---
title: 'Technical Founder''s Associate (Berlin, on-site) at Sensmore'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/technical-founder-s-associate-berlin-on-site-sensmore-berlin-vnwsx2998q1m'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-10'
---

# Technical Founder's Associate (Berlin, on-site) at Sensmore

- **Company:** Sensmore
- **Location:** Berlin, Germany / Potsdam, Germany
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2026-08-19
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/sensmore/6195ce2d-dcdd-43d2-8f48-5dc47755afd2

## Job description

sensmore is a Berlin/Potsdam-based robotics startup delivering production-proven automation for industries where the world’s raw materials are extracted, moved, and processed. Its automation system transforms heavy machines into intelligent, automated robots powered by Physical AI and vertically integrates them into the full production environment: from the machine and safety infrastructure to network infrastructure, site processes, and operational interfaces. Co-developed with customers, sensmore is backed by Point Nine Capital, leading industry investors, the State of Brandenburg, and the European Union. Role Overview: We are looking for a hands-on Founder's Associate to work directly with our two founders in Berlin. This role suits someone with a technical background who has already run complex projects to a deadline in a genuinely demanding environment - ideally 1–3 years at a top-tier strategy consultancy in Germany (Bain, McKinsey, BCG or similar), where managing multiple workstreams, stakeholders, and shifting priorities at once was the daily standard. The core of the job is scoping and managing complex projects and keeping internal and external alignment in check, working side by side with both founders. You should be technical enough to earn credibility with our engineering team. Key Responsibilities:

- Scope and run high-priority projects end to end on behalf of the founders (defining the plan, driving delivery, and reporting on progress) across customer pilots, field deployments, internal tooling, and process automation.
- Keep internal and external alignment in check: make sure engineering, commercial, and operations are working to the same plan, and that customers, partners, and suppliers know where things stand.
- Hold several complex workstreams in parallel, with the structure, pace, and stakeholder management expected in a consulting environment, and keep them all moving when priorities change mid-week.
- Prepare material for investors, grant programmes, and customers, and work closely with both founders on whatever is most critical that week.

Required Qualifications:

- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
- 1–3 years of project management experience in a high-demand, delivery-focused environment: top-tier management consulting in the German market strongly preferred. You should be able to point to specific projects you scoped and owned, the stakeholders you managed, and the deadlines you hit.
- Proven ability to structure ambiguous problems into a plan and deliver against it under time pressure, without a project manager above you.
- Business-fluent German (native or near-native preferred) and an interest in customers in mining, construction, or heavy industry.
- Able to ship working software with AI coding tools such as Claude Code or Cursor – scripts, prototypes, and automations – with enough Python and SQL to review, debug, and trust what comes out.
- Valid category B driving licence, and the willingness to drive to customer sites, transport equipment, and move machines and hardware.
- Based in Berlin (or willing to relocate), happy to work on-site, and comfortable spending time in a workshop and around heavy machinery in operation.

Preferred Skills:

- Experience managing projects with German industrial, mining, or construction clients.
- Exposure to robotics, autonomous systems, machine learning, or industrial hardware.
- A track record of building something yourself outside a structured employer

What We Offer:

- Build physical AI for the world's largest off-highway machinery – making them intelligent, safe, and ready for every tough task
- Join the pioneer in intelligent robotics backed by Point Nine & other Tier 1 investors
- Combine cutting-edge robotics research in end-to-end learning & Vision Language Action Model with real-world heavy mobile equipment
- Tailor your own career path, whether you like to become technical specialist or technical team lead
- Experience a great team culture, beverages, and an amazing office environment

Benefits:

- Attractive compensation package and stock options.
- Beverages on-site and regular social events.
- Engage with top-tier researchers, engineers, and thought leaders.
- Influence the future of robotic technologies and tackle significant technological challenges.
- Assistance with relocation to Berlin.

About Us: Heavy machinery, light years ahead. sensmore automates the world's largest machines with unprecedented intelligence. Our proprietary Physical AI enables heavy machines such as wheel loaders to instantly adapt to dynamic environments and execute new tasks without prior training. We integrate cutting-edge robotics into a platform powering intelligence and automation products - transforming productivity and safety for customers in mining, construction, and adjacent industries today. We are proudly backed by Point Nine and other Tier 1 investors.

## About Sensmore

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Sensmore builds an AI‑driven automation platform that retrofits heavy machinery (haul trucks, wheel loaders, etc.) into autonomous robots for mining, construction, and raw‑material operations.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed / Series A stage; last round $7.3M led by Point Nine Capital)
- **Headquarters**: Berlin, Germany (also has presence in Singapore and the UK)
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Maximilian Rolf (CEO) and Bjarne Johannsen (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Heavy machinery automation for mining, construction, aggregate, and raw‑material extraction.
- **Target customers**: B2B, focusing on large open‑pit sites, quarry operators, and industrial material handlers (e.g., CEMEX, Lhoist).
- **Mission / purpose**: “Heavy machinery. Light years ahead.” — to transform manual, dangerous operations into safe, autonomous, and efficient systems using Physical AI.

## Products & Services
- **Sensmore Site OS**: A live operational layer that gives site supervisors a single source of truth for fleet monitoring, productivity tracking, and decision support.
- **Sensmore Machine Assist**: Intelligent collision alerts and precision positioning for drivers, reducing downtime and accidents.
- **Sensmore Eye**: Vision‑based quality control and environment awareness (e.g., material composition, hazard detection).
- **Sensmore Live Mapping**: Real‑time 3D mapping of the site for planning and navigation.
- **Sensmore Loader Automation**: Full autonomous load‑and‑carry cycles for Load‑Haul‑Dump (LHD) machines (currently in field testing).

All products are modular, retrofittable, and powered by an end‑to‑end AI stack (cameras, 4D radar, and multimodal reasoning).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed.
- **Key Metric**: **Total Funding** – $10.3‑$13.7M (reports vary; latest round $7.3M announced May 2025). Sources: [CB Insights](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/sensmore), [LinkedIn](https://de.linkedin.com/company/sensmore).
- **Notable Investors / Partners**:
  - Lead: Point Nine Capital
  - Additional: Acequia Capital, Tiny Supercomputer Investment Company, Prototype Capital, Entrepreneur First
  - Notable angels: Amar Shah (Wayve), Michael Wax (Forto), Arnoud Balhuizen (former CCO BHP), Elmar Leiblein (former CEO Thyssenkrupp Mining)
  - Non‑dilutive funding from the State of Brandenburg and the European Union
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Employee headcount grew 100% YoY (15 people as of mid‑2025); 13 current job openings
  - Customer rollouts at several of Europe’s largest open‑pit sites (e.g., CEMEX and Lhoist)
  - First fully automated LHD machine undergoing field testing, performing complete cycles without human intervention
  - Monthly job postings grew 18.2%, quarterly +160%

## Competitive Advantages
- **Full‑system provider**: Sensmore retrofits hardware and proprietary AI software onto existing heavy machines — no need to buy new autonomous equipment.
- **Physical AI approach**: Combines vision, language, and action models (think Wayve for cars but for industrial machinery) enabling real‑time adaptation without prior training.
- **Co‑development model**: Automation systems are built and tested alongside operators on live sites, ensuring practical, field‑ready solutions.
- **Harsh‑condition reliability**: Uses 4D radar + cameras + AI to maintain performance in dust, darkness, and extreme weather.

## Strategic Focus
- **Immediate**: Expand field deployments and further harden the autonomous LHD system for commercial launch.
- **Medium‑term**: Grow the modular product suite (Machine Assist, Eye, Site OS) to generate recurring data and revenue while building toward full autonomy.
- **Long‑term**: Become the operating system for raw‑material sites worldwide — connecting machines, people, and data into a single intelligent platform.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Early‑stage, research‑driven robotics startup with a “customer‑first, field‑first” mindset. Engineers work on real hardware that directly improves safety and productivity.
- **Work environment**: Based in Berlin/Potsdam, Germany; likely hybrid (office presence for hardware work). Technical team makes up ~75% of headcount (12 of 15 people).
- **Open roles**: 13 active positions in robotics simulation, hardware engineering, AI/ML, state estimation, and mechatronics (see [jobs.ashbyhq.com/sensmore](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/sensmore)).
- **Perks / highlights**: Opportunity to work on embodied AI at the intersection of robotics and heavy industry; backed by top VCs and industry veterans; strong emphasis on safety and real‑world impact.

## Sources
1. [sensmore.ai](https://www.sensmore.ai/)
2. [sensmore Careers](https://www.sensmore.ai/careers)
3. [LinkedIn – sensmore](https://de.linkedin.com/company/sensmore)
4. [CB Insights – sensmore profile](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/sensmore)
5. [Pulse 2.0 – “sensmore: $7.3 Million Raised For Turning Machines Into Intelligent Robots”](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/sensmore) (via CB Insights)

## Other roles at Sensmore

- [Working Student - Mechatronics Assembly Technician (20 hrs)](https://feeny.ai/job/working-student-mechatronics-assembly-technician-20-hrs-sensmore-potsdam-zyf5zzb44fjp) — Potsdam, Germany
- [Electronics / Embedded Robotics Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/electronics-embedded-robotics-engineer-sensmore-potsdam-r3s2w54kg9j2) — Potsdam, Germany
- [Machine Learning Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-engineer-sensmore-berlin-9be9zmbh48vy) — Berlin, Germany
- [Robotics Hardware Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-hardware-engineer-sensmore-potsdam-qztshxr9tfvc) — Potsdam, Germany
- [PhD Research Internship – Robotics Engineer (VLM / VLA Models)](https://feeny.ai/job/phd-research-internship-robotics-engineer-vlm-vla-models-sensmore-berlin-8kmngjwfa82a) — Berlin, Germany / Potsdam, Germany
- [Robotics Engineer - AI](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-engineer-ai-sensmore-potsdam-bnjm8gv8kbeb) — Potsdam, Germany
- [Robotics State Estimation Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-state-estimation-engineer-sensmore-potsdam-nxvgrha5y001) — Potsdam, Germany
- [ML Ops / Data Engineer - Robotics](https://feeny.ai/job/ml-ops-data-engineer-robotics-sensmore-potsdam-61t8514rbfzz) — Potsdam, Germany
- [Robotics Engineer - Vision Language Action Model](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-engineer-vision-language-action-model-sensmore-berlin-mwerx1aj7ebb) — Berlin, Germany / Potsdam, Germany
- [Robotics Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-engineer-sensmore-berlin-y9ddefcrt2sw) — Berlin, Germany