To make our application process transparent and fair for you, we would like to explain the individual steps of the process to you in more detail.

After receiving your application documents in PDF format at application@optimax-energy.de, we will confirm their receipt by e-mail.

Our HR team will compare different applications and will get back to you as soon as possible. If you are on the shortlist, we will ask you for an initial telephone interview.

To test your professional skills and to give you an initial insight into potential job tasks, we will send you a test task or arrange a trial working day with you.

If you convince us, we will invite you to a personal interview to get to know you better and to make a final decision.

In all our departments (IT, Trading, Finance, HR) we are looking for creative problem solvers who can contribute to the company's success with their knowledge and skills. None of the advertised positions matches you one hundred percent, but you match us one hundred percent?

Great! We look forward to receiving your speculative application!

Yes, because in addition to a lived culture of innovation, growth potential and technical excellence, we see the promotion of young talent as an important part of our corporate commitment. We want to accompany you on your path to success and give you the support and freedom you need to develop your full potential. That is why we support university theses with the opportunity to work on topics related to the working environment at our company. You are welcome to submit topics for theses to us or develop them together with us, ideally as part of a working student activity or an internship.

Of course, we treat your personal data confidentially, as data protection is very important to us. You can read more about this in our data privacy statement.

If you are joining us for the first time, we will support your transfer to our company by offering you help with finding accommodation in Leipzig.

If you are not from Germany but have exceptional skills in the IT sector and speak fluent English, we will support you in obtaining the so-called Bluecard and assist you in dealing with the public authorities after you have provided proof of your qualifications. Thanks to our experience in relocating from various countries, we can also help you with the recognition of educational qualifications, family reunification and visa acquisition.

If you have questions about the German education, health and tax system, our HR team will be happy to help you. You can get a first impression of beautiful Leipzig and its culture here.

- For citizens of the European Union

For talents from within the European Union, thanks to the freedom of movement, you can travel to Germany without a visa or a residence permit and stay here for a period of three months. The documents you will need for entering the country are either a valid passport or an ID card. The only “formal” thing you have to do is to register at the Resident's Registration
Office of the municipality in which you are living, as soon as you have moved into a house or apartment. There are no restrictions regarding access to employment and self-employment in Germany for you or your family. As an
EU citizen, you automatically receive the right to permanent residence in another EU country after an uninterrupted legal residence of at least 5 years in that country. More information can be found here.

- For citizens from outside the EU: special law for IT professionals

For IT specialists from outside the European Union, Germany created some special laws to enable career and development opportunities. In particular, there are three possible ways to relocate to Germany as an IT professional:

1. EU Blue Card: If you have an academic degree in IT as well as a specific job offer in Germany, you may receive an EU Blue Card. It is important to know that you must earn a minimum salary in your job for that visa type.
   Nonetheless, the EU Blue Card is an exceptionally popular residence permit with many advantages. The requirements for this residence permit are:
   • a German degree, or a foreign higher education degree that is comparable to a German one
   • a concrete job offer from a company in Germany
   • job offer with a gross annual income that is at least as high as a specific minimum salary amount that is updated and published every year (e.g. € 43,992.00 in 2022 for the fields of mathematics, IT, natural sciences, engineering, and human medicine).
     
2. Work visa for qualified professionals: A residence permit for qualified employment (according to Section 18a and 18b (1) AufenthG) might be the right option for you, if you acquired your IT skills during an apprenticeship, for example. The same conditions apply, if you have a university degree in IT, yet the job position you have found does not meet the requirements for the EU Blue Card.
   • qualifications must be either recognized in Germany or comparable to those from a German higher education institution
   • a concrete job offer from a company in Germany
   • if over 45: annual gross salary of at least € 46,530 (as of 2022) or provide proof of adequate provision for retirement
     
3. Working as an IT specialist/residence permit for other types of work: Even if you have neither any formal qualifications nor a university degree, you can still obtain a visa and work as an IT specialist in Germany. Therefore, certain prerequisites must be met, such as
   • a specific job offer in the IT sector
   • At least three years of experience in IT over the last seven years
   • Proof of relevant theoretical knowledge in the form of training courses and exams
   • Potential job offer with a gross annual salary that is at least as high as a specific minimum salary amount that is updated and published every year (e.g. € 50,760.00 in 2022).
   • Minimum B1 level of German language (not necessary if the spoken
     language at work is not German)
     
   More information can be found here.

Once both sides have signed the contract, we lose no time.

The final length of the process depends on various factors such as your current place of residence (EU vs. non-EU, as explained in Section What are the legal requirements for a successful relocation to Germany?), availability of the required documents, and clarification of individual questions in advance.

- For citizens of the European Union

EU members can move and register their place of residence immediately after signing the contract and preparing the required documents. This takes only a few weeks.

- For citizens from outside the EU

If you are from a non-EU country, the process duration also depends on the availability of appointments at the embassy, as well as the recognition of your qualification. On average, it takes about a month until you arrive in Leipzig and change your residence. In individual cases, it might take longer. After that, for non-EU members, the main thing left to do is the final approval of the Blue Card or other kind of residence permit once they arrive in their new hometown.

For visa and relocation processes, costs are incurred by authorities. There are many different costs to consider, like travel, moving, flat, furniture, visa, and other miscellaneous things. Optimax will cover the relocation costs for you and your family, including travel costs, visa costs, and the costs of getting you and your family a residence permit.

The costs for arranging a visa depend on where you come from, and which visa you are planning to receive. The main costs here are the translator services, a notary if needed, and the visa fees.

For the first two months in Leipzig, Optimax will provide you with an apartment, so that you can relax a bit after your arrival, get to know the city and workplace, and organize other stuff like the registration and so on. We are partnering with a professional serviced apartment provider, that is located within a walking distance of the office. During this period, you can start searching for a proper accommodation, and we’ll be happy to assist you in this matter, e.g., organizing viewing appointments or helping you with the formalities.

Of course, in addition to you, as a qualified IT specialist, we also take care of your family holistically in the relocation process. No matter whether you are relocating alone, with a partner, with children, or pets – we have gained a lot of experience and always found an individual solution. Depending on the age of your children and whether you are married or not, there are different steps that we discuss with you transparently and individually.

The documents required for the visa differ from the kind of visa you are applying for and if you have a family or not. In general, the following documents are the most important ones:

• work contract (issued by Optimax)
• education certificates
• passport and passport photos
• if necessary: marriage certificates, birth certificates from your children (apostilled, when not issued by EU authorities)
  • if you bring your children, please don't forget vaccination records, as e.g. the vaccination against measles is mandatory

The documents needed for the embassy always depend on the individual situation – we will make sure to give you in-depth information about what is required as soon as possible after the signing of the work contract.

The main language spoken at work is English, so there is no need to speak German when you arrive. Although most of the inhabitants of Leipzig can speak at least a little English, we would recommend learning at least some German after you arrived in your new hometown. Optimax also organizes German language courses (at different levels) that you can attend if you want. We cover the costs because we think we can help you to settle down faster in your new home country.

Your pets are part of the family. Of course, we will make sure that they can travel safely with you to Leipzig. This is not a problem in the case of small animals (e.g., cats or dogs).

We value your need for location-independent work. Nevertheless, relocation to Leipzig is necessary for us after a few months at the latest, as we rely on a quick, direct and personal communication due to our business model. This is best done on-site in our beautiful office. Of course, there is still the possibility to work from home on some days. You will understand what we mean once you are here. If you do have concerns, feel free to contact us. Of course, we react to extraordinary circumstances accordingly (e.g., pandemic-related).

We understand that relocating to another country is not an easy step and that you currently have to overcome numerous doubts, unanswered questions, and uncertainty.

Based on our experience with the relocation of different teammates, we have the ideal contacts who will be happy to tell you from their perspective how it feels to master this step together. We can also forward short questions to them beforehand. Just contact our HR team (hr@optimax-energy.de) if you have any questions, and we will forward your request to them. Anyway, you will definitely get to talk to a relocated colleague during our hiring process.

Germany as one of the world’s leading economies is hungry for skilled professionals from abroad. Technological advancement and innovation go hand in hand which is why there are many innovative opportunities that wait for talents like you in Germany. Our country was ranked 5^th in the ranking for most technologically advanced countries in the 2021 Best Countries report.

For our workforce, we guarantee pro-employee laws (large amount of vacation days, lunch allowances, compulsory health insurance, unemployment insurance, and retirement pensions). Germans are also famous for their work ethics like efficiency, reliability, and punctuality which make collaboration between colleagues very convenient.

More than 83 million people live in Germany. Nearly 11 million of them hold a foreign passport – more than in any other of the member states of the EU. Including those who have subsequently acquired German citizenship, over 20 million people in Germany have a migrant background. In other words, practically one-fifth of the people living in Germany have foreign roots which make our culture vibrantly diverse.

You can find more information here.

If you are planning to move to Germany, you will want to know more about salary versus the costs of living.

Your monthly expenses depend greatly on your lifestyle, the city you live in, and how many family members you are living with. There are significant regional differences concerning costs of living. Munich, Frankfurt am Main and Stuttgart are the three most expensive cities in Germany. Leipzig, in comparison, is still a very affordable city, which means that renting prices are in general fairly low, as housing costs will be the most significant part of your cost of living in Germany.

The food prices in Germany vary depending on the supermarket that you go to. There are budget-friendly supermarkets as well as more expensive ones.

More impressions on the costs of living can be found here.

Initially, start by figuring out exactly what you want. This will help you narrow down the list of options and therefore facilitate and speed up the renting process. If you need any help with the renting procedure, we will be happy to assist you.

Before you start your apartment hunt in Germany, you should know a few things about what to expect from German apartments. They might vary from what you are used to in your home country. Most apartments for rent in Germany are unfurnished (often also without a kitchen and appliances like washing machines), so either you bring some furniture with you from home, or you buy new items here. Furthermore, utilities are calculated apart from the rent, and you will also have to sign up with an electricity provider.

There are many ways to find flats in Germany, especially through rental property websites. But you can also hire real estate agents to find a flat for you. The length of the procedure depends on many variables, but it usually takes no longer than 4-6 weeks. So, brace yourself and don’t give up if it takes some time.

Leipzig is, with a population of approx. 600,000 inhabitants, the biggest city in the state of Saxony, and is located in East Germany. The city also has the famous nickname “Hypezig” which was assigned because of affordable living costs, its lively art scene, breezy nightlife, and astonishing nature that in combination is particularly attractive for a younger generation. We have more bridges (427) than Venice (400) because three rivers pass through the city: Parthe, Pleiße, and White Elster.

Johann Sebastian Bach was a famous citizen of Leipzig (musical director and choirmaster) and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote “Faust” here and called the city “Little Paris”. To put it in a nutshell: there is much to explore in our home city.

No matter what your interests are, Leipzig offers you a wide range of possibilities: Leipzig is home to famous and historic sights, such as the Monument to the Battle of the Nations or the city skyscraper "Wisdom Tooth". In addition to the exciting city life, it also has a lot of nature and peaceful places to relax. Everywhere in the city, there are idyllic parks and lakes to take time out. Our Central Station is the largest in Europe by floor space and is, as a terminus station, well connected to the Deutsche Bahn route network.

Night owls also get their money's worth, whether in quaint pubs or fancy nightclubs. If you want, we organize a small city tour for you and reveal insider tips and other facts about our city. In addition, Leipzig is a real trade fair city and hosts, among other things, the second largest book fair in Germany, which is a must for bookworms.

In terms of events, Leipzig loves diversity and hosts the world's largest Goth festival at Whitsun. About 25,000 black-dressed cybergoths, metalheads, steampunks, neo-Victorians, and others attend 170+ live concerts and cultural events together. You don't have to wear it, to love it!

Yes, it is! There are numerous recreational activities for the whole family. You can go to our award-winning zoo (considered one of the most beautiful and species-rich zoos in Europe), spend time at the various lakes (e.g. Lake Cospuden, Kulkwitz or Markkleeberg), visit the climbing forest, wildlife park and canoe park and have fun at the Belantis amusement park.

On top, there are numerous children's playgrounds scattered throughout the city. In case of bad weather, there are also indoor playgrounds and the "JUMP House Leipzig" with 140 trampolines. In addition, you can spend time at many leisure pools and thermal baths (e.g., the Sachsen-Therme in the east of the city). Little explorers can let off steam in countless exciting museums, such as the INSPIRATA Mitmach-Museum.

You can also go to these places by bike: According to the ADFC, Leipzig ranks as the fifth-best metropolis in terms of bicycle-friendliness, among other cycling statistics.

Germany has one of the most comprehensive social welfare systems. As in other developed democracies, social spending represents the largest expenditure item in government spending. Around 1.19 trillion euros were spent on public social spending in 2020, equivalent to 33.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). A tightly woven network of statutory health, pension, accident, long-term care, and unemployment insurance protects citizens from the consequences of existential risks and threats. The social system in Germany is financed by taxes and contributions from employees and employers. This is why people pay a comparatively high amount of taxes compared to other countries. The more money you earn, the more taxes and social security contributions you will need to pay to the government. In the case of certain incomes, tax is deducted directly, for example in the case of wages or salary in the form of wage tax. The employer deducts it directly from the salary and transfers it to the tax office.