Country Lead - Germany

HyLight; Paris; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Ownership and leadership

Direct access to founders

Shareholder potential

Public transport reimbursement

Bike provided

Free lunch

Bi-annual offsite trips

Modern offices

Job summary

HyLight is seeking a Country Lead to build its business in Germany from the ground up. You will establish the commercial presence, secure pilot projects with German utilities, and lay foundations for scalable growth.

During the first 6 months you’ll be based near Paris, collaborating with engineering and leaderships teams before relocating to Germany to scale the business and drive market success.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business, Engineering, Energy, or related field.
• Equivalent entrepreneurial or commercial experience valued.
• Native German speaker and fluent English.
• Experience opening or leading a business, subsidiary or market in Germany.
• Strong business development with enterprise customers.
• Excellent negotiation and relationship-building skills.

Responsibilities

• Define go-to-market strategy for Germany.
• Build HyLight's commercial presence from the ground up.
• Develop relationships with German utilities, regulators, and partners.
• Secure pilot projects and convert them into long-term contracts.
• Lead establishment of HyLight's German entity and local operations.
• Coordinate with engineering and leadership teams to ensure delivery and feedback.

Skills

German native

Fluent English

Business development

Negotiation

Relationship building

Strategic thinking

Ownership

Decision making

Education

Bachelor/Master in Business

Engineering/Energy background

Job description

About HyLight

Power lines, gas pipelines and railways are still inspected the way they were 50 years ago: by helicopter. Expensive, noisy, and up to a tonne of CO₂ per flight hour.

We built the alternative. The HyLighter is a 12-metre autonomous airship running on hydrogen. It flies for up to 10 hours, almost silently, and spots a 1 mm defect from 25 metres up.

But the airship is only half the story. Every flight brings back massive amounts of LiDAR, imagery and methane data, and that's where the value is. Our AI turns it into what operators act on: 50+ types of defects detected automatically, and leaks pinpointed across their network.

It's not a prototype. HyLighters already fly missions for France's largest energy and rail operators and have flown over the Palace of Versailles. Backed by Y Combinator, we just raised €13M to go from 4 airships to 15.

Working at HyLight

We design, build and fly every HyLighter, and turn its data into insight, all under one roof on a former airbase. Which means:

• You'd own it all the way. At a big aerospace company, you'd own a small piece of one subsystem. Here, you design it, test it, stand on the airfield when it flies, and see the client act on the data it brings back.
• Weeks, not years. Ideas go from whiteboard to flight test in weeks.
• Responsibility from day one. The founders’ average age is 27. Nobody here waits for permission.

We don't care about titles or ticking every box. We care about what you build and the perspective you bring, so if your profile is different, apply anyway.

Job Summary

We're looking for an entrepreneurial Country Lead to build HyLight's business in Germany from the ground up.

This is a founding role with full ownership of one of HyLight's most strategic international expansions. You'll establish our commercial presence, secure our first pilot projects with German utilities, and lay the foundations for a scalable business.

During your first 6 months, you'll be based at our headquarters near Paris, working alongside our engineering, operations, product, and leadership teams. This immersion will give you a deep understanding of our technology, customers, and execution model before relocating to Germany to launch and grow the business.

This role combines business development, partnerships, operations, and entrepreneurship. If you enjoy creating opportunities where none exist and thrive in fast-moving environments, you'll fit right in

The Mission

Launch HyLight in Germany

• Define and execute HyLight's go-to-market strategy for Germany.
• Build HyLight's commercial presence from the ground up.
• Identify, approach and develop relationships with German utility companies, infrastructure operators and strategic partners.
• Secure multiple pilot projects within the first year.
• Convert pilot projects into long-term commercial contracts.

Build the business

• Lead the establishment of HyLight's German entity and local operations.
• Develop relationships with regulators, industry associations and key stakeholders.
• Represent HyLight at customer meetings, industry events and conferences.
• Continuously identify new commercial opportunities and partnerships.

Drive execution

• Coordinate closely with engineering and operations teams to ensure successful project delivery.
• Gather customer feedback to improve our product and commercial offering.
• Help recruit and build the future German team as the business scales.

Own market success

• Build and manage a robust commercial pipeline.
• Lead commercial negotiations with enterprise customers.
• Report directly to the leadership team on market progress and strategy.
• Become HyLight's ambassador in Germany.

Profile Sought

Education

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Business, Engineering, Energy, or a related field.
• Equivalent entrepreneurial or commercial experience is equally valued.

Technical Skills

• Proven experience working with German utility companies or the German energy sector.
• Experience opening, scaling or leading a business, subsidiary or market in Germany.
• Strong business development experience with enterprise customers.
• Excellent commercial negotiation and relationship-building skills.
• Comfortable working with both technical and executive stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of the German business landscape.
• Native German speaker.
• Fluent English.

Soft Skills

• Autonomous and hands-on in project execution.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with strong ownership.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity.
• Excellent communicator and relationship builder.
• Strategic thinker with a bias for execution.
• Curious, eager to learn, and passionate about building and experimenting.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary team.
• Willing to spend the first 6 months in France before relocating to Germany.
• Willing to travel extensively throughout Germany.

Bonus Qualities

• Existing network within German utilities, TSOs, DSOs or infrastructure operators.
• Experience in climate tech, drones, aerospace, robotics, industrial inspection or energy.
• Experience working in a startup or scale-up.
• Experience launching a new country or market.
• Experience hiring and building teams.
• Passion for climate technologies and infrastructure innovation.

What We Offer

• Annual compensation: Competitive, based on experience.
• Performance-based bonus.
• Real responsibility and ownership of HyLight's expansion into Germany.
• Direct access to founders and leadership.
• Opportunity to build and lead an entire country operation.
• Potential to become a shareholder in HyLight.
• 100% reimbursement of public transport pass (Navigo) or €800/year for sustainable commuting.
• Bike provided for commuting.
• Free lunch.
• Bi-annual offsite trips with the whole team.
• Excellent work environment: international team, team events, beautiful offices on a former airbase.

Why You Should Join

• Founder Mentality: We value extreme ownership and want people who think like founders, fast decision makers, natural problem solvers, and executers.
• Ground Floor Opportunity: You'll be helping to shape and grow a revolutionary company with the resources to back it.
• Impact & Speed: Work in a fast-paced environment where your contributions will have immediate, tangible effects on the company's success.

Interview Process

• Introductory phone call (30 min)
• Technical case study followed by a debrief with leadership team
• On-site meeting with the team (3-4h)
• Reference calls

Location

Phase 1 - France (3-6 months)

• Office: Base 217, Brétigny-sur-Orge, accessible via RER C.
• During your onboarding, you'll work side-by-side with our engineering, operations and commercial teams to develop a deep understanding of our technology, customers and ways of working. This period is essential to prepare you for successfully launching the German market.

Phase 2 - Germany

• You'll relocate to Germany to establish and lead HyLight's operations, while remaining closely connected to the French headquarters and leadership team.