Director of Deeptech

About this opportunity

As our Director of Deeptech you lead Techleap’s deeptech strategy by identifying high-potential ventures, shaping founder-focused programs, and improving the conditions for deeptech companies to scale. You’ll drive our national collaboration with TNO and Invest-NL, own key verticals (starting with the Future of Compute), and turn founder insights into impactful policy.

This role requires strategic vision, hands-on execution, and ecosystem leadership to help Dutch deeptech ventures and your team thrive.

Key Responsibilities

For this role and for your team to become a successful part of the Dutch deeptech ecosystem we see core responsibilities in some main categories.

National Strategy & Vertical Execution

Drive the development and execution of Techleap’s long-term deeptech vision (e.g. Deeptech 2035), ensuring the Netherlands becomes a global force in science-driven innovation.

• Own one or more strategic verticals, starting with Future of Compute and position them as national growth priorities (e.g. semiconductors, photonics, quantum).

• Lead deep ecosystem analysis to identify high-potential ventures, innovation bottlenecks, and untapped strategic opportunities.

• Translate insights into high-impact initiatives, support programs, strategic convening, and ecosystem interventions that accelerate scale.

• Support the development of a national valorisation program proposal.

Founder Engagement & Support

Deeptech founders are the beating heart of this role, you’ll work directly with them to remove barriers and accelerate their journey.

• Identify, support, and build relationships with high-potential founders across sectors and stages.

• Design and evolve founder-first programs (e.g. Pole Position) tailored to the needs of science-based startups and scaleups.

• Connect ventures with critical growth drivers like capital, infrastructure, talent, and global networks.

• Serve as a trusted thought partner to founders, offering strategic guidance and hands-on support.

Ecosystem collaboration

Execute on the national deeptech policy based on real founder experiences and unite (public and private) stakeholders around shared missions and create momentum.

• Collaborate closely with ministries, research institutions, and industry to improve access to IP, funding, and global positioning.

• Mobilise key stakeholders around deeptech verticals, turning fragmented efforts into coordinated action.

• Share key insights and learnings to drive national awareness and international positioning.

• Contribute to national frameworks like the National Technology Strategy, ensuring the voice of founders is front and center.

• Co-lead the strategic alliance with TNO and Invest-NL, aligning shared vision, investment logic, and execution.

• Represent Techleap at key roundtables, coalitions, and policymaking forums.

You might be a fit if you

• Are or recently were deeply embedded in deeptech as a founder, investor, program builder, or ecosystem leader.

• Understand the journey from lab to market, and what it takes to build scalable companies in complex tech.

• Have experience working across public and private domains, and can build coalitions with high credibility.

• Are comfortable with policy and government interaction, and can translate founder reality into institutional language.

• Are a strong communicator and systems thinker, but also focused on execution and delivery.

• Have experience bringing leadership and vision to inspire autonomous teams and thought leadership, fostering a culture of ownership, collaboration, and high performance.

• Are motivated by impact and believe the Netherlands can and should lead in deeptech.

Note: we don’t provide relocation and visa application support for this role

Why this role

As a member of our core leadership team, you will help lead the next chapter of Techleap. You’ll play a direct role in strengthening the Netherlands’ position as a global technology leader. By supporting founders who are building world-changing technologies, you will drive the implementation of the national technology strategy while staying closely connected to the real-world challenges of execution. You will collaborate with key partners, leading corporates, universities, and ministries. This is an opportunity to join a small, agile team with a national mandate and ambitious global goals.