Operations Manager (m/w/d) – Ramp-up & Operations Excellence

• Your mission
• You drive the operational ramp-up of new cylib sites – from commissioning through the stabilisation phase to the transition into series production, with a strong focus on project management and permitting processes.
• You act as the central interface to Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Maintenance and EHS, resolving operational bottlenecks quickly and sustainably.
• You own the Operational Excellence agenda, quantify improvement potential across OEE, yield, throughput and cost per tonne, and lead structured improvement initiatives using Lean and Six Sigma methodologies.
• You continuously develop the cylib Operations Network and actively drive the establishment of new site structures.
• You support capacity, footprint and make-or-buy decisions with data-driven scenarios and solid business cases.

Your profile

• You have 3 to 5 years of experience in production or an industrial environment, ideally in the ramp-up or setup of manufacturing sites, and hold a degree in industrial engineering, mechanical or process engineering, business engineering or a comparable field.
• You bring hands-on experience in project management, permitting processes or management consulting and know what it takes to get new sites up and running operationally.
• Working in a data-driven way comes naturally to you – Excel, KPI systems and BI reporting are part of your everyday toolkit.
• You keep the overview, work independently and pragmatically, and thrive in a dynamic, fast-growing environment where you can actively shape outcomes.
• Ideally, you already have practical experience with Lean and Continuous Improvement methods such as value stream mapping or shopfloor management.
• You communicate confidently and effectively with diverse stakeholders in both German and English.
• You are willing to travel to our sites and occasionally visit partners across Europe.

Why us?

• You take ownership from day one
• after an intensive onboarding, you'll build something unique with us and shape outcomes with real impact on results.
• You work on something that truly matters
• with your contribution, you strengthen Europe's battery supply chains and make circular economy a reality on an industrial scale.
• You're part of a mission-driven team
• in a fast-paced scale-up environment, we live collaboration, because we can only move things forward together.
• You work to the highest standards
• we combine the professionalism of leading industry with the innovative power of a top-tier, research-driven technology team.
• You grow with us
• at cylib, you will do what is likely to be the most impactful work of your career and develop personally as we scale together.

About us cylib is a German battery recycling company that emerged from research at RWTH Aachen University in 2022.

With an integrated network of sites, we bring together research and development at our headquarters in Aachen, dismantling and mechanical processing in Wernberg-Köblitz, and hydrometallurgical processing in Dormagen (in ramp-up).

Our goal: building a resilient European value chain through the recovery of high-quality materials for sustainable batteries.

With our innovative OLi C technology (Optimized Lithium and Graphite Recovery), we recover over 90% of the contained raw materials – with a CO 2 footprint that is 80% lower than conventional processes. Towards the realization of a true circular economy in the European market.

Interested?

Please upload your documents (a cover letter is not necessay) and answer the questions in the application form.

We look forward to receiving your application!