Website:
zerocubit.com
Job details:
About Us
We are a stealth-mode deep-tech hardware startup building indigenous sustainable ultra-low-temperature refrigeration systems.
ZEROCUBIT is an indigenous sustainable ultra-low temperature refrigeration company founded by IISc alumni bringing hands-on R&D and product engineering experience from Atlas Copco and IIT Madras Research Park - grounding the company in deep technical rigor across mechanical design, thermal systems, and industrial product development, with a track record of taking engineering-heavy products from concept to deployment - building patentable, high-performance cooling technology for pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, semiconductor manufacturing, defence, lyophilization, and advanced industrial cooling that matches global systems on engineering capability, reliability, sustainability, and performance; solving India's near-total dependence on imported ULT equipment (steep distributor markups, long lead times, thin local service support) and the absence of any independent multi-brand service network, through systems designed around low-GWP refrigerants that cut environmental impact and help customers lower their own carbon footprint, on a phased roadmap from −40°C to −55°C in Pilot 1, extending to −100°C in Pilot 2 and −150°C in Pilot 3, toward becoming a single-point stop for cryogenic products; currently pre-launch and founder-led.
Now, we are looking for the person who will help us identify our first customers, understand their needs, and convert early conversations into signed commitments.
The Opportunity
We are hiring a Business Development Intern - someone who is curious, technically grounded, and wants to build a customer pipeline.
You will work directly with the founders to identify target customers, hold technical conversations with plant engineers and procurement teams, collect real-world cooling requirements, and convert those conversations into signed Letters of Intent and pilot partner commitments. This is not a passive internship where you shadow meetings and compile reports.
You will help build the commercial foundation.
From researching which pharma plants, semiconductor fabs, and biotech companies need ultra-low temperature cooling - to walking into those facilities, understanding their processes, and bringing back signed interest - you will play a direct role in shaping how the company finds and wins its first customers.
The internship runs for 3 - 6 months, extendable based on performance and mutual fit. Frequent travel across India is expected.
The role is based in Hyderabad (Hybrid), India, with frequent travel across industrial and pharma clusters.
What You'll Own
- Research and build a target list of companies using or needing ULT cooling - pharma API manufacturers, Lyophilizers OEMs, specialty chemical plants, semiconductor fabs, defence and aerospace test facilities.
- Map decision-makers at each target - process engineers, utilities heads, EPC/MEP consultants, and procurement leads.
- Conduct structured discovery calls and site visits to understand customer cooling applications, required temperature ranges, capacity needs, and operating conditions.
- Document customer requirements in a standardised format - temperature, capacity, cooling medium, duty cycle, placement constraints, compliance needs.
- Develop working knowledge of where ULT chillers sit in customer processes - reactor cooling, cold traps, condenser systems, lyophiliser subsystems, environmental test chambers.
- Gather field intelligence on competitors - pricing, lead times, service quality, installed base - and current import pain points.
- Identify and engage potential pilot partners willing to evaluate a prototype unit under real operating conditions.
- Present the Pilot Partner Expression of Interest and collect signed EOIs from qualified prospects.
- Maintain a structured pipeline tracking every prospect - stage, contact, requirement, next action, timeline.
- Produce weekly summaries and contribute field insights to grant applications and investor materials as needed.
- Work closely with the founders to translate customer requirements into product specification inputs for the engineering team.
What We're Looking For
We are looking for someone who:
- Has a technical foundation: engineering, applied sciences, or a related discipline and genuine curiosity about industrial hardware, deep-tech manufacturing, or the HVAC/refrigeration domain.
- Can hold technical conversations with process engineers and plant managers: you need to understand what it does and why it matters in their process.
- Is a strong communicator as you will be representing the company to potential customers.
- Has a self-starter mindset as this is a startup; you will operate with significant autonomy and minimal hand-holding.
- Is willing to travel frequently across industrial and pharma clusters in India.
- Is comfortable in a fast-moving, high-ambiguity environment where you build structure rather than follow it.
Prior exposure to B2B sales, pharma API manufacturing, lyophilisation, industrial refrigeration, or Indian industrial procurement processes is valuable but not mandatory.
A builder's mindset, technical curiosity, and ability to create business from zero matter more.
What You Get
- Direct founder access - work alongside the CEO on customer strategy.
- Deep-tech startup experience - contribute to building a company from zero in a sector with clear import-substitution tailwinds.
- Real ownership - your LOIs and pilot partnerships directly shape the company's grant applications, investor narrative, and product roadmap.
- Network building - interact with pharma plant managers, EPC consultants.
- Performance-based path to a full-time role - exceptional interns will be considered into Business Line team.
- Direct exposure to engineering, product strategy, and key company decisions from day one.
- This is a stipend-based internship with hands-on exposure to the full spectrum of business development.
Culture
We are a small, founder-led team with no existing playbook. We value people who are comfortable taking ownership, making decisions, moving fast, and building structure where none exists.
Speed when it matters. Patience when it counts. Ownership throughout.
If identifying real customers, understanding complex industrial processes, and helping take a deep-tech product from innovation to commercial traction excites you, we'd love to hear from you.
We welcome applicants from a range of backgrounds and career paths; if you meet most of the qualifications and are excited about the role, we encourage you to apply.
Click on Apply to know more.