Application Guide
How to Apply for (Lead) Product Manager — Energy Utility Platform (m/f/d)
at 1KOMMA5°
🏢 About 1KOMMA5°
1KOMMA5° is a fast-growing German climate-tech company on a mission to make buildings CO2-neutral by integrating decentralized solar, storage, heat pumps, and EV charging into a single energy platform. Their unique value proposition is combining hardware, software, and energy market access to create a holistic 'building-as-a-power-plant' ecosystem, making them a pioneer in the energy transition.
About This Role
As Lead Product Manager for the Energy Utility Platform, you'll own the product strategy and roadmap for the core platform that connects 1KOMMA5°'s devices to energy markets, enabling flexibility marketing, procurement, and optimization. This role is highly impactful as you'll shape how thousands of buildings participate in the energy transition, directly influencing the company's ability to scale and monetize its energy ecosystem.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might start with a stand-up with the engineering team to unblock any issues, followed by a discovery sprint session with Energy Operations to validate a new flexibility product concept. You'd then spend time refining the roadmap based on market feedback, writing specs for the next iteration of the optimization layer, and meeting with external partners (e.g., grid operators) to understand regulatory changes. The day ends with prioritizing the backlog and reviewing user data to inform 'where to play' decisions.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who 1KOMMA5° Is Looking For
- A PM with 5+ years of experience in energy, utilities, or regulated platform products, who has shipped products that interact with energy markets (e.g., flexibility trading, tariff optimization, or wholesale market access).
- Someone who can balance strategic 'where to play / how to win' decisions with hands-on execution—writing specs, running discovery sprints, and unblocking engineering.
- Deep understanding of German energy market structures (e.g., EEG, Stromsteuer, balancing markets, direct marketing) and regulatory frameworks, with the ability to translate them into product requirements.
- Excellent stakeholder management skills, comfortable working cross-functionally with Energy Operations, engineering, and external partners, and fluent in English; German is a strong plus for navigating local regulations.
📝 Tips for Applying to 1KOMMA5°
Tailor your resume to highlight specific energy market experience: mention any work with flexibility products, energy trading, or utility billing systems. Use concrete metrics (e.g., 'Managed a platform handling 10,000+ devices in balancing markets').
In your cover letter, explicitly connect your product strategy experience to 1KOMMA5°'s mission: show you understand how their platform creates value from decentralized energy assets.
Research 1KOMMA5°'s current product lineup (e.g., Heartbeat, their energy management system) and mention how you'd evolve the Energy Utility Platform to integrate new devices or market mechanisms.
If you don't have German fluency, emphasize your willingness to learn and provide examples of working with international teams or adapting to regulatory environments.
Prepare a portfolio or case study of a product you've launched in a regulated industry—focus on how you navigated constraints (e.g., compliance, market rules) while delivering user value.
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
["Your passion for the energy transition and how 1KOMMA5°'s holistic approach (hardware + software + market access) aligns with your career goals.", "Specific examples of product strategy decisions you've made in energy or regulated markets, especially related to market access or optimization.", 'Your ability to be both strategic and hands-on—mention leading discovery sprints, writing detailed specs, and working closely with engineering.', "Understanding of German energy market nuances (e.g., EEG 2023, Smart Meter Gateway) and how you'd address them in product development."]
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Read 1KOMMA5°'s blog and press releases to understand their recent product launches (e.g., Heartbeat, their partnership with Tesla or Sonnen).
- → Study the German energy regulatory landscape: EEG, EnWG, and the role of the Bundesnetzagentur, especially regarding flexibility marketing and direct marketing.
- → Explore their competitors (e.g., Octopus Energy, Tibber, Next Kraftwerke) to understand the market positioning and differentiation.
- → Review their careers page and LinkedIn for insights into company culture and team composition (e.g., size of product team, engineering approach).
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Don't submit a generic product management application without highlighting energy or regulated industry experience—this role specifically needs domain knowledge.
- Avoid being too theoretical; emphasize hands-on execution in your examples (e.g., writing specs, running sprints) to match the job description's 'be hands-on' requirement.
- Don't overlook the 'stakeholder management' aspect—this role works closely with Energy Operations, so failing to show cross-functional collaboration skills is a red flag.
📅 Application Timeline
This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.
Typical hiring timeline:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!