Founding Product Engineer
This role is based in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. You'll be expected to work on-site the majority of the week, with flexibility for occasional remote days. Visa sponsorship is not available — candidates must have an existing right to work in Germany.
Founding Product Engineer for an early-stage startup in Munich, building an AI platform for industrial energy procurement. Requires 2+ years full-stack experience. On-site with occasional remote days, no visa sponsorship.
ABOUT THE ROLE
A fast-moving, early-stage startup building an enterprise-grade AI platform for industrial energy procurement and cost optimization is looking for a Founding Product Engineer to join as one of the first engineers on the team. This is a high-ownership, high-impact role where you'll work directly with founders and customers to shape the product from the ground up.
The platform is data-intensive and technically deep — spanning time-series forecasting, linear optimization, real-time market data, and complex decision-support UIs for industrial energy buyers. You'll have meaningful input into the tech stack and product direction from day one.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
- Own the full product lifecycle from design through deployment.
- Translate product objectives into concrete requirements through close collaboration with customers.
- Design simple, iterative solutions to complex energy procurement and optimization problems.
- Build performant backend services for a data-intensive application.
- Develop intuitive, elegant frontend UIs for complex decision-support workflows.
- Train time-series forecasting models for power consumption and renewables production.
- Develop linear optimization algorithms that reduce customer energy costs.
- Help choose and evolve the core tech stack (PostgreSQL, TypeScript, React, Python).
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
Required
- 2+ years of software engineering experience delivering scalable web applications, ideally in an early-stage startup environment.
- Proven ability to deliver full product features independently in close collaboration with customers.
- Strong fundamentals for building robust, maintainable, and scalable full-stack web applications.
- Experience building backend services for data-intensive applications.
- Experience building frontend UIs for complex, data-rich decision-support systems.
- A genuine product mindset — you think about outcomes, not just output.
- Comfort with ambiguity and a high-ownership, fast-paced startup culture.
Nice to Have
- Hands-on experience with time-series forecasting and/or linear optimization.
- Familiarity with PostgreSQL, TypeScript, React, Python, FastAPI, or Supabase.
- Background as a startup CTO, founding engineer, or technical co-founder.
- Interest in or knowledge of energy markets, industrial operations, or sustainability tech.
- Experience at companies in the industrial technology, energy management, or AI/data space.
LOCATION & WORK ARRANGEMENT
This role is based in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. You'll be expected to work on-site the majority of the week, with flexibility for occasional remote days. Visa sponsorship is not available — candidates must have an existing right to work in Germany.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
- Salary: €85,000 – €140,000 annually, depending on experience.
- Early-stage equity opportunity.
- Direct influence over product, architecture, and company direction.
- Work closely with an experienced founding team at the intersection of AI and the energy transition.