A curated technology community
One Echelon is a private professional network for engineers and technology leaders who want to build meaningful relationships, exchange expertise and participate in technical events, hackathons and community programming.
One Echelon brings together experienced technology professionals who want more than another online group. Members participate in technical discussions, events, hackathons and opportunities to contribute their expertise.
The community
One Echelon is designed for experienced professionals who want to meet thoughtful peers, contribute to the broader technology ecosystem and remain close to the people building what comes next.
Meet peers across companies, industries and technical disciplines.
Exchange ideas with other leaders responsible for teams, products and technical decisions.
Connect with professionals working across applied AI, machine learning, data infrastructure and emerging technologies.
Build relationships with engineers, operators and specialists across the technology ecosystem.
Membership
Connect with experienced engineers and technology leaders in a community intentionally built around professional quality rather than volume.
Participate in private discussions, technical sessions, roundtables and community gatherings throughout the year.
Take part in One Echelon hackathons as builders, mentors or selected judges based on experience and event requirements.
Share knowledge, participate in community initiatives and build meaningful professional relationships with peers.
Upcoming
10–13 September
Virtual · Open now
Pick a workflow somebody currently does by hand and build an agent that automates it. Any model, any framework, any tooling. You then demo it live to a panel that has already read your code.
Further events announced to members first
One Echelon members and event participants bring experience from companies and technical organizations across the industry.
Company names reflect the individual professional experience of One Echelon members and event participants. They do not imply endorsement, sponsorship, partnership or any other affiliation between those companies and One Echelon.
Founding membership
Membership gives you access to the One Echelon professional community, member programming, private events and opportunities to participate in eligible community initiatives throughout the year.
Membership is by application. Dues, where they apply, are discussed only after a place has been offered.
Applications are reviewed to maintain the quality and relevance of the community.
Application
Tell us what you have built and where we can see it. Every application is read by the founding team.
For companies
One Echelon works with select organizations interested in supporting technical events, hackathons and community programming.
Questions
One Echelon is intended primarily for engineers, technology leaders, technical founders and other experienced professionals working within the technology ecosystem.
Yes. Dues are set by the board and shared with you when we offer you a place. Applying is free, and no fee is raised at any point before an offer is made.
Applications are reviewed to help maintain a relevant and high-quality professional community. Applicants will receive further information after their application has been reviewed.
No. Hackathon judging, mentoring and other event roles depend on each event's requirements, a member's experience and organizer selection. If you intend to be prioritized, we will do our best!
One Echelon may organize both virtual and in-person programming. Individual event pages will specify the format.
Members receive access to the One Echelon community, member programming and eligible community events and initiatives throughout the membership year.
Join a community of engineers and technology leaders interested in building, contributing and learning alongside accomplished peers.
Membership
Every member has sat down with the founding team, and potentially one or two existing members.
How admission works
You send us an email Tell us what you have built and where we can see it. Any public achievements we can look at, and any profile links, would help.
We read it Every application is read by the founding team. If we think you are a fit for the room, we invite you to interview.
You meet the founding team A conversation about your work, what you are building next, and what you would want out of being here.
You meet two members Two existing members interview you separately.
A decision You hear from us in writing either way, with the reasoning behind it.
What members do
Participate in competitions, or support them by offering guidance and advice to members.
Panels are drawn from the membership. If you want to judge, tell us which competitions suit your work and we will seat you where the fit is right.
Every competition opens with an address, and we run evenings between them. Members take those slots.
Members interview candidates for the cohorts that follow theirs. The room decides who joins the room.
Dues
Membership carries dues, set by the board and shared with you when we offer you a place.
Dues cover competition prize pools, the programming between events, and our operations.
Panels and speaking slots are filled from the membership on fit.
How to apply
Write to us with what you have built and links to where we can see it. Include a brief about you, plus your CV, LinkedIn, and any public achievements. Use the subject line “Founding Member Interest”. We will reach back out if we think you are a good fit.
Upcoming events · 10–13 September · Virtual
Build an agent that takes a real workflow off a real person's desk. Any model, any framework, any tooling. You then demo it live to a panel that has already read your code. You can vibe-code, build it from scratch, however you want.
Reach out to hello@oneechelon.club to be a participant or a judge, or if you want to learn more. Please send us a brief about you plus your resume or LinkedIn.
The brief
Pick a workflow somebody currently does by hand. Build an agent that automates it.
Use any model, any framework, any tooling, paid or open. Just declare what you used.
Full details will be provided to participants.
Scoring
Four dimensions, ten points each. Published here before entry opens and not changed afterwards.
Does it work, is it well built, and does it handle the case that is not the demo.
A genuinely new approach, as against a competent assembly of parts everybody already has.
Would the person whose workflow this is actually adopt it on Monday.
Documentation, legibility of the code, quality of the demo.
How judging works
Every submission is scored independently by at least two judges, each leaving a written comment on every dimension. Where scores diverge sharply the panel discusses the submission on the call before placements are settled. Judges declare conflicts and step aside before scoring begins.
13 September
Time to be confirmed. The panel arrives having already scored the code.
Welcome Format, rubric, and how the panel reached its shortlist.
Opening address Speaker to be announced
Demonstrations Shortlisted teams present in turn, with questions from the panel. Time per team depends on how many are shortlisted.
Placements Results, with the panel's reasoning given aloud. Written scores follow by email and the full record is published afterwards.
Afterwards
We work on a six week cycle. Theme set, panel seated and named publicly, rubric published, the build window, then judging and a full public record of the result.
Every competition publishes its real figures, however modest. We would rather be small and accurate than large and unverifiable.
Principles
A membership is only worth belonging to if getting in is honest. These are our board's policy rather than aspiration.
In practice
We admit people who are on the verge of building the next significant thing in AI. Once you are in, we will do what it takes to support you, whether that is starting a company or something as small as testing an idea. Mentorship, resources, introductions. Make the request and we will do our best.
No fee to apply, no fee to be interviewed, no fee if we say no. Dues are raised only after a place has been offered.
If you want to build an idea on your own and would rather nobody else were involved, we stay hands off and let you build it. Nothing you are working on has to be shared with the room.
Competition rubrics are published before entry opens and are not altered afterwards. A standard we would not publish is not a standard.
Every membership application is scored independently by at least one member, with written reasoning recorded. Candidates are interviewed by one or two members as well as by us.
If you want to host an event with One Echelon, you will have our contact details. Ask, and we will accommodate it where it serves the membership. Members are also welcome to host their own events outside the club, and we encourage it. That informal setting is usually where people actually get to know each other.
We connect members with proven mentors, experts, and resources suited to what they are working towards, and to people worth knowing long after the project ends.
Anyone with a commercial, employment, or advisory relationship to a candidate or entrant steps aside from assessing them, and the fact that they did is recorded by name.
Complaints about a decision, a panel, or how a competition was run go straight to the board and get a written answer.
Details