Team Lead & Start-up Coach - DTU Skylab

Are you passionate about developing new technology-based startups? Do you thrive by working in a vibrant, innovative environment where new ideas sparkle and every day has new startup teams entering the door?

DTU Skylab is looking for a new colleague to take on the role as team lead for a small team of start-up coaches and program managers. The team is responsible for coaching DTU student start-ups and for developing and running the Skylab incubator, our acceleration program Ignite, our Skylab funding program for DTU’s promising student startups and other support programmes.

What is Skylab
DTU Skylab is the innovation hub of DTU. We are a vibrant community supporting diverse activities such as curricular courses, company collaborations, and startup support programs. In the 10 years that DTU Skylab has existed, it has become a dynamic innovation hub with 5500 m2 of offices, teaching facilities, workshops, and laboratories.

DTU Skylab is both an innovation environment with startups and company collaborations, and an ambitious learning environment where we train skilled engineers with a desire to make a difference in the world.

About the role
Your job will consist of two key elements: a team-lead position and a role as an active start-up coach.

Key responsibilities include:

• Making sure the team thrives and develops. You will give sparring and support to the team members, be responsible for both the ongoing 1-1’s and the more long-term professional development and develop the team. 
• Prioritizing and coordinating team tasks 
• Coaching technology start-ups, primarily from DTU students
• Contributing to building an even stronger foundation for the entrepreneurial journey of DTU Skylab’s startups
• Contributing to identifying new potential partners and funding opportunities 
• Taking an active role in the team’s start-up programmes when needed
• Being a part of DTU Skylab’s extended leadership group with approximately one monthly meeting

About you
To be successful in this role, we believe you: 

• Have a strong entrepreneurial background, probably as co-founder of one or more technology-based start-ups,
• Have extensive experience in coaching start-ups and entrepreneurs,
• Hold a master’s degree and have min. 3 years of leadership experience,
• Are passionate about students and early-stage ideas and see the value of an entrepreneurial journey – even though the project itself might not succeed.
• Are a true team player who thrives in an entrepreneurial environment but who can also navigate in a large organization
• Are fluent in English and Danish.

Who are we?
We have a highly creative atmosphere with around 50 employees. We have an informal culture, and we can laugh, party and be very serious about what we do. We love our users and collaborators, and we love to tell all the great stories about the projects and activities running in DTU Skylab, including building rockets, farming snails, developing laboratory robots, digital services, student associations, international summits, and airborne wind turbines.

It is a challenging job in a very dynamic environment with both business suits and welding masks. You will become a part of a culture and organization in constant rapid development, and you will have a lot of influence on this development.

Terms of employment
Salary and employment terms are according to the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) or similar. Start date is 1st of August 2023.

The start-up team will be part of a larger section of around 20 colleagues in total, supporting business development across both students and researchers. You will refer to the Section Head, Stine Kruse. 

You will be employed at DTU Skylab, and the workplace is DTU Lyngby Campus, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.

Application and contact
Please submit your online application no later than Sunday, 11 June 2023. We expect to conduct interviews on an ongoing basis. Open the “Apply now” link, fill out the form and attach your motivated application, CV, and exam certificates. 

If you would like additional information about the position, please contact Section Head, Stine Kruse: [email protected] , 22 81 68 43 or Director of DTU Skylab, Mikkel Sørensen: [email protected] , 2078 7317.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, race, disability, religion, or ethnic background are encouraged to apply.

Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear vision to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That vision lives on today. DTU has 13,500 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.