Senior Director R&D Zumtobel

Your job

Who we are: ZUMTOBEL – an international group in the lighting industry.
We are passionate about designing and producing light that empowers humans and brings architecture to life. We continuously push the boundaries in our search for perfection through timeless design, technical excellence, superb craftsmanship and efficient performance. We know that light can create the right environment for people to thrive. Light can spark our imagination, stir our emotions and create spaces that inspire. As we develop the next generation of lighting, we consider more than the obvious. Our lighting is designed for our customers and their individual aspirations. We guide our customers into a new world of opportunities. Join Zumtobel and help us light up the world

Our “Zumtobel Lighting R&D Team”: experts working together to push limits, excite the market and amaze our customers.
The primary goal of the “Zumtobel Lighting R&D Team” is to transform their creative and innovative cutting-edge design ideas into highly qualitative, technically approved final products and solutions. This involves leveraging expertise across global different faculties, including mechanical design, hardware design with integrated connectivity solutions, and software versioning and integration in collaboration with our Smart Building Solutions Product Segment. By orchestrating these elements with advanced technologies and rigorous testing, the team ensures that each product excels in performance and reliability, setting new industry benchmarks and delivering exceptional value to our customers.

What it's all about: Leading our “Zumtobel Lighting R&D Team” into the future to innovate and drive the future of light worldwide.
As Senior Director R&D, you will lead, manage, and coordinate all development teams of the Zumtobel Lighting brand, comprising around 125 design engineers across five global locations - Austria (HQ), Australia, Germany, Serbia and the USA. Collaborating closely with the Brand Management team, you will set and navigate the future development direction for our lighting products and solutions. Your role involves steering strategic initiatives, energizing cross-functional collaboration and fostering a culture of innovation. You will drive your team to stay at the forefront of industry advancements to secure our position as a leader in the industry.

Setting a global R&D Strategy for the Zumtobel Lighting brand:  You establish and implement the framework for the new R&D strategy for the Brand Zumtobel, ensuring alignment with Brand Management and Central Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) R&D Functions. This involves defining the R&D strategy and creating an operational plan for its rollout within your global R&D team. Strong Team Leadership:  You will shape the future of our R&D team by defining its structure, resources, and training needs, along with creating succession and individual development plans. As the direct supervisor to a team of 3 R&D Managers and 125 employees in total, you will manage teams responsible for mechanical, hardware, software, light engineering, prototyping, and laboratory testing. Together, you will prioritize resources to meet roadmap deadlines while maintaining the flexibility to react swiftly to emerging needs. Fostering partnerships and collaboration: You scout for, select, and continuously evaluate potential external engineering development partners, determining when to request quotes and assigning projects to them in close alignment with the Design Engineering, Atelier of Light (AoL), and Product Management teams. You define global R&D project milestones and actions from concept to production release, ensuring that all teams outside R&D are integrated within the process landscape and receive the necessary information (project management, product and application management, operations,…). Pioneering Innovation:  You actively help the team find technical solutions where necessary, covering mechanical, electrical, and optical challenges. You nurture and drive a culture of innovation within the R&D departments, bringing in new ideas and anticipating future trends. By closely aligning with the AoL, Concept and Design Engineering team, the Innovation Manager within the Zumtobel Brand, and the central engineering teams (optics/electronics) within the Central PLM R&D Functions, you ensure that our innovations are at the forefront of the industry. Igniting Team Potential : Recognizing the high potential within our company and among our individual experts, you will inspire the team to reach new heights and spark a new wave of innovation. By accumulating knowledge and bringing together experts, you will create synergies that successfully establish a dynamic and forward-thinking R&D environment. Driving Excellence and Efficiency in R&D: You define standardized best practices, tools, and procedures to enhance the quality and efficiency of R&D activities while encouraging your team to take ownership. You support and supervise the correct implementation of Engineering Requirements processes, CDR rules, and ensure compliance adherence during the Launch Windows’ Stop and Go Review meetings. Your profile Proven successful track & experience: You have excelled in comparable R&D managerial roles, ideally within the lighting industry, where you have already successfully developed, implemented, and overseen innovative R&D strategies. Completed bachelor’s degree: You have completed a bachelor’s degree in electromechanical engineering or a related field, as well as a strong technical interest in mechanics and electronics. Pragmatic & encouraging leadership: Developing and nurturing a diverse, global team fuels your passion. Your ability to influence and inspire others, combined with your hands on mentality, help you in leading and empowering your team. Additionally, your valuable intercultural experience adds a unique dimension to your leadership capabilities. Technical expertise & strategic thinking: You bring a wealth of knowledge in certifications and in mechanical, hardware, and software development processes and methods, including FMEAs. Even in dynamic environments, your resilience and resourcefulness ensure you thrive while always keeping the big picture in mind. Empowering communication & fluency in German & English: You have exceptional communication and stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to inform, influence and challenge confidently across all levels, bringing together interdisciplinary, decentralized and remote teams into an outstanding success. You are fluent in German and in English; any other languages are a bonus and greatly appreciated. Business trip welcome: You are excited to visit and foster team cohesion across all five locations of the Zumtobel Lighting R&D team, with approximately 30% travel commitment.

The Zumtobel Group: a company with many benefits

Successful, international group with family DNA. Varied field of activity with personal responsibility. Numerous opportunities for further development in an innovative and empowering company. Great team that will support you in any situation. Individual options to ensure a healthy work-life balance. Extensive benefits for our employees.

Learn more about our corporate company culture in our enlightening video - where we live light and thrive together


Does that sound like a challenging task for you? Then we look forward to receiving your application Legally binding notice: Based on the minimum salary stipulated in the collective agreement of € 86.960,-
p.a. (for a 38,50-hour working week), the actual salary for this position is based on professional qualifications and experience.

At the Zumtobel Group, we not only understand the power of the visible, but also the invisible. Like light itself, diversity cannot be grasped but it can be perceived. We appreciate the uniqueness of each individual and recognise it as a driver of innovation. Qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to e.g.: race, colour, sex, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, or disability. 

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