Head of Development

BlueHeart Energy; Netherlands; Remote; EUR 103,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

ESOP scheme

Hybrid work

25 vacation days

Learning & development

Mental well-being program

Pension scheme

Commuting allowance

Greener world mission

Job summary

BlueHeart Energy seeks a Head of Development to lead the Development organization across R&D, Engineering, and Electronics, Software & Controls. You will translate strategy into execution plans, ensure reliable delivery, and align cross-functional teams with company milestones.

This role requires 10+ years in complex product development, strong leadership, and a track record of scaling engineering in technology-driven companies.

Qualifications

• MSc or BSc in Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in complex product development environments.
• Proven leadership experience managing technical teams and technical leaders.
• Experience scaling engineering organizations in technology-driven companies.
• Background in multidisciplinary product development involving hardware, electronics, software, controls, and systems engineering.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Development organization, including R&D, ENG, ESC teams, and technical program managers.
• Translate technology strategy and product priorities into actionable execution plans.
• Ensure reliable, predictable, and high-quality delivery across technical teams.
• Drive alignment across teams to support milestones and business objectives.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Engineering degree (MSc/BSc)

Tools

MBSE

FMEA

Reliability engineering

Job description

About BlueHeart Energy

Founded in 2016, BlueHeart Energy set out to solve one of the biggest challenges in energy: creating heating and cooling systems that are efficient, affordable, and sustainable.

After nearly a decade of research and development, we introduced the BlueHeart engine: a breakthrough thermoacoustic technology designed to deliver high performance with minimal energy use and zero carbon emissions across residential and industrial applications.

Our work is driven by innovation, precision engineering, and a commitment to redefining heating and cooling for a sustainable world.

About the Role

As Head of Development, you are responsible for leading BlueHeart Energy’s Development organization and ensuring reliable, scalable, and high-quality execution across Engineering, R&D, and technical delivery teams. As a member of the Management Team, you contribute to company-wide goal setting, OKR development, strategic prioritization, and culture building. You are accountable for delivering the company’s technology roadmap and development programs, translating strategic objectives and product priorities into effective execution and measurable business results.

You serve as the principal technical and organizational leader within the Development function and support the CTO in defining product strategy, road to market, and product target setting. You support external-facing investor and commercial discussions as the primary technical representative. As the senior authority within Development, you provide direction to the System Architect and make final prioritization decisions across development activities.

You lead the organization through Program Managers, the System Architect, Product Owners, Team Leads, and senior technical stakeholders. You are responsible for organizational design, leadership development, budget ownership, and the continuous improvement of engineering processes and ways of working. By establishing clear ownership and accountability, you create an environment in which teams can deliver at a consistently high level.

Working closely with other departments and executive leadership, you ensure alignment between technical execution and company priorities. You proactively manage delivery risks, technical dependencies, resource allocation, and complex technical challenges to support the successful execution of development programs.

This role offers a unique opportunity to shape the development of an innovative sustainable heating technology and to drive the successful delivery of next-generation products from concept through industrialization, with a career development path towards CTO.

What You’ll Do

Development Leadership & Delivery

• Lead the Development organization, including the Research and Development (R&D), Engineering (ENG), and Electronics, Software & Controls (ESC) teams, and technical program managers.

• Translate company technology strategy and product priorities into actionable execution plans.

• Ensure reliable, predictable, and high-quality delivery across technical teams.

• Establish clear priorities, accountability, and performance expectations throughout the organization.

• Drive alignment across teams to support company milestones and business objectives.

People Leadership & Organizational Development

• Lead and develop Engineering and Technical Team Leads.

• Strengthen leadership capability, ownership, and decision-making throughout the Development organization.

• Build organizational structures that support company growth and increasing technical complexity.

• Ensure appropriate staffing, capability development, succession planning, and resource allocation.

• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, continuous learning, and technical excellence.

Technical Leadership & Engineering Excellence

• Ensure technical delivery aligns with architectural principles and long-term technology direction.

• Support teams in resolving complex technical challenges, dependencies, and delivery risks.

• Drive alignment on engineering standards, development processes, tooling, and ways of working.

• Promote engineering quality, technical rigor, and scalable development practices.

• Strengthen technical maturity and continuous improvement across the organization.

Cross-Functional Alignment

• Partner closely with Product, Operations, Program Management, and executive leadership.

• Ensure strong communication of delivery progress, technical risks, dependencies, and priorities.

• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration to resolve organizational challenges and execution bottlenecks.

• Balance business priorities, customer needs, technical feasibility, and development capacity.

Risk & Execution Management

• Identify and proactively manage technical, organizational, and delivery risks.

• Ensure visibility and escalation of critical blockers impacting product or technology objectives.

• Drive effective planning, prioritization, and resource management across development activities.

• Establish mechanisms to improve delivery predictability and execution effectiveness.

What We’re Looking For

Education

• MSc or BSc in Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related technical discipline.

Experience

• 10+ years of experience in complex product development environments.

• Proven leadership experience managing technical teams and technical leaders.

• Experience scaling engineering organizations in technology-driven companies.

• Strong background in multidisciplinary product development involving hardware, electronics, software, controls, and systems engineering.

• Experience working in fast-paced innovation, product development, or scale-up environments.

Technical & Leadership Competencies

• Product and technology strategy development and implementation.

• Engineering organization leadership.

• Team coaching, mentoring, and capability development.

• Product development lifecycle management.

• Systems engineering principles and technical decision-making.

• Resource planning and delivery management.

• Technical risk management and problem solving.

• Engineering process standardization and improvement.

• Stakeholder management and cross-functional leadership.

• Organizational scaling and change management.

Preferred

• Experience in energy systems, heat pumps, HVAC, thermal-fluid systems, or related industries.

• Experience with regulated product development environments.

• Familiarity with MBSE, FMEA, reliability engineering, and structured development methodologies.

• Understanding of regulatory and compliance frameworks such as CE, PED, EMC, and LVD.

Success Profile

As a successful Head of Development, you quickly develop a deep understanding of the technology, market, applications, and product value proposition, enabling you to steer commercial strategy toward the strongest product-market opportunities while focusing development efforts on the highest-impact product goals and use cases.

You combine strong engineering and technical leadership with operational excellence. With a strong grasp of the product development lifecycle, you proactively identify risks, accelerate de-risking activities, and anticipate scaling challenges. You effectively navigate complex stakeholder environments, balancing priorities and cutting through noise to focus on the issues that have the greatest impact. Rather than simply maintaining momentum, you proactively identify when corrective action is needed and take ownership to bring initiatives back on track.

You balance a strategic long-term vision with a pragmatic focus on near- and mid-term execution. By consolidating input from team leads, you create clear and structured insights that enable informed stakeholder decisions. You tailor communication and detail appropriate to the audience, and you create clarity in complex environments.

You build high-performing technical leaders and cultivate an ownership culture that enables teams to effectively innovate and adapt. You also bring a clear vision for growth, recognizing the technical, operational, and commercial opportunities and risks involved in scaling from hundreds to thousands and ultimately tens of thousands of units. You establish scalable development processes that support company growth and continuously improve engineering capability and delivery effectiveness.

What we Offer

• Salary range between € 9.200- € 10.300 monthly gross depending on experience.

• Opportunity to participate in the ESOP scheme, directly linked to company value creation and individual performance.

• 25 vacation days.

• Hybrid work arrangement supporting autonomy and work–life balance.

• Tailored learning and development opportunities to support your continued growth.

• Access to OpenUp, because we prioritize mental well-being.

• Participation in our pension scheme with employer contribution.

• Commuting allowance, in line with our travel policy.

• A strategic role in a purpose-driven scale-up, contributing to a greener world and shaping the future of sustainable thermal technology. Learn more about our mission here.