Head of Software Engineering (f/m/d)

Permanent employee, Full-time · München, Remote

Your mission

Did you know that one single container ship emits more CO2 than 65,000 cars?

At CargoKite we are keen on changing this by developing the sailing ship of the 21st century. We are a diverse team of visionaries, engineers, and environmental advocates united by a common goal: to develop cutting-edge solutions that propel the shipping industry into a more sustainable era.

Are you a visionary with a passion for combating climate change? Do you have a knack for turning groundbreaking ideas into tangible, sustainable hardware solutions? If so, we invite you to join our trailblazing team at CargoKite and shape the future of maritime transportation.
We are seeking a software engineer, experienced in the fields of algorithmics and end-to-end software development, to lead our department in building crucial planning, perception, analytics and visualization software to fulfill our vision of decarbonizing the shipping industry with autonomous, wind-powered vessels. Your role will involve mentoring junior engineers, facilitating knowledge sharing, and leading by example in designing superior algorithms and writing efficient, high-quality code.

Your

Work cross-functionally with other department leads and our CTO to make critical decisions and ensure designs will meet overall system requirements
Drive make-or-buy decisions to reach strategic objectives
Design, develop and evaluate routing algorithms to ensure our ships follow a path optimized for weather conditions and other objectives
Devise software architectures and ensure cyber security requirements are met
Design, develop and evaluate motion planning and decision planning algorithms for our vessels
Ensure highly accurate predictions of the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) of our vessels, by leveraging machine learning to mitigate the impact of weather forecast inaccuracies.
Design, develop and evaluate perception algorithms to fuse data from cameras, radars and other sensors (e.g., to detect obstacles and waves)
Write and guide the implementation of python prototypes for routing, perception and decision algorithms
Write efficient, well-tested C++ code
Shape our software development processes and align our tech stack accordingly
Work with platform and UI engineers to ensure display of useful on-board information to users for near real time visualization
Motivate and empower teammates to achieve outstanding levels of performance.

Your profile

8+ years professional experience in software development, with prior experience leading tech projects
5+ years of professional experience writing production grade software using C++ and Python
Deep understanding of autonomous systems, computer vision, and robotics principles
Experience with Web Application architecture and implementation
Deep understanding of routing and decision algorithms
BS or MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or related field
Excellent knowledge of machine learning algorithms
Knowledge of cloud platforms (e.g. AWS, Azure, GCP) and DevOps practices
Familiarity with GPU accelerated algorithm development
Excellent communication and leadership skills
Experience with mentoring a young team of engineers
Experience in structuring, processing and streaming large amounts of data (incl. relevant tools such as Apache Kafka)
EU work permit (CargoKite does not provide any visa sponsorship for this role).

Desired Skills and Experience

Kitesurfing, paragliding or sailing experience (including associated certificates: SBF/ SKS) is a plus
Hands-on experience with online state estimation and sensor fusion
Experience with perception sensing technologies like radar, cameras, acoustics, etc.
Experience working in industries related to robotics, autonomous vehicles, or remote operations
Experience with real-time control
Experience with certifications processes
Experience with robotics middleware such as ROS, DDS, ZMQ, MQTT
Experience working with geospatial data

What we offer

Opportunity to join a deep-tech startup as an employee from the very beginning, and contribute to the strategic decision making of the company.
Outstanding opportunities for personal development through a great deal of creative freedom and a high degree of independence and impact on your team and the company.
Competitive compensation and equity options.
A collaborative and inclusive work environment in which we can rely on each other, and which values your contributions and ideas.
Chance to make a meaningful impact on the future of the shipping industry & our planet.
Health and wellness benefits (sports, public transport ticket etc.).
Flexible working hours with the possibility to work from home.

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About us

We are CargoKite, a Munich-based early-stage startup developing a new, wind-powered ship class for oversea transportation of freight. We are a spin-off from the Technical University of Munich and aim to decarbonize global shipping. With our high-tech sailing ship we help commercial shipping companies to reduce operating costs, cut emissions by 100% and enable a faster and more customizable shipping service. After recently closing our seed funding round with international top-tier investors from the US and Europe, we are now looking to grow our world-class crew!

At CargoKite, we believe that diversity and equal opportunity are key to success. Therefore, we create an inclusive environment for all employees and are open to diverse applications, regardless of age, skin color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation or other legally protected characteristics.

Do I need to meet all the requirements to apply?
Studies by several different sources have shown that, on average, men will apply for a job if they meet 60% of the application requirements. In contrast, women/non-binary people will seek to match a much higher percentage of the requirements before applying.

We encourage everyone to apply and give us a chance to evaluate your skills and experience. We are all learning on the job, and although the listing above has been carefully compiled, we are also open-minded and interested to hear about the value you can bring to the role and to us as a company.

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We are looking forward to receiving your application!

We appreciate your interest in CargoKite. Please fill in the following short form. Should you have any difficulties in uploading your files, please contact us by mail at recruiting@carogkite.com.