AI Engineer
About the job
- At least 5 years of professional backend engineering experience.
- Strong proficiency in at least one backend programming language, such as Java.
- Experience building and maintaining production-grade APIs and microservices.
- A solid understanding of distributed systems, data structures, and algorithms.
- Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases.
- A track record of delivering consumer-facing products at scale.
- Experience with AI/ML platforms and services, such as OpenAI and Hugging Face.
- Familiarity with large language models, retrieval-augmented generation, or conversational AI.
- Knowledge of vector databases and embedding technologies.
- Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Azure.
- An understanding of AI/ML concepts and implementation patterns.
- Design and develop scalable, high-performance backend services and APIs.
- Implement integrations with AI platforms and services.
- Work with AI specialists to translate AI capabilities into production-ready features.
- Ensure high reliability, performance, and security of AI-powered systems.
- Collaborate with product and engineering teams to gather requirements and deliver solutions.
About the company
Navan runs a business travel and expense platform for companies, combining trip booking with tools that let finance teams track and control employee spending. Travelers search flights, hotels, trains, and rental cars through its website or mobile app, while administrators set booking limits and approval rules. Its expense software captures receipts, categorizes purchases, reimburses employees, and sends records to accounting systems, keeping travel and finance work in the same service. The company earns usage fees from its travel and payments business alongside software subscriptions. Navan was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
Company Size
1,001-5,000
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Palo Alto, California
Founded
2015
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Demand grew: Navan's September 2026 results showed quarterly revenue of $233 million, up 35% year over year.
- US parents receive leave: Navan lists 16 paid weeks for birthing parents and 10 for non-birthing parents.
- Navan lowers adoption costs: travel tools are free for companies with up to 300 employees.
What critics are saying
- Operating losses widened: Navan's September 2026 results showed $26 million in quarterly GAAP losses, versus $12 million a year earlier.
- Office attendance limits flexibility: Navan's R&D careers page specifies three weekly office days for office-based roles.
- Navan relies on card partners: Celtic Bank and regional payments providers issue its cards.
What makes Navan unique
- Navan aligns traveler incentives with savings: its funded rewards turn below-target hotel bookings into credits for personal stays.
- Navan avoids forcing a card switch: Connect links existing Visa, Mastercard, and American Express corporate cards.
- Navan serves demanding travelers through Navan Pro: its Reed & Mackay subsidiary handles board members and high-profile guests.
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Benefits
Flexible Vacation: Take time off when you need it, just work with your manager.
Healthcare: Medical, dental, and vision for you and your family.
Commuter benefits: Pre-tax transit dollars, $70 a month to ease your commute.
Parental leave: All parents (birthing and non-birthing) are eligible for paid leave.
Health and Wellness: Annual wellness stipend and access to a full spectrum of resources.
Fuel for Connection: We provide in-office snacks and lunches*, fostering community and in-person connections.
Pet Friendly: Pet insurance with preferred rates and dog friendly offices*.
401k: We care about your future and offer a 401k retirement plan program and company match.
IATAN: Employees can register and receive access to thousands of travel related discounts.
Connectivity Allowance: We support our employees ability to work seamlessly and confidently while from home and offer a bi-weekly stipend
Learning & Development: Annual Learning and Development allowance to propel professional growth
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
-2%1 year growth
-1%2 year growth
-2%Navan secured a $225 million revolving warehouse credit facility through its subsidiary Navan Travel US SPV LLC on 5 October 2026. Barclays Bank PLC serves as the administrative agent for the facility, which features a 24-month revolving period followed by a three-month amortization phase. The facility is secured by corporate charge card receivables, granting lenders first-priority perfected security interest. No advances had been drawn as of the filing date. On the same day, another Navan subsidiary, Liquid Labs SPV LLC, amended its 2022 credit agreement with Goldman Sachs Bank USA. The amendment enables prepayment of all outstanding Class B advances and full reduction of the Class B committed amount. Navan trades on NASDAQ under the symbol NAVN.
Navan has partnered with Engine, a travel and spend technology provider, to expand booking options for its users. The collaboration will integrate Engine's payment and fintech solutions into Navan's platform, streamlining bookings, adjustments and cancellations. Initial offerings will launch this month, with additional features following in subsequent months. The partnership aims to enhance platform stickiness by providing greater flexibility and control over travel plans. The move follows Navan's acquisition of AI-driven meetings platform BoomPop. In the second quarter, Navan reported 45% growth in gross bookings, exceeding $3 billion, whilst revenue reached $233 million, up 35% year-over-year. However, the integration introduces technical risks, including potential disruptions during rollout. Relying on external infrastructure also creates dependency risks if Engine faces operational or financial challenges.
Navan has acquired BoomPop, an AI-powered events platform founded in 2023. The acquisition expands Navan's offerings in meetings and events, providing customers a unified platform for travel, expense, payments, meetings, and events. BoomPop uses AI to help companies plan and manage events end-to-end, from venue sourcing to contracts and payments. The platform has supported events for approximately 250,000 people at companies including Accenture, Amazon, Google, Salesforce, and Shopify. BoomPop estimates it has helped customers reduce event costs by approximately 30% on average. The deal builds on a partnership announced earlier this year. Navan expects the acquisition to have no material impact on its previously issued financial guidance. The combined offering aims to address the meetings and events sector, where most spending occurs outside managed channels.
Navan, the AI-powered business travel and expense platform, has partnered with OpenTable to integrate restaurant discovery and booking into its Navan Edge service. The collaboration aims to simplify dining arrangements for business travellers by incorporating OpenTable's reservation system directly into Navan Edge's chat-driven interface. The integration offers location-aware restaurant suggestions based on travellers' itineraries and preferences, personalised recommendations drawing from past reservations and dietary restrictions, and proactive booking reminders for popular venues. Future updates will include automatic adjustments for schedule changes and access to OpenTable's private and group dining platform for booking private rooms and large tables. OpenTable works with over 70,000 restaurants globally and facilitates 2 billion reservations annually.
Navan has launched its Model Context Protocol, enabling customers to query travel and expense data using natural language through AI tools like Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor. The initial deployment offers read-only access to programme insights and transaction data, with write-access features planned for later. The launch followed a strong first quarter. Navan raised its full-year revenue forecast to $907 million to $913 million and adjusted operating profit guidance to $76 million to $80 million, citing robust business travel demand. First-quarter revenue grew approximately 40% to $220.2 million, beating estimates of $205.3 million. Gross booking volume jumped 50% to $3.1 billion. The company posted an adjusted profit of 8 cents per share versus analysts' forecast of a 1-cent loss.