The airport simulation and terminal planning software market is expected to exceed €1.2 billion by 2029. But most of the tools airports rely on to simulate baggage handling, gate allocation, and terminal flow are still built on single-threaded, sequential event engines, processing system events one after another, step by step.

Real airport operations don't work that way. A belt jam in Zone A affects gates in Zone C. Overlapping flight schedules create cascading passenger surges. Equipment outages trigger reroutes that cause overflow in entirely different terminals. These events happen simultaneously, but the simulation tools process them in sequence, introducing inaccuracies and missing critical edge cases in disruption planning.

Many mid-sized airports still model routing and bag throughput in spreadsheets. Even airports using tools from incumbents like SITA or Amadeus find them fragmented, inflexible, and unable to scale across processors. The result: airports can't efficiently or accurately simulate what they can't parallelize.

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 next-generation simulation platform that supports multithreaded, zone-partitioned, agent-based modeling of airport operations enabling airports to test real-life parameter combinations and disruption scenarios at speed. You'll leverage BEUMER Group's BHS technology, airport customer relationships, and deep operational data 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 — You've worked with or within European industrial or infrastructure companies and understand how complex operational systems are designed, validated, and deployed.

• You have an existing professional network in European aviation, airport operations, simulation software, systems integration, or logistics technology sectors. Familiarity with tools like SITA, Amadeus, or discrete-event simulation platforms is a strong plus.

• You have the ability to navigate complex B2B sales environments — ideally with experience selling technical solutions to airports, airlines, or infrastructure operators. You understand that these are long sales cycles with multiple stakeholders.

• You understand or are excited by simulation, digital twin, or agent-based modeling concepts — and can see how parallelized computation applied to airport operations creates a step-change in planning accuracy.

• 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 aviation, simulation technology, and systems engineering.

• 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