Senior Manager Customer Strategy & Programs (m/f/x) in Oberkochen

Your Role

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Senior Manager Customer Projects to lead strategic, high-impact initiatives across the ZEISS Shared Production Unit. You will take end-to-end responsibility for complex customer-related programs - including product ramp-ups, new product launches, production transfers and productivity initiatives - and translate customer requirements into robust operational execution. Working across functions and organizational boundaries, you will align senior stakeholders, drive decisions and deliver measurable business outcomes in a complex production environment. Identify, scope, structure and lead strategic and operational projects with ZEISS Strategic Business Units, external customers and the Shared Production Unit team Structure complex challenges into clear workstreams, decision points and actionable project plans Take ownership for successful end-to-end project delivery and represent projects credibly towards internal and external customers Manage projects to ensure on-time, on-budget and high-quality delivery with measurable business impact Drive cross-functional alignment and implementation across functions, sites and hierarchical levels, including in situations without direct reporting authority Bring a pragmatic, solution-oriented perspective to identify the best solutions in a complex multi-stakeholder environment and challenge established ways of working constructively Communicate progress, risks, decisions and required escalations clearly to all stakeholders and senior management.

Your Profile

University degree in engineering, physics, optics, natural sciences, business, or a comparable field, with a strong academic record. Several years of relevant experience in management consulting, corporate strategy, transformation, program/project management, operations, or customer-facing roles. Proven track record of leading complex, high-impact cross-functional initiatives, ideally in product ramp-ups, industrialization, production transfers, launches, or operational improvement. Strong analytical and problem-structuring skills, with the ability to turn ambiguous challenges into clear recommendations, decisions, and executable plans. Demonstrated lateral leadership: able to create alignment across organizational boundaries, engage stakeholders from shopfloor to senior management, and drive implementation without direct authority. High ownership, resilience, and results orientation; experience in manufacturing, Operational Excellence or Lean is strongly preferred, while a technical background in physics, optics, or engineering is an advantage.

Your ZEISS Recruiting Team: Norman Funk

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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