Optical engineer Jobs in Köln

We are building the world's decision infrastructure: the strategic twin of every industrial organization for complex combinatorial problems. We unlocked what wasn't possible before: mapping reality with its levers and constraints into a computer, then running n-dimensional optimization on critical value-chain decisions. Founded in 2022 by Dana (CEO) and Erik (CTO), we help Europe stay strong and the German Mittelstand make good decisions between machines, people, materials, orders, and market shifts. We move fast. We care. No patience for problems left unsolved.

You are not a manager. You are the engineer who owns customer success hands-on: you lead the development projects, you are the face to the customer, and together with an additional tech person you are deep in the use cases yourself, building the models. You like solving problems and selling through substance: you take over from the first customers calls taking their problem apart with them and solving them.

What you'll own

• Be the engineering face to the customer from the first calls on: take apart their decision problem live, pre-sales, and turn it into a first mini model
• Scope and lead the Proof of Value and the development project end-to-end; own the result, not just the planning and organisation.
• Build the optimization models yourself together with our research engineers: large, real, decision-grade models on the customer's data and your's and their knowledge.
• Translate messy industrial reality (capacity, capital, lead times, delivery reliability, throughput) into a clean optimization problem and back into a decision the customer can act on.
• Work hand in hand with Dana in Sales: where she opens the door, you carry the substance, help close, and then deliver.
• Help sharpen the delivery playbook: what makes a PoV convert, what makes a model trusted, what makes a Champion sell it internally

Requirements

• A technical analytical foundation by education: 'Wirtschaftsingenieur', 'Wirtschaftsinformatik', mechanical or industrial engineering, mathematics, physics, Operations Research, or similar. Non-negotiable, you sell and deliver at eye level with engineers, head of operations and controlling, in the COO and CFO Office.
• You are strong in data understanding and outstanding in modelling: you build and own modelling (e.g large, complex models in Excel in prior consultancy project ) and enjoy it
• Minimum of 3 years experience in the industry and consulting
• You have run many projects in parallel, and the more there are, the more obsessed you get with structure and efficiency, so that you can run 10+ clients without dropping a ball or loosing your mind.
• You like selling. Even though you are not responsible for cold outbound, you can run the early calls with customers yourself, scope their problem on the spot, and win them into development partnerships.
• You read a P&L, talk OEE and inventory vs. service level with a plant manager, and keep the customer delighted while you deliver.
• German at C1 or higher, full working English.
• Ideally Cologne-based, or willing to relocate / work hybrid; optionally Munich or Stuttgart area or else. Open to find a way if we fit.

Benefits

• Direct line to the founders; you shape how we deliver and sell, side by side with Dana and Erik.
• Skin in the game: competitive base salary and equity (VSOP).
• Sports membership fully covered, we believe in good health when working hard.

How