Alternative Careers for Software Engineers

Research engineer position at an engineering school developing digital twin technology for surface treatment manufacturing, combining AI, industrial engineering, and academic collaboration. Role involves designing simulations, working with industrial partners, and mentoring doctoral students.

Research engineer position focused on reactive synthesis at a top French engineering school, involving research, mentorship of students/PhD candidates, and advancing formal methods in computer science rather than production software development.

Platform engineer at a major French engineering school responsible for maintaining and developing the technical infrastructure that supports 1000+ students, faculty, and research operations. Day-to-day involves system administration, platform reliability, infrastructure management, and supporting the school's digital transformation.

Design and develop an educational AI platform for a major French engineering school, combining software architecture decisions with curriculum integration and student-facing tooling. This bridges technical engineering with educational mission, requiring platform thinking rather than pure coding.

Business development role supporting startups in a prestigious tech incubator, involving founder mentoring, program design, networking, and activity reporting. Leverages understanding of tech entrepreneurship and startup ecosystems rather than hands-on coding.

Day-to-day involves monitoring system health, responding to operational incidents, coordinating deployments with DevOps teams, and maintaining documentation. This is hands-on ops work focused on keeping systems running rather than building new features.

Lead design and operational planning for a large-scale AI data center infrastructure project in Norway, managing teams, stakeholder coordination, and facility design decisions rather than hands-on coding.

Create and deliver training content, presentations, and learning experiences for real estate agents on Rightmove's platform. Combine content creation, data storytelling, and public speaking to help agents improve their business.

Build and maintain relationships with enterprise clients post-sale, ensuring successful implementation and adoption of Airwallex's payments platform. Primary focus on customer health, expansion opportunities, and cross-functional coordination between clients and internal teams.

Develop and deliver training programs for autonomous driving AI systems, ensuring quality of educational materials and supporting team professional development at an AI/robotics company.

Build relationships and coordinate between Waymo's autonomous vehicle operations and emergency services (police, fire, ambulance) in Munich. Develop safety protocols, conduct outreach, and ensure first responders understand and can effectively interact with autonomous vehicles in emergency situations.

A junior HR manager role focused on recruitment, employee onboarding, and HR administration throughout the employee lifecycle. Day-to-day involves managing job postings, screening candidates, onboarding new hires, and supporting employee relations.

A 24-month structured trainee program rotating through sales, customer success, and deal negotiation teams at a CRM/CX software company. You'll learn enterprise software sales by managing customer relationships, closing deals, and working across different business functions—leveraging technical product knowledge without writing code.

A supply chain planning management role at a business consulting firm focused on digital transformation and process optimization for industrial clients. Day-to-day involves advising clients on supply chain strategy, digital end-to-end process design, and implementation of solutions across manufacturing and logistics.

Enterprise sales role focused on identifying and closing large SAP supply chain transformation deals with industrial clients. Day-to-day involves client prospecting, needs analysis, solution positioning, and complex deal negotiation with minimal hands-on technical work.

Lead supply chain optimization consulting projects for major industrial clients, combining data analysis with strategic problem-solving and team management to identify and implement operational improvements across manufacturing and logistics networks.

Sales management role for SAP supply chain solutions, focusing on identifying client needs, building relationships with manufacturing and automotive companies, and closing enterprise software deals. Requires translating technical SAP capabilities into business value propositions.

Student worker supporting financial analysis, accounting, and reporting processes using AI tools, with responsibilities including invoice processing, accounts receivable/payable management, and process optimization suggestions.

Work with sales and customers to identify business problems and demonstrate how Celonis's process intelligence platform solves them. Balance technical product knowledge with business advisory work to close deals and drive customer value.

AI Producer role managing the creation and delivery of AI-powered content solutions for a major food brand client, working cross-functionally with marketing and brand teams to oversee projects that blend creative strategy with AI technology implementation.