Country Lead - Germany at HyLight in Paris

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 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: Under the guidance of the CEO and CBO, you will: 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