Founding Product Manager

About the Company

We are pioneering the world's decision infrastructure, serving as the strategic counterpart for industrial organizations managing complex combinatorial challenges. Our breakthrough technology models real-world parameters and constraints digitally, enabling multi-dimensional optimization of vital supply chain decisions. Our mission supports Europe's resilience and aids the German Mittelstand in navigating market changes, orders, machinery, and workforce management effectively. Founded by RWTH researchers Dana (CEO) and Erik (CTO), we are backed by a €2.8M investment from Vorwerk Ventures, with customers actively using our optimization models.

Role Overview

This early-stage position involves complete ownership of the product and its strategic priorities. The challenge lies in balancing a vertical go-to-market approach focused on individual use cases with the need to maintain a versatile product adaptable for future clients without rebuilding. The role requires bridging Sales and Engineering teams by translating sales capabilities and promises into build-ready technical requirements and managing the product's boundaries and deliverables.

The initial phase includes significant involvement in customer projects, gaining insights from decision-makers we model to identify patterns that merit product development. This position demands fast-paced, iterative work with tight deadlines and an active focus on aligning product, technology, and market needs daily.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and own the product roadmap including prioritization and justification of features to develop or decline.
• Establish clear distinctions among standard product features, configurable elements, and bespoke customer solutions.
• Create actionable engineering requirements complete with scope, acceptance criteria, and explicit exclusions.
• Communicate product capabilities and limitations credibly to clients.
• Conduct proof-of-value exercises independently and manage specific customer accounts.
• Develop prototypes to test potential features with customers before committing engineering resources.
• Lead product discovery, prioritization, and set standards for interaction between product and engineering teams.

Candidate Profile

• Strong technical and analytical background derived from engineering, data analytics, data science, operations research, quantitative controlling, or finance, supported by a technical degree, technical consulting, or product management experience.
• At least five years of product management experience or consulting roles closely linked with product development, with demonstrated end-to-end ownership of a product area.
• Proven ability to make decisions amidst incomplete information and effectively articulate trade-offs and their consequences.
• Capability to engage with operational leaders like plant managers or controllers, grasp current decision processes, and translate these insights into product requirements.
• Preferred but not mandatory: knowledge or experience in optimization, manufacturing, supply chain, Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), enterprise B2B sales cycles involving operations, IT, and controlling, or early-stage startup environments.
• Proficiency in German at C1 level or above and fluency in English.
• Based in North Rhine-Westphalia (Cologne office) or nearby regions such as Munich, Stuttgart, or Berlin, or willing to adopt a hybrid work model.

Benefits

• Significant impact by leading product direction and decisions.
• High degree of ownership, shaping product processes without bureaucratic approval hurdles.
• Close collaboration with founders, researchers, and modeling experts ensuring direct influence and learning.
• Opportunity to present roadmaps and strategic reasoning to the board and engage with decision-makers whose workflows the product supports.
• Rapid feedback culture encouraging transparency, adjustment, and collective growth.
• Competitive salary and an equity package (VSOP) aligned with your contributions and career path.

Additional Information

The recruitment process includes an introductory conversation with the CEO or CTO, followed by a team interview and a 60-90 minute live case exercise based on a real customer requirement. Final stages involve in-person meetings with the team. Candidates are encouraged to request candid feedback prior to commitment.

"Hustle the day, analyse at night, reinforce something outstanding."