Principal Staff Engineer

THRYVE; Nordrhein-Westfalen; Hybrid; EUR 90.000 - 140.000; Vollzeit

Benefits dieser Stelle

Competitive compensation aligned with senior IC expectations

High-impact Staff / Principal role with architectural authority

Direct access to executive decision-making

Zusammenfassung

A leading software company in the German energy sector seeks a Head of Engineering to guide technical and architectural direction for smart meter platforms. This senior role provides authority over system architecture and requires hands-on experience in regulated software systems within the energy market. The ideal candidate will manage mixed internal and external teams and drive compliance with regulatory demands while communicating effectively across various stakeholders.

Qualifikationen

• Operating at Staff Engineer, Principal Engineer, or equivalent level.
• Experience in the German energy market.
• Designed complex, regulated software systems in production.
• Experience leading mixed engineering teams including external vendors.
• Comfortable making impactful architectural decisions.

Aufgaben

• Own and evolve overall system architecture for compliant software platforms.
• Act as primary technical authority for smart meter rollout.
• Translate regulatory and market requirements into software designs.
• Define engineering principles for security, reliability, and data integrity.
• Coordinating mixed internal and external engineering teams.

Kenntnisse

Technical leadership

Hands-on experience in the German energy market

Architectural decision-making

Influencing without formal management

Communicating complex topics

Jobbeschreibung

Head of Engineering (Staff / Principal Engineer – Energy Platforms)

Location: Ruhr area (Hybrid)

Reports to: CTO / CEO

About the Company

We are a product‑led software company building core platforms for the German energy market, with a focus on MSbG / EnWG‑compliant smart meter rollout and operation.

Our software supports energy market participants in meeting regulatory obligations at scale, covering areas such as:

• Smart meter rollout orchestration
• Gateway administration and operation
• Market communication and data flows
• Security, compliance, and auditability under EnWG

We build long‑lived, mission‑critical software platforms that form part of Germany’s energy infrastructure.

The Role

We are hiring a Staff or Principal‑level Engineer to act as Head of Engineering in a senior individual contributor capacity.

This role exists to provide technical and architectural leadership at the highest level of the organization. It is designed for engineers who already operate at Staff+ level and bring deep domain expertise in the German smart meter ecosystem.

It is a role for someone who sets direction, owns architectural decisions, and represents technical credibility both internally and externally.

What You’ll Do

As Head of Engineering, you will be responsible for the technical integrity, scalability, and regulatory fitness of our platform.

Your responsibilities include:

• Owning and evolving the overall system architecture for MSbG / EnWG‑compliant software platforms
• Acting as the primary technical authority for smart meter rollout, gateway administration, and related market processes
• Translating regulatory and market requirements into robust, scalable, and maintainable software designs
• Defining engineering principles and guardrails for:
• Security and compliance
• Reliability and availability
• Data integrity, traceability, and auditability
• Coordinating and technically leading mixed internal and external engineering teams, ensuring architectural coherence across:
• Internal product and platform teams
• External development partners and vendors
• Partnering closely with Product, Commercial, and Leadership teams to shape:
• Build vs. buy decisions
• Technical positioning in the market
• Supporting sales, partnerships, and customer discussions through technical due diligence and credibility
• Representing the company in high‑stakes technical conversations with customers, partners, and industry stakeholders
• Diving deep into complex technical or regulatory problems when required

Requirements

You should apply only if most of the following describe you:

• You are currently operating at Staff Engineer, Principal Engineer, or equivalent level
• You have hands‑on experience in the German energy market.
• You have owned or designed complex, regulated software systems in production
• You have experience growing, coordinating, and technically leading mixed internal and external engineering teams, including:
• External vendors or implementation partners
• Maintaining architectural consistency across organizational boundaries
• You are able to influence technical direction without formal line management
• You are comfortable making architectural decisions with business, regulatory, and operational impact
• You can communicate complex technical and regulatory topics clearly to executives, customers, and partners
• You have a strong engineering foundation and can go hands‑on when necessary, even if coding is not your primary focus

What We Offer

• A high‑impact Staff / Principal IC role with real architectural authority
• Direct access to executive decision‑making
• Long‑term ownership of a mission‑critical platform
• Competitive compensation aligned with senior IC expectations
• The opportunity to help define how smart meter platforms are built and operated in Germany