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 Your ZEISS Recruiting Team: Friederike Kirklar-Harms