As Venture CTO at QAI Ventures, you will be a core member of the venture‑building team, responsible for driving the technical and scientific development, implementation, and scaling of Quantum AI ventures, while actively contributing to the growth of the broader ecosystem.
You are responsible for end‑to‑end technical feasibility, from scientific validation and IP considerations to product and architecture implementation, translating this into clear venture decisions such as Go or No‑Go, Build vs Buy, and architecture choices.
Your focus lies on the scientific and technological execution of deliverables across Discovery, Validate, MVP, and Accelerate phases. You work closely with founders and venture teams to ensure strong technological substance, validation, differentiation, and that ventures are feasible, scalable, and investor‑ready.
You analyse technological dependencies, feasibility, and long‑term differentiation, supporting the translation of scientific insights into implementable product and system architectures.
The role sits at the interface of research, product architecture, and venture execution, with focus on feasibility, IP strategy, scalability, TRL progression, and resource realism, with ownership of technical and architectural decisions.
Key Responsibilities
1. Venture Building and Scientific Delivery Excellence (80%)
1.1 Scientific and Technological Development
1.1.1 Scientific Validation & Differentiation
* Technological problem definition and structured hypothesis formation, and evaluation of scientific differentiation and technological moats
* Close collaboration with founders to translate complex research into clearly defined, marketable product and technology concepts
* Evaluation and prioritisation of quantum, AI and deep‑tech use cases from the perspectives of TRL, feasibility, scalability and differentiation
* Support with hardware integration, for example with quantum hardware partners
* IP analysis, protection strategy and patentability in collaboration with external partners
* Assessment of technology readiness levels (TRL) and likelihood of implementation
* Ensuring scientific robustness and technological differentiation
1.1.2 Technical Execution & Architecture
* Responsible for conducting technical feasibility analyses, including architecture design, build‑vs‑buy decisions and analysis of critical dependencies (e.g. hardware, cloud, vendor lock‑in), as well as resource estimation
* Translation of scientific, technological and IP requirements into concrete, implementable engineering and system decisions
* Design and management of the implementation of technically robust prototypes and MVP concepts (including feasibility of implementation and resource estimation)
* Definition of technical roadmaps, scaling logic and system architectures, as well as technical dependencies and their likelihood of realisation
* Deriving clear technical go/no‑go, build/buy and architectural decisions with ownership in a venture‑building context
* Quantification of technological risks and identification of critical system dependencies (hardware, cloud, vendor lock‑in)
* Ensuring technical feasibility and architectural consistency across all development stages
* Sharing responsibility for investment or PoC readiness in accordance with defined targets
* Compliance with global product, management and growth guidelines, IP standards and quality requirement
1.2 Product and Use Case Structuring
1.2.1 Scientific Validation & Differentiation
* Contributing to the structured derivation of product approaches from scientific or technological innovations
* Assessment of the technological differentiation of use cases
* Support in defining clear, technologically robust value propositions for technology‑driven products
* Close collaboration with founders in translating technological concepts into comprehensible product architectures and solution designs
1.2.2 Technical Execution & Architecture
* Supporting founders in the development of technically feasible and scalable product concepts
* Translating product requirements into concrete system architectures and implementable technical solution designs
* Support in the structured definition of technology‑driven challenges and customer problems
* Evaluation of use case priorities based on technological feasibility, market potential and implementation effort
* Support with the technological evaluation of customer discovery results
* Structuring the problem‑solution fit and early product concepts from a technical perspective
* Ensuring consistency between product logic, architecture and feasibility
1.3 Scientific Scouting and Technical Evaluation
1.3.1 Scientific Validation & Differentiation
* Assessment of the scientific quality of applications for venture building and accelerator programmes
* Conducting technical due diligence as part of internal investment decisions, including FTO (Freedom to Operate) analyses and assessment of the patent landscape.
* Assessment of TRL, scientific substance and long‑term differentiation
* Classification of technological developments within the research and ecosystem context
1.3.2 Technical Execution & Architecture
* Assessment of the technical feasibility and architectural viability of venture concepts
* Identification of technical risks, system dependencies and scaling limits
* Structuring and delivery of technical sections of pitch decks, data rooms and investor meetings
* Assessment of engineering effort, system complexity and feasibility of implementation
2. QAI Switzerland, Ecosystem and University (20%)
1. Liaising with professors, researchers, technology