Approximately 20% of global manufacturing and maintenance projects experience cost overruns directly attributable to regulatory compliance. Not because the regulations are new, but because the systems managing them haven't changed in decades.

When an OEM or EPC firm needs to deploy a certified technician to commission a cement kiln in Saudi Arabia or service high-voltage electrics in Poland, the coordination is still manual. Visa status lives in one spreadsheet. Certifications in another. Equipment approvals in a PDF somewhere. Site-specific labor codes on a government website that hasn't been updated since 2014. One expired permit or mismatched credential can idle a million-euro piece of equipment and blow an SLA overnight.

The tendency across jurisdictions is clearly toward more regulation, not less. ESPR, sustainability standards, export compliance, and enforcement is intensifying. And the companies managing this complexity are still stitching it together with email and ERP modules built for a different era.

This is the problem. You're going to build the company that solves it.

The opportunity

Beam has pre-validated this problem through deep industry research and expert interviews. As a Founding Lead, you will take ownership of this opportunity and build a centralized intelligence platform that combines technician credentials, visa status, skill matrices, equipment certification cycles, and regulatory requirements into a live, queryable system enabling OEMs and EPCs to optimize who can go where, and when. You'll leverage BEUMER Group's global project delivery footprint, field service operations, and customer relationships as your unfair advantage.

You're not joining an innovation lab. You're building a real company with equity, funding, and a path to Managing Director.

What the journey looks like

This is an 18-month validation journey divided into 5 phases:

1. Insights (Months 1–2): Deep-dive research, 25+ expert interviews, problem validation

2. Problem-Solution Hypothesis (Months 3–4): Build a product vision, find a tech co-founder, secure 2 pilot commitments

3. Company Idea & Product Validation (Months 5–8): Launch MVP with customers, collect LOIs, write a business plan

4. Board Pitch (Month 9): Present your investment case to Beam and BEUMER Group leadership

5. Launch a Minimum Viable Company (Months 10–18): Incorporate, hire, convert pilots into paying contracts, scale

At each gate, we assess progress together. Not every validation leads to a startup — and that's by design.

We want to speak to you if

• You have 5+ years of professional experience in corporate or consulting environments — operations, project management, engineering services, compliance, HR tech, or industrial technology. You've worked with or within European industrial companies and understand how they deploy people, equipment, and projects across borders.

• You have an existing professional network in European EPC firms, industrial OEMs, field service organizations, aviation MRO, or heavy industry sectors. You've seen the compliance chaos firsthand — or you've been the person trying to fix it with spreadsheets.

• You have the ability to navigate complex B2B sales environments — ideally with experience selling to or working alongside project managers, operations directors, or compliance teams in capital-heavy industries.

• You understand or are excited by cross-jurisdictional regulatory complexity — labor codes, visa regimes, equipment certifications, safety standards — and see the digitization gap as a massive commercial opportunity.

• You can identify a clear company vision and market opportunity and are prepared to defend it with data — rigorously.

• You communicate complex information simply and think clearly without needing to dominate.

• You thrive in ambiguity. You do your homework and go the extra mile to find the opportunity your competitors will miss.

• You are fluent in English and German — both are essential for navigating BEUMER Group's customer landscape and the European market.

What Beam offers

• €4,000/month (gross) so you can focus fully on your validation.

• Co-founder equity — we think long-term and want our founders' motivation to be rock solid.

• Solid funding: if your startup reaches go-to-market, our funding committee secures the runway you need — minimum 18 months after every round.

• Active support in finding suitable co-founders for your venture.

• Access to our network of experts, advisors, and mentors across industrial operations, compliance, and technology.

• A home base at our Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg offices alongside other Founding Leads and startup teams.

This isn't for everyone

• This is based in Berlin, on-site 3 days per week (remote 2 days).

• This starts as a structured validation engagement. If you pass the board pitch at month 9, it becomes your company with co-founder equity and dedicated funding.

• Our bar is high — over 80% of candidates don't make it to launch. But those who do get funded, supported, and backed by a family business that thinks in decades, not quarters. We've launched 12 startups with 16 founders since 2018.

How to apply

• Apply with your LinkedIn profile (CV optional).

• Tell us why this problem excites you and what you'd bring to it.

PS! For more information, head to the FAQ section