AI & Industrial Transformation Lead

About the job

TL;DR

• Position: AI & Industrial Transformation Lead

• Location: Paris (on-site client presence required)

• Salary: 100K package + BSPCE

• Contract: Full-time, CDI

• Reports to: CRO

• Career path: OSS Partner · Founder · COO in portfolio company

About OSS Ventures

Our mission

Build and invest in technological companies that accelerate the pivot of our production model toward a desirable one. In practice: B2B SaaS for blue-collar industries — manufacturing, construction, logistics.

Our story

OSS was founded with a simple bet: go into factories, understand the real problems, and build software that actually works in the field. Six years later, that bet has compounded.

We've built 22 companies from scratch, deployed across 3,800+ industrial sites, with 200,000+ daily users and €40M ARR across the portfolio. 

Our first cohort — Fabriq,Mercateam, Kraaft, MyC — have done or are entering Series B territory, with one exit expected per year starting now. 

We're building 6 companies this year, 8 in 2027.

Two months ago, we closed a €44M fund — our largest to date. Our investors include Decathlon Pulse, Teknor Apex, Tikehau Capital, and Famille Peugeot. 

We operate from Paris and Boston, with 5 portfolio companies now generating ~40% of their new ARR from the US market.

As far as we know, we're in the top 2.5% of all funds worldwide by performance. We think we have a shot at building a generational institution.

We have the capital, the traction, the team— and a different culture.

Our ambition

We will never be a 1,000-person organization. We will always be sub-50 people — high individual autonomy, high reach, high impact. The next 3 years are about proving we can be world-class at all three fronts: building, investing, and scaling portfolio companies into category leaders — on both sides of the Atlantic.

How we work

We build AI companies by working inside factories, alongside industry experts, solving problems where they actually exist. We are embedded — not external. We go to the shop floor before we write a line of code. We don't do remote conviction.

Four pillars structure everything we do: 

• Build (product-led, hands-on with founders), 

• Network (connecting startups, manufacturers, and partners), 

• Scale (fund capital + global expansion),

• Transform (partner success, tangible measurable value). 

Our values

• Trusting team excellence — Trust is the foundation. We do what we say. We act as one team, not talented individuals. We give honest feedback and expect excellence in return. This is how the fund reaches top 5% performance.

• Fail, learn, succeed — We make bets others won't. We tell truths others avoid. When we fall short — which happens — we treat it as data, not defeat. High risk is a feature, not a flaw.

• We eat what we kill — Skin in the game. We eat last, hate asymmetry, and only reward results — not busywork. We win when our companies sell. No room for high-certainty seekers. Extreme ownership.

• Compound the system — The system is the star. Few people, disproportionate impact. We automate everything, fire ourselves from low-value work, and only hire when unavoidable. Data first. AI first. Shared systems over individual ownership. Ego takes a backseat.

• Build something the world needs — We're builders, not talkers. We define new standards, not follow existing ones. 200,000+ people use what we've built daily. Financial reward follows impact.

• Think and do it quick — Speed wins. Good decisions made fast beat perfect decisions made late. We value thinkers who do and doers who think. Same person, not separate roles. Our companies hit €1.5M ARR by year two. The trade-off: we might move so fast we look like fools.

Responsibilities

Delivery & Execution

• Own end-to-end deployment of AI/digital solutions at industrial clients — from scoping to go-live

• Adapt and contextualize portfolio startup solutions to real-world constraints: OT/IT architecture, change resistance, heterogeneous IT landscapes

• Define transformation roadmaps, set success KPIs, and drive operational follow-through

• Surface and unblock friction points — technical, organizational, human — before they escalate

Client Relationship

• Build trust-based relationships with executive sponsors (COO, CISO, Plant GM) and frontline teams alike

• Run steering committees and adapt your communication — board deck to shop floor

• Turn successful deployments into long-term partnerships and ARR expansion

Startup & Portfolio Collaboration

• Work closely with portfolio founders to prioritize product roadmaps based on field feedback

• Identify new deployment opportunities within existing accounts

• Help build OSS Ventures’ reputation as the go-to industrial transformation partner

Performance Indicators

• Deployments delivered on time and within initial scope

• Documented client ROI within 6 months post go-live

• Client NPS and ARR renewal / expansion rate

• Replicable industrial use cases produced and documented

Required Profile

Non-negotiable

• 5–10 years in a Tier 1 strategy consulting firm (MBB, Roland Berger, Oliver Wyman, Kearney, Accenture Strategy) with a strong industrial / manufacturing track record

• At least 2 full-cycle engagements in manufacturing environments: factory floor, digital supply chain, MES, lean/Opex, IIoT — not just sector analysis

• Experience running steering committees with COOs, CISOs, or plant GMs at ETIs or CAC40 groups

• Structured problem solving and hypothesis-driven approach: you structure fast, simplify without losing the substance

• Proven ability to operate in ambiguity without waiting for a perfect brief

• Executive storytelling: you shift register from board to operator without losing the room

What will set you apart

• Direct experience with industrial AI/data tools (computer vision, predictive maintenance, MES analytics, digital twins)

• You’ve acted as a sparring partner for a founding team or operational leadership

• You talk about your missions in terms of what changed on the ground — not just what you recommended

• You are passionate about technology and advocating for the operators

What you’ll build here

• Deep understanding of startup product cycles and the constraints of industrial SaaS companies

• A decision-maker network in European industry that you own and carry with you

• A real sense of what it means to build a company — not just transform one

Expected Behaviors

• You act before you’re 100% certain — and iterate

• You’re as comfortable convincing a GM as spending 2 hours on the shop floor

• You flag problems early, clearly, and with a proposed solution

• You instinctively know what can scale vs. what’s a one-off

What Success Looks Like

At 6 months:

• You have taken ownership of at least 2 active deployments and delivered a first measurable result

• Clients see you as their primary point of contact — not a vendor rep

At 12 months:

• You have produced 2–3 documented, replicable use cases

• You have contributed to ARR expansion on at least one account

• You have a clear view of what you want to build next — at OSS or in the portfolio

What’s in it for You

• Direct access to industrial decision-makers across France and Europe — as an operator, not an external advisor

• The opportunity to co-build an AI transformation practice from scratch, with your fingerprints on it

• Competitive package + BSPCE with a transparent structure

• A real path to OSS Partner, Founder, or COO in a portfolio company — not a vague promise

• An environment where execution speed is valued and impact isn’t measured in billable hours

Career Path

This role is designed for someone who wants to stop advising and start building. Real trajectories at OSS for this profile:

• OSS Ventures Partner – leading a practice or portfolio segment

• Founder – co-founding a new studio startup in your area of expertise

• COO – operational lead in a high-growth portfolio company

This Role is Not For You If…

• You need a fully defined scope before you start moving

• You measure success by slide quality, not by what changed in the plant

• You’re looking for a team to manage rather than a problem to solve

• The idea of spending a day with a production supervisor feels like a step down

• you think AI is just a hype and will not impact company performance before 3-5 years