Founder Associate Intern @Pelagon (backed by Hexa)

Hexa
Paris, France
On-site

Who this role is best for

Geared toward candidates comfortable with maritime logistics and administrative rigor, this role suits individuals with hands-on experience in engineering or science who thrive in a defense startup environment.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with engineering or science backgrounds and a preference for on-site, hands-on work
    โ€” โ€œEngineering or science profile preferred, final year or recent graduateโ€
  • Individuals who enjoy organizing processes and managing deadlines in a fast-moving startup
    โ€” โ€œevery invoice filed, every form sent on time, every deadline in your trackerโ€
  • People who are comfortable with real-world deployments and maritime environments
    โ€” โ€œYou'd rather be on a boat with a sensor than in front of a slide deckโ€
  • Candidates who want to work directly with founders and see a defense startup grow from the inside
    โ€” โ€œA founding role in a seed-stage defence tech company, working directly with the foundersโ€

Things to consider

  • This role requires EU citizenship for security clearance and defense site access
    โ€” โ€œEU citizenship (defence site access and security clearance)โ€
  • The position demands full-time on-site presence in Paris
    โ€” โ€œBased in Paris, on site full timeโ€
  • It involves travel at short notice and exposure to cold weather and early starts
    โ€” โ€œEarly starts, cold days at sea and travel at short notice put you offโ€

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience in deploying or repairing physical systems, especially in outdoor or maritime settings
    โ€” โ€œYou've built, deployed or repaired real things and you like it when it gets wetโ€
  • Showcase your ability to work directly with founders and support strategic business planning
    โ€” โ€œSupport the founders on the business plan and the monthly numbersโ€
  • Emphasize your fluency in French and proficiency in English for cross-functional communication
    โ€” โ€œFrench fluent and working Englishโ€
  • Demonstrate practical skills in logistics, inventory management, and shipping operations
    โ€” โ€œinventory, orders, packing, shipping, and driving the gear to test sitesโ€
Pace ยท SteadyCollaboration ยท HighAutonomy ยท MediumDecision Impact ยท Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • Building and maintaining admin processes
  • Running data collection campaigns
  • Supporting founders on business plans
Typical background
Engineering or science backgroundExperience in logistics and project management

Skills & requirements

Required

Project ManagementLogisticsData CollectionEvent Coordination

Preferred

EngineeringScience

Stack & domain

EngineeringScienceLogisticsData CollectionAdmin ProcessesDefenseMaritime

About the role

Original posting from Hexa via Ashby

WHO ARE WE?

The sea is the physical layer of the economy: our energy, data and trade move across it and under it. It is also Europe's most exposed flank. Cheap underwater drones, divers and mines now threaten ports, naval bases, subsea cables and offshore energy sites.

Pelagon builds maritime interdiction: a persistent sensing network running our own acoustic-first AI detects and classifies underwater and surface threats, so operators can act on them. We work with navies and with the civilian operators of ports, subsea cables and offshore energy.

Pelagon was founded by Aymeric de Pontbriand (serial deeptech entrepreneur, founded and exited Scortex) and Gauthier Bouxin (French Navy officer, then McKinsey). Backed by Hexa and leading European investors.

By joining us, you'll play a key role in keeping a fast-moving defence startup running: the paperwork, the bills and the admin processes, and getting our systems into the water. Every test, fair, demo and admin file goes through you.

๐ŸŽฏ YOUR MISSION

  • Run the company's admin: paperwork, supplier invoices and bills, expense receipts, contracts and forms, insurance, permits and declarations, offices.
  • Build the admin processes: who does what, where every document lives, which deadline comes next, so nothing slips as the team grows.
  • Own the logistics of our equipment: inventory, orders, packing, shipping, and driving the gear to test sites.
  • Run data collection campaigns at sea with our hardware team: prepare, deploy, recover, log the data.
  • Make every fair and demo happen: stand material, shipping, permits, boats, set-up on site.
  • Support the founders on the business plan and the monthly numbers.

๐Ÿคฉ THIS JOB IS YOUR DREAM JOB IF:

  • You like things in order: every invoice filed, every form sent on time, every deadline in your tracker
  • You'd rather be on a boat with a sensor than in front of a slide deck
  • You've built, deployed or repaired real things and you like it when it gets wet
  • You plan ahead, keep checklists and follow up without being chased
  • You want to see from the inside how a defence startup is built

๐Ÿ™… THIS JOB IS NOT FOR YOU IF:

  • You want remote work or a pure engineering design role
  • Paperwork, bills and admin processes feel beneath you: they are a real part of this job
  • Early starts, cold days at sea and travel at short notice put you off

REQUIREMENTS

  • Engineering or science profile preferred, final year or recent graduate
  • French fluent and working English
  • EU citizenship (defence site access and security clearance)
  • Driving licence (B)
  • Based in Paris, on site full time

WHAT WE OFFER

  • A founding role in a seed-stage defence tech company, working directly with the founders
  • Real deployments at sea and on navy and operator sites
  • Offices in Paris

๐Ÿงญ OUR RECRUITMENT PROCESS

  • A 30 minute intro call with Roland, our Chief of Staff.
  • A 60 minute deep dive with Gauthier: your background, one project you built, and a short logistics exercise.
  • A company fit conversation with Aymeric and the team.

We answer within 48 h after each step.

Pelagon is committed to creating a diverse environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment irrespective of gender, origin, identity, background and sexual orientation. Defence and maritime have long been male-dominated fields: we actively encourage women to apply.

Source: Hexa careers (Ashby)

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