• Organise in-situ testing in apartments and other real-world environments.
• Improve the final customer report, data visualisation, and AI-generated interpretation.
• Participate in product demonstrations, industry events, investor conversations, and selected B2B meetings.
• Help prepare the technology and product story for the upcoming funding round.

Requirements
We are open to former CTOs, Heads of Engineering, Technical Directors, Staff or Principal Engineers, and experienced technical founders ready to take on a co-founder role.
The ideal candidate has:

• Strong technical leadership experience within a startup, scale-up, or product-focused engineering environment.
• Broad understanding of software architecture, embedded systems, hardware development, and product validation.
• Experience working with connected devices, IoT, Edge AI, embedded products, or other hardware-software systems.
• Understanding of microcontrollers and resource-constrained computing environments.
• Working knowledge of C or C++, with the ability to review and validate embedded code.
• Experience with Python-based prototypes and their transition into production systems.
• Ability to review technical architecture, protocols, PCB decisions, testing processes, and external engineering work.
• A pragmatic approach to developing an effective V1 without overengineering it.
• Strong product thinking and understanding of how technical decisions affect the end-user experience.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills.
• Confidence in presenting technical concepts to customers, partners, and investors.
• A hands-on, proactive, and highly accountable working style.
• Fluent French and professional English.
• Current residence in Paris or a genuine willingness to relocate.
• Readiness to accept the risks and opportunities associated with joining an early-stage company as a co-founder.

Responsibilities

• Own the company’s overall technical vision and execution strategy.
• Lead the transition from prototype to scalable hardware product.
• Ensure alignment between hardware, embedded software, AI models, cloud services, and the customer-facing platform.
• Define technical priorities and make pragmatic build-versus-buy decisions.
• Coordinate internal contributors, freelancers, research experts, laboratories, and technology partners.
• Establish engineering, testing, security, documentation, and quality standards.
• Evaluate technical risks related to embedded AI, privacy, data protection, and acoustic data processing.
• Support the creation of proprietary acoustic datasets and classification models.
• Work with external AI and Edge AI platforms where this accelerates product development.
• Contribute hands-on when required, while maintaining ownership of the broader system.
• Represent the company in technical discussions with customers, investors, researchers, and strategic partners.
• Help build the future engineering and R&D team.
• Work closely with the CEO as a genuine business and technology partner.

Nice to have

• Experience in acoustics, audio processing, microphones, sound classification, or signal processing.
• Experience with embedded machine learning or TinyML.
• Knowledge of MEMS microphones, acoustic measurement systems, or sound-level meters.
• Experience with PCB development, electronics manufacturing, or hardware certification.
• Familiarity with C++, Rust, Edge Impulse, or similar embedded AI platforms.
• Experience building proprietary datasets or training classification models.
• Previous experience launching a physical product or moving from prototype to manufacturing.
• Experience working with laboratories, academic researchers, or engineering consultancies.
• Participation in fundraising, investor due diligence, technical sales, or startup acceleration programmes.
• An existing network within the French DeepTech, hardware, AI, or research ecosystem.

Working conditions

• A genuine Co-Founder & CTO position with meaningful influence over the company.
• A negotiable equity package reflecting your experience, commitment, and contribution.
• The ability to begin fractionally or part-time before transitioning to full-time.
• A product with an existing technical foundation rather than an idea that must be built from zero.
• Paying beta users and demonstrated early market interest.
• Access to the Station F and Village by Crédit Agricole startup ecosystems.
• Collaboration with experienced specialists in acoustics, AI, hardware, and applied research.
• The opportunity to shape a new category at the intersection of embedded AI and acoustic intelligence.
• A clear path towards product launch, commercial pilots, international expansion, and the next investment round.