Beetroot

We’re looking for a strong technical leader to build and grow a European engineering team around a truly unique robotics and automation platform used in real-world airport operations.

 

This is a rare opportunity for a senior engineer who is ready to become the key technical figure for a new European team and shape both the product and the people around it.

Our client builds cloud software that orchestrates autonomous vehicles and real-world operations in large, complex environments such as airports. Their platform breaks physical processes into digital tasks, coordinates fleets of robots, and enables thousands of operations per day with high reliability. The systems run close to 20 hours a day and are already live in production at major airports. This is not a “demo” or a lab project — it is real software controlling real machines in high-consequence environments.

The goal of this role is to establish and grow the European engineering group from the ground up. You will be the founding member of this team, the main technical owner in Europe, and a core partner to the US-based engineers. You will work hands-on with the product, support live deployments in the UK, and help design how the European team operates, hires, and scales.

What you'll do in this role  

• Own end-to-end delivery of production features within the fleet and operations platform
• Design, implement, validate, and operate backend systems in real-world environments
• Work primarily in Python on distributed, event-driven cloud services
• Build systems that integrate vehicle state, task orchestration, and operational workflows
• Ensure all code merged is production-ready and operationally sound
• Participate in weekly release cycles and own production behavior of delivered systems
• Support live deployments at UK airports, including on-site work several times per year
• Act as the founding member of the European engineering group
• Lead hiring, onboarding, and technical ramp-up of new EU team members
• Establish local standards for engineering quality, ownership, and delivery
• Build a strong, trusted collaboration model between EU and US teams
• Lead by example through execution, technical judgment, and accountability

We're looking for

• Senior-level experience building and operating production cloud systems
• Strong proficiency in Python
• Hands-on experience with distributed, event-driven architectures
• Experience working with messaging systems (e.g., NATS or similar)
• Solid background in Kubernetes and cloud-native infrastructure (GCP is a plus)
• Experience with observability, logging, and production telemetry
• Ability to work autonomously with high ownership and responsibility
• Strong communication skills across engineering, operations, and leadership
• Upper-Intermediate or higher level of English, sufficient for confident daily communication with international teams
• Comfort with ambiguity and evolving requirements

• Willingness and ability to travel to the UK for deployments

   

How to knock our socks off

• Experience with Go or Java
• Background in robotics, autonomous systems, or hardware-adjacent software
• Previous experience building or leading distributed teams
• Exposure to real-time or operationally critical systems
• Name five or more dishes that include beets, other than borscht.😉

✔ Not checking every box?

This job looks very exciting, but you hesitate to apply because of the confidence gap? Reach out to us anyway! Beetroot is an inclusive workplace that considers all applicants. We’re committed to openness — promoting equality and fostering an environment where different backgrounds, ideas, and experiences are not just accepted, but embraced. So let’s discover together whether we could be an excellent fit for each other.

Please send us your CV in English, and we'll be happy to discuss your application further.