Dr. Claire Fautsch

Principal Engineer &
Hands-On Tech Leader

CTO | Strategic & Hands-On | Mathematician at Heart

I build things, lead teams, and bridge the gap between tech and business. I use AI as my sparring partner to deliver better work, faster. Not to replace thinking, but to sharpen it.

Hamburg, Germany
Claire Fautsch

Getting things done, with quality and speed

I'm a hands-on tech leader with C-level experience who genuinely enjoys both coding and leading. I pick up new topics fast, go deep when needed, and always keep the bigger picture in sight. My background in mathematics trained me to think analytically, and my years in industry taught me to move quickly and pragmatically.

I'm a strong believer in AI as a force multiplier. I actively use it in my daily work - not as a replacement, but as a sparring partner that helps me deliver higher quality, faster. From prototyping to code reviews to strategic brainstorming, AI is part of my toolkit.

What sets me apart: I understand the business side just as well as the tech. I'm fluent in KPIs, stakeholder management, and the kind of cross-functional communication that turns good ideas into shipped products. I adapt my language to the audience, whether that's a board room, a dev team, or a customer call.

Fast Learner

I ramp up quickly on new domains, technologies, and business contexts. Curiosity is my engine. I dive deep, connect the dots, and start contributing fast.

AI-Augmented Work

I actively leverage AI to boost productivity and quality. It's my sparring partner for code, architecture decisions, and creative problem-solving.

Hands-On & Pragmatic

I love getting stuff done. I balance quality with speed, and I'm not afraid to roll up my sleeves, whether it's writing code, debugging production, or unblocking a team.

Business & People Bridge

I speak both tech and business. I manage stakeholders, understand KPIs, navigate politics, and bring people together across functions and seniority levels.

Crisis Navigator

I thrive under pressure. Restructurings, firefighting, tight deadlines, I bring calm, structure, and momentum when things get chaotic.

Adaptive Communicator

Board meetings, engineering deep-dives, customer calls: I adjust my communication to the audience and make sure everyone leaves aligned.

Where I've been

NEOintralogistics GmbH 2025 – Present
Principal Engineer
Joblift GmbH, Hamburg 2017 – 2025
CTO (2024–2025) · Head of Engineering (2022–2024) · Engineering Manager & Senior Engineer (2017–2021)
  • Led the company as CTO and interim COO through a critical restructuring phase, working closely with the CEO and board
  • Managed up to 20 engineers across Backend, Frontend, and Platform teams
  • Reduced Google Cloud spend by 75% through a company-wide cost optimization initiative
  • Built the conversational AI product (JobCoach) from hackathon to production, integrating GPT-3.5
  • Served as technical lead for Salesforce introduction including domain modeling and system integration
JavaSpring BootKubernetesGCPKafka PostgreSQLBigQueryOpenAISalesforceReact
Goodgame Studios, Hamburg 2013 – 2017
Senior Java Developer
  • Led a small team building a greenfield event tracking system for near real-time gamer data
  • Designed and operated scalable backend services for the company's data warehouse
Java 8RabbitMQHDFSHBaseWildflyPuppet
Accenture Technology Solutions, Zürich & Hamburg 2010 – 2013
IT Consultant
  • Client projects across financial services, insurance, and aerospace
  • Roles spanning Software Engineer, Test Manager, Product Owner, and Project Support

What I work with

Engineering

Java Spring Boot Kubernetes Google Cloud Platform PostgreSQL Kafka BigQuery C# .NET Azure Docker Microservices

AI & Data

OpenAI / LLMs AI-augmented workflows Prototyping Data Pipelines

Leadership & Strategy

Team Building Stakeholder Management Cloud Cost Optimization Technical Strategy Mentoring Board Communication

Languages

Luxembourgish (native) German (bilingual) English (fluent) French (fluent) Spanish (basic)

Academic background

PhD in Computer Science
Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland
2007 – 2010

Thesis: Domain Specific Information Retrieval

MSc in Mathematics
Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland
2005 – 2007
BSc in Mathematics
Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland
2002 – 2005

Sharing what I learn

CLEF'09 UniNE at CLEF-IP 2009 2009

Let's work together

I'm open for consulting engagements, small development projects, and technical advisory. Whether you need help setting up or scaling a tech organisation, a sparring partner for architectural decisions, someone to build a prototype fast, or hands-on support navigating a tricky technical challenge, let's talk.