Commercial Lead / CEO-in-Waiting
Uniseed · Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Apply & track with Apply EdgeCommercial Lead / CEO-in-Waiting: Thermal Energy Storage Spinout
We build new ventures alongside founders, providing funding, hands-on operational support, strategic investor networks, and governance to bridge the gap between benchtop science and market scale.The Company: Thermal Energy Storage SpinoutIndustrial heat accounts for two-thirds of industrial energy demand and roughly 20% of global greenhouse emissions. While power grids and transport electrify, industry remains locked into fossil fuel fired steam because peak electricity is costly and thermal storage has historically lacked useful energy density.Our portfolio company rewrites these economics. Spun out of university research, the company is commercialising a novel thermal energy storage system with world-leading energy density.Backed by a Pre-seed commitment from our fund, the company has a 12-18 month runway to validate beachhead use cases, plan a commercial demonstration, secure non-dilutive grants, and close a Seed round for the next stage of funding.The Role: Commercial Lead / CEO-in-WaitingWe are seeking a venture builder with strong commercial instincts and industrial equipment experience to lead the venture through its zero-to-one phase.Working closely with the founding scientists, Chief Engineer, and our VC team, your mandate is to translate validated science into a scalable business model, secure early pilot agreements, whilst running a lean startup.Deliver the pre-seed milestones and close the seed round, and you will step into the full CEO seat with a substantial founder equity allocation.Jobs to be Done (Key Responsibilities)1. Customer Discovery and Beachhead CommercialisationMap the Value Chain: Conduct structured customer discovery across industrial heat verticals (food and beverage, dairy, consumer packaged goods, industrial drying, chemicals, mining).Define the Wedge: Engage plant managers and chief engineers to evaluate operational constraints, switching costs, and the minimum proof required for commercial commitment.Secure First Adopters: Build commercial relationships and secure letters of intent (LOIs) across at least two industrial segments for pilot demonstrations.2. Product Strategy and Scale-Up RoadmapSystem Concepts: Collaborate with scientific founders to define minimum viable product concepts.Scaling Pathway: Support preliminary engineering, techno-economic analysis, and pilot sizing to transition bench-top prototypes to commercial demonstration scale.Supply Chain Strategy: Evaluate initial manufacturing, raw material sourcing, and assembly partnerships to de-risk unit economics.3. Intellectual Property and DefensibilityIP Landscape: Partner with patent attorney to assess prior-art and freedom-to-operate landscapes.Build the Moat: Identify and secure patentable white space across materials, packaging, system integration, and control systems.4. Business Model and Techno-economic ModellingVenture-Scale Models: Build techno-economic and financial models to evaluate a range of business models.Prove Customer ROI: Model customer unit economics against natural gas boilers, industrial heat pumps, and electricity tariffs to validate rapid payback.5. FundingLead the Seed Raise: Develop the fundraising narrative, investor decks, and data rooms, co-leading syndicate building alongside our investment team.Win Non-Dilutive Grants and strategic investors: Identify and author high-leverage applications across Australian grant and investment programs (e.g. ARENA, NRFC, CRC-P, and CEFC).6. Lean Company OperationsCore Operations: Manage day-to-day corporate governance, budgeting, bookkeeping, payroll, safety protocols, and lab/facility agreements.Team Roadmap: Formulate the post-Seed technical and engineering hiring plan.Governance: Deliver transparent milestone and financial reporting to the Board and shareholders.Who We Are Looking ForIndustrial Equipment: Experience in original equipment manufacturing (OEM), thermal/process engineering consultancy, or industrial equipment startup.Process Heat Knowledge: Solid understanding of industrial steam systems, boilers, thermodynamics, and heat applications in the 100-200°C range (or the ability to master them quickly).Commercial and Technical Fluency: Proven track record spanning technical product management, pre-sales engineering, or industrial business development.Technoeconomic Acumen: Ability to model levelised cost of heat (LCOH), capex/opex trade-offs, and power pricing to build compelling value propositions for conservative buyers.Commercial Drive: Eagerness to walk plant floors, engage plant operators, and close commercial agreements.Grant and Ecosystem Fluency: Familiarity with Australian funding mechanisms (ARENA, CEFC, AusIndustry) is highly regarded.Founder Mindset: High agency, resilience in ambiguity, low ego, and the stamina to build a company on a lean pre-seed budget.What This Role Is NOTNot a corporate or strategy advisory gig: You will execute directly, not consult from the sidelines.Not a lab R&D role: The core science is validated; technical team is engaged; your focus is commercial scale.Not 9-to-5: Building an early-stage spinout requires high ownership and persistence.What We OfferCapital and Runway: Funded pre-seed runway backed by an active VC investor committed to follow-on funding.Unrivalled Launchpad: Direct access to corporate partners, industrial networks, top-tier co-investors, and operational experts.CEO Pathway and Equity: Market-competitive 12-month contract transitioning into the full CEO title and equity upon closing the Seed round.Gigaton Decarbonisation Impact: The opportunity to build a category-defining business tackling industrial decarbonisation.How to ApplySubmit your CV with a brief note outlining:An industrial equipment, or engineering project you helped commercialise.Why you believe low-to-medium industrial heat (100-200°C) is ripe for venture-scale disruption.