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Levi Malott

Investor

Venture Partner at Redbud VC · Principal Engineer at Shopify

United States

Writes $250K – $500K checks

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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

  1. ShopifyPrincipal Engineercurrent2026 — present
  2. WeaveChief Technology Officer2024 — 2026
  3. WeaveVP of Engineering2023 — 2024
  4. PachamaVP of Engineering2020 — 2023
  5. BetterUpData Engineer2018 — 2020
  6. SpaceXSoftware Engineer II2018
  7. SpaceXFlight Software Engineer in Test2015 — 2018
  8. WindNinjaSoftware Engineer2013 — 2015
  9. Missouri University of Science and TechnologyUndergraduate Research Assistant2010 — 2015
  10. Garmin InternationalEmbedded Software Testing Intern2012

Skills & more

System Performance1Carbon Offsets1Carbon CaptureCustomer PresentationsStartupsData AnalysisCross-functional Team LeadershipEngineering ManagementSoftware DevelopmentCloud ComputingData ManagementProject Management
+12 moreComputer 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.

Simplicity in Start-ups2023-07-25

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.

Thoughts on Engineering Velocity2020-07-24

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.

Do things when you don\u2019t want to do them.2020-03-05

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

Amy Susán
Head of Investor Relations at Redbud VC
Brett Calhoun
General Partner at Redbud VC
Bruno Ostarcevic
Venture Partner at Redbud VC
Collin Hickey
Investor at Redbud VC
Dylan Kurt
Content & Media at Redbud VC
Hemkesh Agrawal
Head of Engineering at Redbud VC
Jabbok Schlacks
General Partner at Redbud VC
Jai Malik
Venture Partner 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

Shared employers