Step out of your comfort zone, excel and redefine the limits of what is possible. That’s just what our employees are doing every single day – in order to set the pace through our innovations and enable outstanding achievements. After all, behind every successful company are many great fascinating people.
 
In a spacious modern setting full of opportunities for further development, ZEISS employees work in a place where expert knowledge and team spirit reign supreme. All of this is supported by a special ownership structure and the long-term goal of the Carl Zeiss Foundation: to bring science and society into the future together.
 
Join us today. Inspire people tomorrow.
 
Diversity is a part of ZEISS. We look forward to receiving your application regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, philosophy of life, disability, age, sexual orientation or identity.
 
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Your role

Are you passionate about driving integrated photonic technologies into innovative products? Then, leverage your experience to help us unlock the immense business potential of photonic integrated circuits (PIC) – a market that is growing rapidly due to the demand for AI, faster communication, and novel types of sensors. ZEISS has started a major strategic initiative to establish an interdisciplinary team in a dynamic and agile startup environment. The corporate-backed startup will benefit from ZEISS’s ecosystem and its expertise in the field of photonics. You will play a crucial role in advancing PIC technology towards business success, providing expert advice, forming commercial offering, establishing relationships with key customers, and leveraging existing networks to build necessary partnerships. Collaboration with internal and external stakeholders is essential and maintaining proximity to the R&D teams will ensure customer-oriented product development. Responsible for establishing and independently running innovation processes to support the buildup of new SBUs/Field of Business in the long run.

Your role

• Design, establishment, and implementation of required organizational and operational backbone for the corporate-backed startup
• Independent and continuous evaluation of all ongoing innovation activities in terms of budget, timing, and impact
• Identifying and evaluating new potential business opportunities leading to directional decisions within the field of photonic integrated circuits
• Independent development of strategic roadmap and oversee strategic initiatives
• Independent orchestration and coordination of stakeholders within innovation ecosystem especially with Senior Expert Team and CRT Leadership Team
• Analysis of and key account towards business partners
• Coordination of multiple strategic projects within PIC

Your profile

• Master’s degree with excellent grades in natural science, life science, engineering, or economics
• MBA as a plus
• Proven experience Years of professional experience in dynamic working environments (e.g. in a start-up)
• Multi-year experience in leading and steering complex projects as a project manager
• Outstanding analytical competence and outside the box thinking
• Experience in lateral leadership in medium and large project settings
• Excellent communication skills and a collaborative mindset
• Very good written and spoken German and English skills

Contact

Friederike Kirklar-Harms