Senior Manager Strategic Customer Projects (m/f/x)

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 managemen

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