Community Engagement Intern (m/f/d) – Podero Lab

At Podero, we're building the future of energy consumption, combining the power of smart software with everyday devices to transform how people consume energy. Our mission is bold: turn homes and their devices into the most powerful tool for reducing CO₂ and electricity costs. We're early and moving fast. We're backed by leading investors like Planet A and Systemiq Capital and already working with major energy providers like E.On and Total Energies.

If you're excited about shaping a company from the ground up and solving real-world problems with cutting-edge technology, Podero is the place to do it.

The role

Podero steers real heat pumps, EVs and home batteries in real homes. Before a new release reaches thousands of them, we need to test it on actual hardware, and right now we don't have enough test devices. That holds up releases. It's one of the most concrete bottlenecks between us and our mission.

The Podero Lab is how we fix it: a community of real device owners who let us test on their equipment at home, and who we look after properly in return. It's just getting started, and you'll be the person who grows it into something real, and who keeps it alive as it grows.

You'll recruit the members, be the human they trust throughout every test, and set up the systems that keep the community running. Full ownership, real freedom in how you do it, backed by our business and engineering teams.

This is a starting point, not a fixed-term project. Once the Lab runs on its own, the next step is a conversation about what you're good at and what actually interests you. Part-time or Working Student after the first three months, or a full-time role after the internship if it works for both of us, either continuing to own the Lab, or in whatever direction you've grown towards by then.

What you'll do

• Work out where the right device owners are, then go and get them. How is genuinely up to you: you have a budget and the green light to test your own channels.
• Recruit them. Most owners start out cautious, so your job is to make the case, build confidence, and bring them on board. Your first milestone is a first cohort with real variety in it, across different device types and brands.
• Own how Podero communicates once a test is live. Keep members informed about what's happening with their devices, and build the process (AI-assisted where it helps) that keeps those updates flowing as the Lab grows.
• Keep the relationships going. This is the part that isn't marketing: every member is an individual you stay in contact with over months, and who ideally becomes a lasting supporter of Podero as they expand their setup.
• Build the systems and processes that let the Lab scale. This is what makes it last, and it's the heart of the role.

Who you are

• You are a self-starter who wants real ownership and will take it. Nobody is going to hand you a playbook here. The interesting part is that you get to write it.
• You are AI fluent and use it naturally in how you work.
• You don't need a technical background. If you're curious about energy and technology and can pick things up quickly, that's enough. We'll teach you the rest.
• You write and speak well, and you are comfortable being the warm, human voice of a technical product.
• You speak German at native or near-native level and are fluent in English. You'll use both every day with our members.
• You like people and you earn their trust quickly. You can put yourself in a device owner's shoes, so you understand why someone feels uneasy when a startup wants to steer the expensive hardware they just installed, and you know that a little honesty and care at the right moment settles it.
• You're comfortable doing the direct thing: sending the message, making the call, starting the conversation with a stranger.
• Bonus points for an interest in energy or climate, or any experience in community building, outreach, sales or customer success. If you've built or run a community of any kind (a student organisation, a club, a Verein), tell us about it.

What You'll Get

• Mission-Driven Work: Help reduce 4.4% of global CO₂ emissions by contributing to the transition towards a more sustainable energy grid and strengthening Europe's energy independence.
• Ownership & Initiative: Take real ownership of your work. At Podero, you're encouraged to pursue your own ideas, shape your scope, and actively drive topics forward from day one. In this role that includes your own budget to test channels with, and the visible impact of unblocking one of the company's biggest bottlenecks.
• Learning / Professional Growth: Join a fast-paced, early-stage startup with significant learning and career advancement opportunities. Access to a strong network, including investors and key stakeholders in the energy and tech industries.
• You get energy-flexibility fluent, fast: you'll come out understanding a market at the centre of the energy transition. That knowledge is genuinely scarce and increasingly in demand, and it gives you a concrete achievement to point to rather than a vague internship line on your CV.
• A real path onwards: part-time or Werkstudent:in after the minimum first three months, and a full-time role later if it goes well for both of us.
• Work Flexibility: Remote or hybrid work options with the ability to work in our office in the heart of Vienna.
• Young and dynamic environment: Flat hierarchies and a fun workplace, we're a young team that gets along great!
• 25 Days of Annual Leave
• Off-sites and travel budget: Regular team events and exciting off-site experiences all across Europe. Travel budgets for customer visits, conferences, and industry events.
• Additional Perks: MacBook, plus any equipment (AirPods, etc.) you might need to get your work done as effectively as possible. Snacks, coffee, and fruit at the office.