Manager Engineering (f/m/d)

Atlas Copco Group; Köln; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Leybold, a brand within Atlas Copco Group, seeks an engineering leader to strengthen our vacuum technology leadership in Köln. You will build a motivated, high‑performing team and champion agile product development to accelerate time‑to‑market.

You will drive cross‑functional collaboration, establish KPIs, and ensure design for manufacturability and serviceability across the full product lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership in an industrial R&D setting.
• Strong cross-functional leadership experience.
• Excellent communication and strategic thinking.

Responsibilities

• Lead agile development to shorten time-to-market and improve responsiveness.
• Standardize processes and tools for quality and efficiency.
• Mentor and develop a scalable engineering team across geographies.
• Collaborate with procurement, production, logistics, and service across the lifecycle.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional

Agile

Engineering Management

Education

Master's in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

CAD

PLM

MATLAB

Job description

A key strategic priority is to maintain and strengthen the site’s leadership position in vacuum technology, ensuring our solutions remain at the forefront of scientific and industrial innovation.

Your leadership will be instrumental in building a motivated, high-performing engineering team, structured for collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement. You will champion agile product development methodologies to accelerate time-to-market, enhance cross-functional integration, and increase responsiveness to change.

To succeed, you will need

• Accelerating product development cycles by embedding agile principles, iterative design, and rapid prototyping
• Driving energy and speed in development through clear prioritization, empowered teams, and streamlined decision-making
• Ensuring engineering excellence in design, quality, manufacturability, and serviceability
• Fostering a strong engineering culture built on motivation, ownership, and technical mastery
• Developing a scalable and efficient team structure that supports collaboration across disciplines and geographies
• Standardizing processes and tools to ensure consistency, quality, and efficiency
• Establishing clear KPIs and performance metrics to track progress and accountability
• Driving disciplined project execution and risk management across all development phases
• Supporting design for service and sustainability in all new product developments
• Enhancing cross-functional collaboration with procurement, production, logistics, and service to ensure seamless product lifecycle integration
• Investing in talent development through mentoring, training, and succession planning to build future-ready engineering capabilities
• Contributing to Project Purple by aligning engineering strategies with long-term footprint and technology roadmaps
• Ensuring compliance with quality, safety, and regulatory standards in all engineering activities
• Continuously advancing our expertise in vacuum technology, ensuring our products remain differentiated, reliable, and aligned with evolving customer needs
• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in mechanical engineering, physics, or an equivalent field
• Several years of relevant professional experience in research and development in an industrial setting is a must
• Proven experience in leadership or conceptual roles
• Extensive experience in leading and developing employees, as well as in cross-functional leadership
• Very strong, results-oriented analytical understanding of cost structures, lead times, inventory, and investment decisions
• Excellent communication and persuasion skills at all levels of an organization
• You bring a high level of energy and motivation to the role
• Very good English and excellent German skills (spoken and written) are required

Behind every innovative solution, there are people working together to transform the future. With careers sparked by initiative and lifelong learning, we are uniting curious minds, and you could be one of them.

Information at a Glance

Leybold is a brand that supplies customers with vacuum solutions. The brand’s products include vacuum pumps and systems, as well as standardized and customized vacuum solutions and services. Leybold’s core capabilities lie in offering applications and customized systems for the creation of vacuum and extraction of processing gases. These solutions are mainly used in manufacturing, analytical processes and research. Over the years, Leybold has demonstrated an ability to adapt to a changing world, consistently providing customers with new innovations and pioneering products. Leybold is a brand within Atlas Copco Group.

Visit the Leybold website