Role Overview:
As Venture Lead, you assume full entrepreneurial responsibility for selected Quantum AI Ventures within the QAI Venture Builder and Accelerator in Switzerland.
You guide ventures through all QAI venture building phases in a structured manner – from ideation and problem definition to use case definition as well as market and technology validation, product and business model development, piloting with initial customers, formal establishment, and investment preparation towards clearly defined investment or PoC maturity.
You are responsible for the holistic development of venture traction across the integrated dimensions of product, management and growth. The focus is on building technologically resilient, structurally investable and commercially validated ventures that are sustainably scalable.
You act as an operator and venture architect with direct delivery responsibility. The role is tied to building a high-quality venture pipeline and execution capability in Switzerland, with a strong anchor at Uptown Basel. You'll be reporting to the Country Manager of Arlesheim.
Tasks
Key Responsibilities:
1. Venture Building and Delivery Excellence
- Leadership and structured development of Quantum AI Ventures along the QAI Venture Building phases, from structured ideation and problem definition to use case, market and technology validation, product and business model development, piloting with initial customers, formal establishment, investment preparation and achievement of clearly defined investment or PoC maturity.
- Ensuring the successful implementation of the venture building modules in accordance with global QAI Product-Management-Growth (PMG) guidelines, margin targets and IP requirements.
- Ensuring high quality in business case validation, product development and market positioning
- Joint responsibility for the specified investment or PoC maturity of the supervised companies
2. Product, Management & Growth Integration
The Venture Lead is enabling the integration of product, management and growth and is responsible for the structured development of venture traction through to financing and scalability. In doing so, you are responsible for operational implementation and are hands-on in the following key deliverables:
2.1 Product
- Translating scientific and market signals into viable business models and structured product hypotheses
- Defining product strategy, MVP roadmap, and validation approaches toward product–market fit
- Ensuring technological scalability, security logic and IP strategy
2.2. Management
- Establishing investable governance and cap table structures
- Defining business case, pricing margin and venture / financial planning logic
- Structuring founder alignment, organisational design, and scalable operating foundations
2.3. Growth
- Leading structured customer validation, pilot projects, and early market engagement to validate demand and generate initial traction
- Steering commercial validation, including market and acquirer mapping, and ensuring robust proof points (LoIs, pilots, first revenues) that translate into a compelling investment narrative aligned with venture milestones
- Co-leading fundraising processes and supporting strategic exit positioning (strategic vs. financial pathways), including preparation of investor-ready materials
3. Team and organisational development
- Contributing to the establishment of an effective venture-building structure in Basel
- Contribution to the local positioning of the venture-building offering as a high-quality and trustworthy player, particularly vis-à-vis our portfolio start-ups
- Support in defining industry focus areas and market priorities
- Close collaboration with the local QAI team and global roles to ensure stable delivery capacity
- Active support in integrating with global methodology, governance and reporting structures
- Representation of QAI in relevant ecosystem contexts
4. Scouting, selection and investment preparation
- Active scouting and evaluation of qualified talent and start-ups
- Contribution to generating qualified applications for value creation programs
- Preparation of ventures for internal investment decisions and external financing rounds
- Support with pitch development, financial modelling and data room structuring
Requirements
Required Skills & Qualifications:
Entrepreneurial and Venture Building Experience
- Proven entrepreneurial responsibility as founder, co-founder, or senior operator
- Experience in building at least two technology-driven ventures or startups (outcome not required to be successful)
- Track record of developing at least one venture to a defined market, financing, or scaling milestone
- Strong understanding of venture building, early-stage financing, and VC dynamics
- Ability to lead ventures from ideation to incorporation and investment or PoC maturity
Commercial and Execution Capability
- Proven execution in customer validation, pilots, and early traction
- Strong delivery focus with the ability to lead interdisciplinary teams while actively contributing to solution design
- Strong grasp of governance, cap table structuring, margin logic, and IP strategy
- High ownership, execution focus, and structured thinking
Product, Technology and Delivery Experience
- At least 10 years of experience in leading technology-driven projects with responsibility across business and technology, with both product and engineering exposure
- Strong familiarity with agile development environments; focus on effective delivery rather than strict methodology
- Experience with MVP definition, prototyping, validation, and iterative shipping
- Ability to translate scientific and technical complexity into viable product and business decisions
Deep Tech and Quantum Understanding
- Solid understanding of quantum technologies or adjacent deep tech domains
- Ability to assess technological feasibility and implications in a venture context
Stakeholder and Communication Skills
- Strong stakeholder management across founders, corporates, and investors
- Clear and structured communication of complex technical and business topics
- Fluent in English
Location and Presence
- Based in Switzerland, ideally near Arlesheim / Basel
- Regular on-site presence at Uptown Basel (at least 50%)
Benefits
A unique opportunity to play an active role in shaping an international ecosystem and to have a direct influence on deal flow and scientific positioning, combined with a role that brings together quantum execution, scientific excellence, technological autonomy and entrepreneurial freedom.
We are building something ambitious and are looking for someone who truly wants to shape and move things forward, not just manage them. If you are excited by the idea of turning cutting-edge science into real ventures and having a tangible impact, we would love to hear from you. We also greatly appreciate your feedback on this role, it helps us continuously improve and attract the right people for this journey.
