Building Engineering Lead (London or Zurich)

About You

The Building Engineering Lead will be Optimls senior Subject Matter Expert (SME) for building engineering responsible for how buildings systems and costs are represented structured and reasoned about across Optimls products and deliveries.

You will define the engineering logic assumptions and accuracy levels that underpin Optimls product tiers. Ensuring our strategies are technically credible scalable across geographies and defensible with enterprise clients. Our ambition is to handle any building typology up to complex large-scale assets with appropriate and transparent accuracy.

Working across Product Delivery and Engineering you will translate real-world building engineering practice including MEP/HVAC systems digital twins building physics Capex structures norms and typologies into clear frameworks that guide product development client delivery and long-term roadmap decisions.

About Optiml

Optiml is revolutionizing real estate with our Real Estate Decision Intelligence (REDI) softwarea new class of decision technology that embeds AI to help decarbonize buildings while optimizing asset financial performance.

We are an ETH Zurich spin-off that launched its first product in April 2024 and has since been scaling across Europe and the United States earning major industry recognition including the 2024 ULI Europe PropTech of the Year and 2024 ZIA PropTech of the Year awards.

We are backed by top-tier US and European investors including Innovation Endeavors (the fund of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt) Planet A BitStone and Kompas who support our mission to empower real estate investors asset managers and consulting partners to deliver a cost-effective value-preserving transition to Net Zero.

As of early 2026 we are expanding our team to broaden our product lines and scale operational delivery for a growing global client base.

Tasks

Responsibilities

Building Representation & Engineering Strategy

Lead the development of Optimls building engineering coverage across asset classes and geographies.

• Ensure accuracy and reliability of engineering strategies across the full building Capex scope covering all components systems and typologies.
• Define high-fidelity building representations including:
• Room-level zoning and building physics
• Equipment-level modelling of MEP and HVAC systems
• Large and complex building typologies
• Localised audit-grade strategies aligned to regional data regulations and frameworks

Collaborate closely with Building Representation (including Energy Simulation) and Strategy Development teams to ensure consistency between engineering logic and product outputs.

Shape the building engineering strategy underpinning Optimls product tiers and workflows (e.g. Rhino Grasshopper EnergyPlus and proprietary approaches) defining:

• Required level of detail and input requirements
• Accuracy expectations and acceptable tolerances
• System boundaries and modelling scope
• Applicability across asset classes geographies and data-quality levels
• Alignment with UK RIBA stages (or equivalent frameworks)

Act as a subject-matter expert in best-in-class building engineering practices coaching teams to balance technical credibility with scalability data availability product roadmap constraints and commercial feasibility.

Standards Norms & Methodological Governance

• Establish and operationalise building component and HVAC engineering standards within Optimls products.
• Ensure alignment with relevant standards and frameworks including ISO ASHRAE DIN SIA and equivalents across UK RIBA stages or international phases.
• Define document and maintain methodological guidelines assumptions and reference structures used across products and client deliveries (e.g. baselines boundary conditions defaults and documentation).
• Support the strategic sourcing and enrichment of localised contextual data including construction costs energy tariffs local policies and BEPS requirements and grid emission factors.
• Ensure Optimls outputs are auditable explainable and defensible to technical consultants clients and partners.
• Monitor industry practices competing solutions and partnership opportunities to inform Optimls long-term technical positioning.

Lifecycle Costing & Engineering Integration

• Integrate and further develop Capex and Opex costing methodologies within Optimls building strategy workflows.
• Connect engineering and simulation outputs to lifecycle cost and investment analysis where relevant.
• Apply value-engineering principles to support retrofit feasibility studies and investment-grade assessments.
• Act as a technical sparring partner for asset management and consulting clients as well as internal Delivery and Customer Success teams ensuring outputs are financially actionable and technically robust.

Product Delivery & Data Collaboration

• Translate engineering complexity into clear product logic and client-facing narratives including Capex breakdowns assumptions limitations and appropriate use of outputs.
• Use Python and SQL for exploratory analysis data validation and to inform integration between modelling outputs and platform data structures (no requirement to write production code).
• Contribute to internal tools analytics and testing and validation frameworks that improve modelling efficiency consistency and reporting accuracy.

Requirements

Education & Experience

• Degree in Building Services Engineering Energy Systems Building Physics Architectural Engineering or a closely related discipline (MSc preferred; PhD a plus).
• 5 years of professional experience in building engineering sustainability building performance or energy and carbon advisory roles.
• Experience across multiple asset classes (e.g. commercial residential mixed-use and/or large or complex buildings) is strongly preferred.

Technical Expertise

• Strong understanding of MEP and HVAC systems building physics fundamentals and how these translate into robust building representations and retrofit strategy logic.
• Solid working knowledge of digital building workflows and tools including Rhino and Grasshopper (required); familiarity with EnergyPlus IES-VE or comparable simulation tools is strongly preferred.
• Proven understanding of international standards and norms (e.g. ISO ASHRAE DIN SIA) and their application in compliance design assumptions and engineering methodologies.
• Experience with lifecycle costing and retrofit economics for complex buildings including Capex and Opex modelling feasibility constraints value engineering and investment-grade outputs.

Data Product & Collaboration

• Strong data literacy with hands-on experience using Python and SQL for analysis validation and collaboration with data and engineering teams (this is not a software engineering role).
• Demonstrated ability to support technical project delivery in close collaboration with Product Delivery and Customer Success teams.
• Comfortable working at the intersection of engineering product and commercial decision-making.

Communication & Practicalities

• Strong communication skills with the ability to clearly explain engineering assumptions limitations and outcomes to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Comfortable in client-facing environments particularly on complex or high-stakes engagements.
• Fluent in English; German is a plus.
• Swiss EU or UK work authorisation required (based on current company size).

Benefits

Impact: Play a critical role in scaling a company transforming how real estate decarbonizes.

Ownership: Build and own the operational backbone of a fast-growing startup.

Growth: Work closely with an exceptional leadership team and gain exposure to all company functions.

Culture: Join a mission-driven high-performance and collaborative team. Benefits: Competitive salary equity options learning budget (CHF 1k) and additional insurance support. 25 days paid vacation