*Help build RoboConnect into the independent starting point for industrial companies considering automation — combining industrial expertise, customer development and commercial judgement.*
**Location:**
Molde, Norway - in-person collaboration several days per week


**Initial phase:**
One-month paid mutual assessment period


**Long-term intention:**
Full-time co-founder and long-term industrial and commercial partner


**About RoboConnect**
Many industrial companies want to automate, but the early pre-investment phase is often slow, fragmented and difficult to navigate. Companies may be unsure what should be automated, whether the process is ready, what information is missing and which partners they should involve. This can delay projects and increase the risk of costly mistakes.


RoboConnect helps industrial companies move faster from an unclear automation need to a structured and decision-relevant basis for internal decisions and supplier dialogue. We combine industrial automation expertise with an AI-supported workflow for needs clarification, project preparation, expert review and matching.


Our goal is to help companies, especially SMEs, get started faster, reduce uncertainty and make better investment decisions — while giving system integrators and other automation partners a better-qualified starting point.


Our first specialised area is welding automation in high-mix, low-volume manufacturing. We are currently preparing customer pilots and commercial launch in Norway, with Sweden as the first intended scale-up market.


**Why we need this co-founder**
RoboConnect was founded by Elisabet Witsø, who brings a multidisciplinary background in research, data analysis, complex problem-solving, digital product development and AI.


We are now looking for a complementary co-founder with deep practical experience from industrial automation, robotics or system integration. You will strengthen RoboConnect’s industrial credibility and help ensure that customer dialogue, project assessments, matching and product development are grounded in real automation experience. This is an active founder role, not an occasional advisory position.


**What You Will Do**

- understand customer processes, bottlenecks and automation needs
- identify and develop pilot customers through direct outreach, meetings and structured follow-up
- review AI-supported project briefs for realism, risks, missing information and readiness for supplier dialogue
- help identify and evaluate relevant system integrators, technology suppliers and R&D partners
- contribute to RoboConnect’s AI Advisor, service offering, positioning, pricing and commercial model
- build relationships across the automation ecosystem and support later expansion into Sweden and the wider Nordic market

Who we are looking for


This is a co-founder role with broader responsibility than a traditional engineering or technical sales position. You will combine industrial automation expertise with customer development, commercial judgement and company-building.


**You Must Have**

- several years of practical experience from industrial automation, robotics, system integration or automation projects in manufacturing
- experience from real automation projects and the ability to understand and challenge production and automation cases
- the credibility to communicate with production managers, operators, engineers, system integrators and commercial decision-makers
- a strong customer orientation and willingness to take direct responsibility for customer contact, sales and follow-up
- commercial judgement and a genuine interest in building a business, not only delivering technical expertise
- the initiative, independence and resilience needed to build an early-stage company with limited resources and uncertainty

You must be able to communicate effectively with Norwegian industrial customers. Norwegian or another Scandinavian language is strongly preferred. Candidates with excellent English may also be considered if they are willing to learn Norwegian and can demonstrate how they would build trusted customer relationships in Norway.


A formal sales title is not required. However, you must be comfortable proactively contacting potential customers, conducting meetings, asking for the next step and helping turn opportunities into real projects.


**Strong Advantages Include**

- experience from technical sales, pre-sales, business development, commercial project development or other customer-facing automation roles
- welding automation or high-mix, low-volume manufacturing
- experience with ROI assessments, investment cases or automation readiness
- experience evaluating or selecting system integrators and technology suppliers
- an established industrial network in Norway or Sweden

**Independence, location and founder fit**
RoboConnect must remain independent. Matching should be based on documented customer needs and clear criteria, not personal preferences or existing supplier relationships. RoboConnect is based in Molde and connected to Protomore Innovation Lab. Some home-office flexibility is possible, but the founders must be able to collaborate in person several days per week.


**Compensation And Ownership**
The collaboration will begin with a one-month paid mutual assessment period. The published hourly salary range applies only to this period. Workload, compensation and objectives will be agreed before starting.


RoboConnect is a pre-revenue startup and cannot currently guarantee a market-rate salary after the initial month. Any continued paid arrangement will depend on revenue, funding and board approval. If the collaboration continues, the intention is to establish a long-term co-founder relationship with an ownership arrangement based on responsibilities, commitment, risk and agreed vesting terms.