---
title: 'VP Programmes at SE3 Labs'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/vp-programmes-se3-labs-munich-ysypk5n7qs28'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-18'
---

# VP Programmes at SE3 Labs

- **Company:** SE3 Labs
- **Location:** Munich, Germany
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-18
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-18
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/se3/2dc3fcfd-be59-49f7-b99d-ff4edf00977c

## Job description

Join SE3 Labs as VP of Programs Lead SE3's pursuit of government programmes, from first requirement to contract award, and help build the team that wins them.

## About SE3

SE3 Labs builds spatial intelligence and autonomy software for unmanned systems. We combine 3D computer vision, state estimation and AI to help autonomous platforms perceive their surroundings, know where they are and operate when GPS and other sensors become unreliable. Defence is a core application of our work today. We are growing to a team of 100+ people. Join at a stage where you can shape our Programmes team, help build the team and grow your responsibilities as the company expands.

## About the Role

As VP of Programs, you'll lead SE3's most important government programme pursuits, taking opportunities from early requirements through procurement, bid and negotiation to contract award. You'll work closely with our founders, commercial leadership and engineers in Munich, and build a small programmes team around you while staying hands-on in every pursuit. Your work decides which of our capabilities reach long-term service with government customers.

## What You'll Work On

- Programme Capture: Lead the pursuit of government programmes, shaping requirements early and building the case for SE3's systems.
- Bids & Proposals: Own bids and proposals end to end, bringing together technical, commercial and delivery input from across the company.
- Procurement to Contract: Guide opportunities through procurement processes, commercial negotiation and contract award.
- Customer Relationships: Build trusted relationships with government programme offices and end users.
- Delivery Alignment: Work with engineering and delivery teams so that commitments are realistic and programmes are set up to succeed after award.
- Programmes Team: Hire and develop a small team of programme and bid managers as our pipeline grows.

## Your Profile

- You take ownership of outcomes and remove obstacles without waiting for direction. You turn discussions into clear decisions and decisions into deliverables, and you hold yourself and your team to a consistently high standard.
- You have played a lead role in winning government programmes, with a clear personal contribution to the outcome.
- You know government defence customers and their procurement processes, and you have managed bids from requirement to award.
- You have led or mentored a team and want to build one, while still doing much of the work yourself.
- You work well with engineers and can turn technical capability into a credible, compelling proposal.
- You move quickly and take responsibility in an early-stage company, and you're based in Munich or willing to relocate.
- You speak fluent English; German is a plus. Given the nature of SE3's work in the defence sector, candidates must be eligible to work on defence-related projects and, where required, obtain the relevant security clearance.

Especially Valued Bonus Skills

- Military experience.
- Experience in defence programme management or a government programme office.
- An established network across European defence customers.
- Experience with autonomous systems, UAVs or software-defined defence.

## Perks & Benefits

- Real Ownership: Participate in SE3's growth through our employee participation programme
- Work Environment to Excel at: Find a high-quality and modern toolset, flat hierarchy and a skilled, driven team which will push the limits together with you
- AI-boosted workplace: We empower every employee with best-in-class AI tools and agents, giving you unlimited access to the latest advancements and a true productivity edge
- 31 Paid Days Off: 30 vacation days plus your birthday off
- Well-being Access: Free membership to gyms, yoga, and wellness through EGYM Wellpass
- Team Offsites: We go on 2 company retreats per year, our last ones were in Italy and Greece
- Mentorship: Work closely with experienced engineers and get paired with a professional mentor to support your growth

Our Process

- Intro Call (30 min): Let's get to know each other.
- Case Study (90 min): We work through a realistic bid or programme capture scenario together.
- Deep-Dive Interview (1 hr): We dive into programmes you have helped win, bids you have led and how you work with engineering teams.
- Team Dinner / Lunch: Meet the team and see whether it is a strong fit on both sides.

## Equal Opportunity

SE3 is an equal-opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. All qualified candidates will be considered for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.

## About SE3 Labs

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: SE3 Labs builds next-generation spatial AI for autonomous systems, enabling machines to perceive, reason, and act autonomously in the physical world.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Pre-Seed stage; $3.2M total funding)
- **Headquarters**: Munich, Germany
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Lukas Köstler (CEO), Simon Klenk (CTO), Daniel Cremers (CSO)

## Core Business
- Primary industry/industries: Defence technology, autonomous systems, spatial AI, computer vision
- Target customers: Defence organisations (e.g., German Bundeswehr), defence contractors, operators of unmanned aerial/ground systems (B2G/B2B)
- Mission or purpose: “Laying the foundation for a new generation of resilient, software-defined capabilities” and advancing Europe’s technological sovereignty through spatial intelligence.

## Products & Services
- **Spatial AI Platform**: A hardware-agnostic, on-edge software stack that combines navigation, perception, and AI reasoning. It provides:
  - **GNSS-denied navigation** (visual-inertial odometry, real-time map matching)
  - **Real-time 3D common operating picture** (semantic understanding, sub-metre localisation)
  - **Natural language swarm control** – one operator commands mixed aerial/ground swarms via spoken intent
  - **AI agents** that analyse the environment and reason over objects and movements in real time
  - **Sensor-to-shooter capability** – target-grade coordinate generation for coordinated action

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of $3.2M (conflicting reports: $3.15M per PitchBook) [linkedin.com](https://de.linkedin.com/company/se3-labs) [pitchbook.com](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/542367-37)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Lakestar, Seedcamp, EWOR, Sequoia Scout Fund, UnternehmerTUM Funding for Innovators, SDAC, Magnetic, TwinTrack Ventures, Plug and Play, founders of Flixbus and Ascending Technologies, EUDIS Business Accelerator
- **Growth Signals**: 150% YoY headcount growth (29 employees); active under contract with the German Bundeswehr; multiple defence contracts won; reduced sensor-to-shooter timeline “by an order of magnitude”; presence in Germany, UK, Singapore, Switzerland [tech.eu](https://tech.eu/2026/06/26/backed-by-lakestar-seedcamp-and-ewor-se3-unveils-spatial-ai-platform-for-autonomous-systems/)

## Competitive Advantages
- **World-class research foundation**: Founders and team from TU Munich, with over 400 scientific publications and 87,000+ citations; leadership in computer vision and AI (e.g., Daniel Cremers – Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize winner)
- **Hardware-agnostic, modular stack**: Integrates with any UAV/UGV or operates as full software stack; runs on-edge, resilient in contested environments
- **GNSS-denied capability**: Enables autonomous navigation and swarming where GPS is jammed or unavailable
- **Natural language interaction**: Lowers operator burden, turning one person into a force multiplier
- **Proven operational deployment**: Technology validated in live military exercises with the Bundeswehr, not just lab demos

## Strategic Focus
- **Defence & sovereign autonomy**: Scaling spatial AI for European defence, strengthening independence from non-European suppliers
- **Multi-domain expansion**: Currently focused on aerial and ground platforms; targeting mixed swarms and potentially maritime systems
- **Continuous operational validation**: Participating in field exercises and innovation centre demonstrations (e.g., Bundeswehr Cyber Innovation Hub, Erding Innovation Centre)
- **Attracting top talent**: 15 open positions (as of mid-2026), including drone engineers, computer vision specialists, and test pilots

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven**: Work on cutting-edge AI that directly impacts national security and autonomous systems
- **Rapid growth**: 150% employee growth in the last year; small, agile team (~29 people) with room for impact
- **World-class peers**: Surround yourself with researchers and engineers from TU Munich, Nvidia, Tesla Autopilot, BMW, etc.
- **Open roles**: 15 active job postings including UAV Test Pilot, Drone Software and Controls Engineer, Mechanical Design Engineer, Technical Project Manager, and more [linkedin.com](https://de.linkedin.com/company/se3-labs)
- **Location & hybrid**: Office in Munich (Ungererstraße 175) with remote/hybrid flexibility for some roles; international presence (UK, Singapore, Switzerland)
- **Perks**: Involvement in live field operations, access to top-tier research networks, and participation in defence innovation ecosystem

## Sources
1. [se3.ai](https://www.se3.ai/)
2. [linkedin.com](https://de.linkedin.com/company/se3-labs)
3. [pitchbook.com](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/542367-37)
4. [tech.eu](https://tech.eu/2026/06/26/backed-by-lakestar-seedcamp-and-ewor-se3-unveils-spatial-ai-platform-for-autonomous-systems/)
5. [se3.ai/careers](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/se3)

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