Director, Product - Engineering Simulation

Job description

Imagine having the power to stress-test an entire power grid against a hurricane or thunderstorm before the clouds even gather. That is the reality we are creating at Neara. We use advanced machine learning to create engineering-grade, physics enabled digital twins of electricity grids across four continents, this helps asset owners understand their biggest challenges and bring the most viable solutions to life across millions of kilometres of infrastructure. By simulating extreme weather and structural stress at a network-wide scale, we empower the world’s largest utilities to pinpoint risks, optimise investments and build a more resilient global energy future. Our team is a collection of brilliant minds who are fanatical about making a tangible difference in the real world, utilising AI and machine learning to accelerate everything from data classification to complex scenario analysis. We have built a special culture where innovation thrives because everyone owns the mission and we need smart, creative people to help us scale this impact to every corner of the globe. Our Design product group builds the engineering-grade modelling and design tools that utilities and their engineers rely on to plan, design, and maintain electrical networks. We don't do hypothetical: Working hand-in-hand with structural engineers, the team translates real-world physics, network design logic, and CAD-style editing straight into the product - From finite element analysis and structural simulation to LiDAR-driven 3D models of entire networks. This is highly specialised software that professionals trust to design the grid itself, and it's the crux of what makes Neara physics-enabled. We're looking for a Director of Product to lead this team and own its charter - the strategy, roadmap, and delivery for this stream - and take it to the next level. The role runs like a mini-GM seat: you're accountable for its success end to end, leading a cross-functional team of engineers, subject-matter experts, product managers and bringing them together behind a single, coherent direction. You don't need to arrive as a utilities or structural-engineering expert. This is a rare opportunity to immerse yourself in a genuinely fascinating domain and become fluent in how the physical grid actually works. What matters most is curiosity, a drive to learn, and the energy to lift a team. You'll join a group of sharp, motivated people who care deeply about their craft and its real-world impact - because ultimately, we're building the software that builds the grid. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Own it like a GM: be accountable for the team's success end to end, and make sure the big programs actually get done. - Take on strategic mandates: decide where to invest, which user problems to solve next, and how to take the product into adjacent markets. - Set product direction and prioritisation: own the vision, set the roadmap, make the calls, and hold scope so the team ships complete, high-quality outcomes rather than leaving work at 80%. - Lead a cross-functional team: bring product, engineering, and SMEs together, with direct reports across product and engineering and real people-leadership at the core. - Build sustainable processes and structure that surface the right information and improve delivery outcomes over time. - Bridge SMEs, developers, and the business: Bringing clarity to a complex, high-context domain and making sure the right expertise reaches the right decisions. - Get hands-on with the domain and the platform: Dig into the engineering and the tools, and stay close to the real problems utilities and designers face every day. This isn't a hands-off role - you'll lead best by understanding the substance. - Partner across the wider product & engineering org, connecting your area cleanly to the rest of the platform and the broader Neara roadmap. WHO YOU ARE - An experienced product leader who has owned the success of a large and complex product area or charter: very comfortable operating across product management, engineering and design; and accountable for outcomes, not just outputs. - Proven, hands-on success in a technical area you weren't already an expert in: You've walked into an unfamiliar domain, got the dirt under your fingernails, and delivered - This aptitude matters most to us. - A strong people leader with proven experience directly leading product management and ideally also engineering teams: you lift teams toward cohesion and intention, earn trust quickly, and grow the people around you - You build context fast and challenge respectfully: You get to the heart of a problem, work alongside teams to understand their engineering challenges, then push from a place of credibility rather than assumption. - Comfortable going deep, with the judgement to know where to stop: Genuinely driven to understand the substance of what the team does, without trying to out-expert the specialists around you. - Ruthless on scope and prioritisation, calm under pressure, and able to bring clarity to chaos. Nice-to-have - Exposure to utilities, energy, structural or electrical engineering, CAD, simulation/FEA, or other physics-based technical platforms. - Software engineering background WHY WORK HERE - Competitive salary + ESOP. Significant career development and growth opportunities. - Fully flexible working arrangements with a well-stocked office in Redfern. - Annual company-wide offsite. - Highly meritocratic, non-bureaucratic, and no-ego work culture. - The opportunity to work on complex, meaningful products and real-world problems. - The opportunity to play a direct, critical role in the trajectory of a high growth company. - Neara values diversity, belonging, and equal employment opportunities. We encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply. #LI-LB1