Find your path to Levi
229 people in our graph share verified history with Levi — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
About
Levi Malott is a software and machine learning engineer turned startup tech leadership coach. He began in research at Missouri University of Science and Technology, worked on wind simulation software at WindNinja, and tested critical subsystems and built internal software tools at SpaceX. He was an early employee at several high-growth startups, including BetterUp (among its first 80 employees) and Pachama (employee #7), where he built ML and AI infrastructure, and later worked at Weave Bio applying LLMs to regulatory filings. He now advises startup leaders on balancing innovation with managing growth.
Invests in
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechHardwareSaaSSector Agnostic
Beyond investing
- Education
- Held a Ph.D. Fellowship and worked as a Research Assistant at Missouri University of Science and Technology.
- More
- Was employee #7 at Pachama, staying from seed through the Series B. Was among the first 80 employees at BetterUp, joining just after its Series B. Worked at SpaceX testing critical subsystems for Falcon 9 and hardware-software integration for the crew capsule.
From Levi's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Experience
- ShopifyPrincipal Engineercurrent2026 — present
- WeaveChief Technology Officer2024 — 2026
- WeaveVP of Engineering2023 — 2024
- PachamaVP of Engineering2020 — 2023
- BetterUpData Engineer2018 — 2020
- SpaceXSoftware Engineer II2018
- SpaceXFlight Software Engineer in Test2015 — 2018
- WindNinjaSoftware Engineer2013 — 2015
- Missouri University of Science and TechnologyUndergraduate Research Assistant2010 — 2015
- Garmin InternationalEmbedded Software Testing Intern2012
Skills & more
+12 more
Computer ScienceeHealthStatistical ModelingNetwork SecurityAndroid DevelopmentFormal VerificationFormal LanguagesAlgorithmsLinuxC++PythonEmbedded Systems- CompTIA Network+ — CompTIA
- CompTIA A+ — CompTIA
From Levi's professional profile.
Writing
All posts ↗Levi Malott writes about software engineering practices in startups, covering how to prioritize reliability and maintainability over premature scalability, how engineering velocity depends on both speed and clear direction, and how consistent execution rather than novelty for its own sake drives real innovation.
The author argues startups should prioritize reliability and maintainability over premature scalability, choose boring technology, and address complexity as their real growth constraint while monitoring for future bottlenecks.
The author explains that engineering velocity requires both speed and direction, achieved by aligning teams around clear goals, aggressively cutting scope, shipping daily, and measuring impact through feedback loops.
The author contends technological innovation derives from consistent execution and showing up on hard days, using the Cynefin framework to describe how sustained attention turns apparent complexity into mastery.
Colleagues at Redbud VC
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Levi Malott?
- Levi Malott is a software and machine learning engineer turned startup tech leadership coach. He began in research at Missouri University of Science and Technology, worked on wind simulation software at WindNinja, and tested critical subsystems and built internal software tools at SpaceX. He was an early employee at several high-growth startups, including BetterUp (among its first 80 employees) and Pachama (employee #7), where he built ML and AI infrastructure, and later worked at Weave Bio applying LLMs to regulatory filings. He now advises startup leaders on balancing innovation with managing growth.
- Where does Levi Malott work?
- Levi Malott is Venture Partner at Redbud VC.
- What does Levi Malott invest in?
- Levi Malott invests in AI & Machine Learning, Deep Tech, Hardware, SaaS, Sector Agnostic.
- What check size does Levi Malott write?
- Levi Malott typically writes checks of $250K – $500K.
- Where did Levi Malott go to school?
- Levi Malott studied at Missouri University of Science and Technology (BS, Computer Science).
- What has Levi Malott written?
- Levi Malott has 3 tracked posts on malott.co, including "Simplicity in Start-ups", "Thoughts on Engineering Velocity", "Do things when you don\u2019t want to do them.".
Same school
Also attended Missouri University of Science and Technology35
+ 29 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Weave9
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+ 3 more
Also worked at Pachama6
Also worked at BetterUp13
+ 7 more
Also worked at SpaceX243
+ 237 more