As the responsible person for strategic partnerships and external ecosystems, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and executing our strategy for collaboration with universities, research institutions, startups, and our broader partner ecosystem. You will act as the central point of contact for technology topics, ensuring alignment between our corporate R&D department and business units, and maintaining a comprehensive overview of all external partnerships. Your work will directly contribute to accelerating our access to cutting-edge technologies and fostering a vibrant innovation ecosystem.
Your tasks
* Align and coordinate a cohesive strategy for engaging with external partners (universities, research institutions, start-ups, etc.) on technology topics of strategic interest.
* Scope and propose technical topics for collaboration, hackathons, and other engagement activities, ensuring alignment with corporate R&D priorities.
* Act as a bridge between central R&D and business departments, identifying stakeholders and routing inquiries to the right teams.
* Proactively identify emerging technologies and trends through external networks, and propose new areas for partnership.
* Build and maintain strong relationships with external partners, ensuring clear communication and alignment of objectives.
* Coordinate internal and external stakeholders to facilitate smooth collaboration and knowledge exchange.
* Design, build, and maintain a centralized database of all external partnerships, including past and ongoing projects, key contacts, and outcomes.
* Ensure easy accessibility and usability of the database for all relevant teams, enabling data-driven decision-making and knowledge sharing.
* Regularly report on the status of external collaborations, highlighting successes, challenges, and opportunities for improvement.
* Create and present insights and recommendations to senior management based on partnership activities and outcomes.
Your qualifications
* Master’s degree (or PhD) in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Materials Science or a closely related field. A business/management qualification (MBA, MSc Innovation Management) is a plus.
* 5–8 years of experience in technology partnership management, or R&D alliance roles – preferably within a large multinational or a high‑tech environment.
* Strong technical acumen, with the ability to engage in technical discussions and scope collaborative projects.
* Hands‑on experience in technical scoping, project definition and monitoring of R&D outcomes.
* Excellent communication, coordination, and stakeholder management skills.
* Experience in building and maintaining databases or knowledge management systems is a plus.
* Fluent in English and German.
Interested?
We are looking forward to receiving your application! Ideally, you should apply online with the reference number. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your recruiting contact via LinkedIn or XING.
Equal opportunities are important to us. We are looking forward to receiving your application regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, ideology, disability, age as well as sexual orientation and identity.
Reference number: 14692
Recruiting contact: Jun-Ho Song