Alternative Careers for Software Engineers

Define and own the product roadmap for quantum software, translating research capabilities into shippable products while managing the interface between physicists, engineers, and customers. This is hands-on product leadership focused on prioritization, decision-making, and keeping a technical team aligned—not portfolio management or coding.

Define product vision and strategy for an AI-native software company, working closely with engineers to translate business needs into shipped features within weeks. Focus on understanding customer problems, system thinking, and architectural trade-offs rather than managing backlogs or writing code.

Design and deliver workshops to help talented individuals transition into AI safety, biosecurity, and policy careers. This involves curriculum development, mentoring, facilitation, and potentially some program coordination across multiple cohorts.

Lead the strategy, design, and continuous improvement of a mobile mental health app by translating user insights and data into product decisions, working cross-functionally with design, research, and engineering teams to shape the product roadmap and user experience.

Design both user-facing and internal interfaces for an AI-powered tax advisory platform, working closely with a software-heavy team to shape how complex regulatory workflows are visualized and simplified for end users.

Teach practical system integration and IT fundamentals to career changers preparing for German IHK certification, including leading online classes, mentoring projects, grading assignments, and continuously improving curriculum content.

Lead technical strategy and modernization initiatives for enterprise clients, mentoring teams and designing solutions rather than coding. Serve as a trusted advisor bridging client needs with delivery execution across large-scale legacy system transformations.

Lead product strategy and vision for Decathlon's ecommerce category navigation and discovery systems. Work with engineering, design, and data teams to define requirements, roadmap priorities, and user experiences for how customers browse and find products across their global platform.

Lead end-to-end product strategy and execution for a specific product area, working closely with engineering teams to validate problems, define solutions, and ship features. Balance ~70% product strategy work with ~30% hands-on technical collaboration and specification writing.

Lead end-to-end delivery of complex robotics and AI engineering programs across hardware and software teams, managing timelines, budgets, risks, and stakeholder alignment from concept through production deployment.

Manage the end-to-end delivery of robotics projects from proof-of-concept through production, coordinating between engineering teams, customers, and leadership to balance technical risk, scope, and resources. Act as the primary liaison ensuring customer needs align with platform development.

Lead the design vision and user experience strategy for Doctolib's patient-facing products, moving from transactional booking to an AI-powered health companion. Work closely with product, engineering, and stakeholders to define design direction, build design systems, and maintain quality standards across the patient experience.

Work with customers on complex technical integrations, data migrations, and escalated support issues, acting as the bridge between frontline support and product engineering without writing product code.

Act as the CTO's chief of staff, managing priorities and strategic initiatives while coordinating technical hiring and translating between engineering and business stakeholders. This role combines operational execution with strategic thinking but requires no production code writing.

Partner with nonprofits and research institutions to implement Claude AI in clinical trials and drug repurposing workflows, translating their scientific needs into AI solutions and providing technical guidance throughout deployment.

Academic lecturer position combining teaching civil engineering and porous media to engineering students with research supervision and technology transfer activities. Involves course design, lab work oversight, and student project mentoring at a French engineering school.

Translate customer legal workflows into product requirements and own the first technical implementation, bridging customer needs, engineering specifications, and hands-on problem-solving without being siloed into pure coding.

Academic lecturer position teaching civil engineering, materials science, and structural analysis to engineering students, while conducting research and managing technology transfer projects at a French engineering school.

Define product strategy and roadmap for an internal communications platform, working cross-functionally with engineering, marketing, design, and compliance teams to balance technical and business tradeoffs while guiding adoption of new capabilities.

Lead the product strategy, vision and commercial success for Kaluza's Flex energy platform, managing roadmap decisions, stakeholder alignment, and cross-functional team leadership rather than writing code.