IXPLAIN Kaiserslautern, Germany (DFKI) | On-site / Hybrid | Co-Founder / Equity | Deep Tech / Explainable AI.
It combines state-of-the-art machine learning (classification, forecasting, regression, anomaly detection) with Explainable AI and a neuro-symbolic rule engine to turn raw industrial signals into clear, actionable recommendations, already demonstrated in water quality monitoring, energy grids and automotive production.
**The opportunity **iXplain grew out of DFKI (German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence) and has a functional demonstrator, shown at Hannover Messe 2025, with live discussions underway in the water and manufacturing sectors.
The technology is proven; the company is not yet founded.
We are looking for a CEO / Business co-founder to turn a validated research demonstrator into a company, own the commercial relationship with our first industrial partners, and build the business around technology our 3-person research team has already built.
Tasks What you will own Company build-up - Lead the incorporation of iXplain as a company and define its go-to-market strategy and business model.
- Own fundraising strategy and investor relations for the seed stage.
Commercial validation - Validate iXplain with real industrial partners in water, energy and automotive/manufacturing, turning early discussions (post-Hannover Messe 2025) into paying pilots.
- Define how iXplain integrates into customers' existing workflows and systems.
Business leadership - Build the commercial organization, pricing and sales process from scratch alongside the technical co-founders (Dr.
Dominique Mercier, CTO; Dr.
Tobias Wirth, Advisor).
- Represent iXplain to investors, partners and industrial customers as CEO.