Thomas Kleinert

Deputy CTO – Europe · Strangeworks

Applied Optimization · Quantum Computing · Research

20 publications
1,600+ citations
Munich, Germany mail@thomaskleinert.com LinkedIn Google Scholar

About

I’m a mathematician by training and optimization enthusiast by conviction. After a PhD in mathematical optimization at FAU Erlangen–Nürnberg — where I developed algorithms for large-scale bilevel and multilevel problems — I’ve spent my career turning hard mathematical problems into production software and building the teams that make that happen.

Today I lead the European engineering team at Strangeworks, where we’re building Aura: an agentic optimization engine that autonomously models and solves complex business problems from high-level domain input. Before the acquisition, I co-founded and served as CTO of Quantagonia, a deep-tech startup focused on quantum-classical optimization solvers.

Outside of work, I’m a passionate photographer and mountaineer, and I brew my own beer.

Experience

Deputy CTO – Europe 08/2025 – present
Strangeworks
  • Lead the European engineering team building Aura, an agentic optimization engine that autonomously models and solves business optimization problems from domain-level input
  • Hands-on contributor to the Aura codebase across core engine, algorithms, and infrastructure
  • Own the technical roadmap and drive product direction together with the broader Strangeworks leadership
CTO & Late Co-Founder 04/2024 – 07/2025
Quantagonia (acquired by Strangeworks)
  • Lead a cross-functional engineering team (10+ engineers across optimization, ML, cloud, and physics)
  • Reshaped product vision and technical roadmap, contributing decisively to successful acquisition
  • Own overall system architecture, technology strategy, and hiring decisions
Senior Technical Account Manager 08/2022 – 03/2024
Quantagonia
  • Led customer projects from mathematical problem formulation to production deployment
  • Hands-on contribution across optimization models, algorithms, testing, backend services, and cloud infrastructure
Managing Consultant and Head of Optimization Analytics 04/2021 – 07/2022
Horváth Steering Lab
  • Led and delivered projects in predictive and prescriptive analytics across multiple industries
  • Designed and implemented solutions for AI-based pricing, demand forecasting, and warehouse layout optimization

Education & Research

PhD in Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Optimization (summa cum laude) 04/2017 – 03/2021
FAU Erlangen–Nürnberg
  • Developed algorithms for large-scale multilevel optimization problems
  • Applied mathematical optimization and ML to real-world energy market models
  • Affiliated with CRC/Transregio 154 and Energie Campus Nürnberg
  • Advised by Prof. Dr. Martin Schmidt, Prof. Dr. Veronika Grimm
M.Sc. Mathematics & Economics (Grade: 1.1) 10/2013 – 04/2016
FAU Erlangen–Nürnberg
Visiting Graduate Student 08/2014 – 12/2014
Thammasat University Bangkok

Publications

  1. BOBILib: Bilevel Optimization (Benchmark) Instance Library J Thürauf, T Kleinert, I Ljubić, T Ralphs, M Schmidt Mathematical Programming Computation, 2026
  2. Quantum Optimization Benchmark Library — The Intractable Decathlon T Koch, DE Bernal Neira, Y Chen, G Cortiana, DJ Egger, R Heese, T Kleinert, ... arXiv: 2504.03832, 2025
    Preprint
  3. Challenges and Opportunities in Quantum Optimization A Abbas, A Ambainis, B Augustino, A Bärtschi, H Buhrman, C Coffrin, T Kleinert, ... Nature Reviews Physics 6 (12), 718–735, 2024
  4. Why There Is No Need to Use a Big-M in Linear Bilevel Optimization: A Computational Study of Two Ready-to-Use Approaches T Kleinert, M Schmidt Computational Management Science 20, 2023
  5. On Piecewise Linear Approximations of Bilinear Terms: Structural Comparison of Univariate and Bivariate Mixed-Integer Programming Formulations A Bärmann, R Burlacu, L Hager, T Kleinert Journal of Global Optimization 85 (4), 789–819, 2023
  6. Mixed-Integer Programming Techniques for the Minimum Sum-of-Squares Clustering Problem JP Burgard, C Moreira Costa, C Hojny, T Kleinert, M Schmidt Journal of Global Optimization 87 (1), 133–189, 2023
  7. The Cost of Decoupling Trade and Transport in the European Entry-Exit Gas Market with Linear Physics Modeling T Böttger, V Grimm, T Kleinert, M Schmidt European Journal of Operational Research 297 (3), 1095–1111, 2022
  8. On Convex Lower-Level Black-Box Constraints in Bilevel Optimization with an Application to Gas Market Models with Chance Constraints H Heitsch, R Henrion, T Kleinert, M Schmidt Journal of Global Optimization 84 (3), 651–685, 2022
  9. A Survey on Mixed-Integer Programming Techniques in Bilevel Optimization T Kleinert, M Labbé, I Ljubić, M Schmidt EURO Journal on Computational Optimization 9, 100007, 2021
  10. Closing the Gap in Linear Bilevel Optimization: A New Valid Primal-Dual Inequality T Kleinert, M Labbé, F Plein, M Schmidt Optimization Letters 15 (4), 1027–1040, 2021
  11. Outer Approximation for Global Optimization of Mixed-Integer Quadratic Bilevel Problems T Kleinert, V Grimm, M Schmidt Mathematical Programming (Series B), 2021
  12. Presolving Linear Bilevel Optimization Problems T Kleinert, J Manns, M Schmidt, D Weninger EURO Journal on Computational Optimization 9, 100020, 2021
  13. Algorithms for Mixed-Integer Bilevel Problems with Convex Followers T Kleinert PhD Thesis, FAU Erlangen–Nürnberg, 2021
  14. There's No Free Lunch: On the Hardness of Choosing a Correct Big-M in Bilevel Optimization T Kleinert, M Labbé, F Plein, M Schmidt Operations Research 68 (6), 2020
  15. Endogenous Price Zones and Investment Incentives in Electricity Markets: An Application of Multilevel Optimization with Graph Partitioning M Ambrosius, V Grimm, T Kleinert, F Liers, M Schmidt, G Zöttl Energy Economics 92, 2020
    Preprint
  16. Computing Feasible Points of Bilevel Problems with a Penalty Alternating Direction Method T Kleinert, M Schmidt INFORMS Journal on Computing 33 (1), 2020
  17. On Electricity Market Equilibria with Storage: Modeling, Uniqueness, and a Distributed ADMM J Grübel, T Kleinert, V Krebs, G Orlinskaya, L Schewe, M Schmidt, ... Computers & Operations Research 114, 104783, 2020
  18. The Impact of Neighboring Markets on Renewable Locations, Transmission Expansion, and Generation Investment J Egerer, V Grimm, T Kleinert, M Schmidt, G Zöttl European Journal of Operational Research 292 (2), 696–713, 2020
    Preprint
  19. Optimal Price Zones of Electricity Markets: A Mixed-Integer Multilevel Model and Global Solution Approaches V Grimm, T Kleinert, F Liers, M Schmidt, G Zöttl Optimization Methods and Software 34 (2), 406–436, 2019
  20. Global Optimization of Multilevel Electricity Market Models Including Network Design and Graph Partitioning T Kleinert, M Schmidt Discrete Optimization 33, 43–69, 2019