Associate Manager Strategy - Rail (m/f/d)

Knorr-Bremse AG; München; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Knorr-Bremse AG in Munich seeks a strategy professional to support the Rail Growth Beyond program, analyzing opportunities beyond the core business and preparing materials for management decisions.

You will conduct market and trend analyses, maintain a structured market perspective, manage defined work packages, and coordinate stakeholders, risks and deliverables while contributing to strategic planning and potential M&A assessments.

Qualifications

• Master or Diploma in business administration, industrial engineering, engineering or a comparable discipline and 2–4 years of relevant professional experience in corporate strategy, strategy consulting or business development.
• Experience in project or program management, including coordination of work packages, milestones, stakeholders, risks and deliverables.
• Sound knowledge of strategy methods (PESTEL, Porter, BCG matrix) and scenario analysis; comfort with AI-supported research.
• Understanding of rail or industrial value chain, OEM/Tier structures and tech-driven market transformation.
• Excellent analytical skills, structured working style, strong quality orientation; very good PowerPoint and Excel; Power BI or Tableau a plus.
• Proactive, collaborative; fluent English (C1) and German; willing to travel 10–15%.

Responsibilities

• Support the Rail Growth Beyond program by analyzing and evaluating strategic growth opportunities beyond the current core business.
• Conduct market, competitor and trend analyses using established strategy frameworks and AI-supported research.
• Maintain a structured strategic market perspective, including competitor profiles, technology radars, and market data.
• Prepare structured analyses, presentation materials and background papers for management decisions and executive briefings.
• Independently manage defined work packages within Rail Growth Beyond initiatives with milestones and tracking.
• Support project management activities: planning, stakeholder coordination, progress monitoring, risk tracking, actions follow-up.
• Collect, structure and analyze data for business cases and potential M&A assessments.
• Prepare and follow up workshops and maintain strategy templates and knowledge databases.

Skills

Strategic analysis

Market analysis

Data analysis

PowerPoint

Excel

Power BI/Tableau

Stakeholder management

English (C1)

German (fluent)

Travel 10-15%

Education

Master’s degree (business administration or engineering)

Tools

Power BI

Tableau

Job description

We believe that a change towards a better, more sustainable future of transportation is possible. That’s why we are so dedicated to developing safer, more efficient and innovative solutions that make our visions come to life. Who are we? More than 30,000 team-players from all around the world who drive progress through technical excellence and social responsibility.

This role is closely linked to the Growth Beyond Program Office and supports both its management and the execution of strategic growth initiatives.

YOUR TASKS

• Support the Rail Growth Beyond program by independently analyzing and evaluating strategic growth opportunities beyond the current core business
• Conduct market, competitor and trend analyses using established strategy frameworks, secondary sources, databases and AI-supported research
• Maintain a structured strategic market perspective, including competitor profiles, technology radars, market data and developments in adjacent rail growth fields
• Prepare structured analyses, presentation materials and background papers as input for management decisions, Executive Board presentations and executive briefings
• Independently manage defined work packages within Rail Growth Beyond initiatives, including agreed deliverables, milestones and status tracking
• Support project and program management activities, including planning, stakeholder coordination, progress monitoring, risk tracking and follow-up of actions
• Collect, structure and analyze data for business cases, scenario analyses, strategic planning and initial assessments of potential M&A candidates and market positions
• Prepare and follow up workshops and stakeholder interviews and maintain strategy templates, analytical methods and knowledge databases

YOUR PROFILE

• You hold an excellent university degree (Master/Diploma preferred) in business administration, industrial engineering, engineering or a comparable discipline and have 2-4 years of relevant professional experience in corporate strategy, strategy consulting or business development
• You have initial experience in project or program management, including the coordination of work packages, milestones, stakeholders, risks and deliverables
• You have sound knowledge of common strategy and analytical methods, including PESTEL, Porter, BCG matrix and scenario analysis, as well as confidence in AI-supported research and analysis
• You have an initial understanding of the rail or industrial value chain, OEM and Tier structures and technology-driven market transformation
• You have excellent analytical skills, a structured working style, strong quality orientation and very good PowerPoint and Excel skills; Power BI or Tableau experience is an advantage
• You are proactive, collaborative and confident in stakeholder interactions, have English skills at C1 level and fluent German skills, and are willing to travel approximately 10-15%