Research Projects Manager (m/f/d)

Entangled Future; Garching bei München; Remote; EUR 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

planqc is seeking a Research Project Manager to drive operational delivery of large, publicly funded quantum research programmes. You will work with technical leads to ensure milestones, deliverables, budgets and reporting obligations are met across multiple parallel projects.

The role focuses on consortium coordination, stakeholder communication and documentation, with a strong emphasis on compliance and process improvements.

Qualifications

• Background in technical or business/management with at least a degree and 2 years of relevant experience
• Strong organisational skills, methodical approach and comfort with budgets
• Experience coordinating publicly funded R&D projects including reporting requirements
• Excellent written communication for structured reports
• English at C1 level and German at B2 level

Responsibilities

• Tracking and dashboard: collect status updates and maintain a central overview for all projects
• Project management: own operational management of large publicly funded research programmes
• Reporting: coordinate interim and final reports for funding institutions
• Budget tracking: manage budgets and cost reporting across projects
• Compliance & contracts: ensure audit-readiness and support procurement
• Consortium meetings: plan and organize periodic meetings across partner organisations
• Point of contact: liaise with funding institutions and sponsors on administrative matters
• Stakeholder management: coordinate collaboration across universities, research institutes and industry
• Organise meetings and workshops and follow up on actions
• Process improvement: improve processes, templates and tools for project administration

Skills

Project management

Budgeting

Reporting

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional coordination

Documentation

English (C1)

German (B2)

Education

University degree

Tools

MS Office

Excel

Project management tools

Job description

Atplanqc, we build scalable quantum computers based on neutral atoms and actively shape the ecosystem that enables their development. As we grow, ourpublicly funded research projects are becoming larger, more international, and increasingly complex. This role is about thebiggest projectsplanqchas to offer– large, publicly funded programmes to build quantum computers, each worthtens of millions of euros. These aremainly projectsfunded byGerman entities such as the BMFTR and the DLR, as well asEuropean sources like Horizon Europe. With around a dozen projects running in parallel, it is easy to lose track of the many deadlines, deliverables, budgets, and reporting obligations.

As Research Project manager, you are responsible for the operational delivery of some of planqc´s largest publicly funded research programmes. Working alongside the technical project leads, you ensure that complex, multi-partner projects remain on track, from planning and consortium coordination to reporting, budget risks, and stakeholder communication.

What characterizes you

• Structure & Overview :You bring structure and visibility to complex, cross-functional projects and keep an overview even when many projects run in parallel
• Reliabilit y :You work independently, reliably, and with attention to detail

What you'll do

• 01 Tracking & Dashboard: You collect status updates and track progress across all projects, maintaining a central overview dashboard that gives employees, C-level, and investors transparency on our portfolio – and proactively reminding people of upcoming deadlines, deliverables, and obligations
• 02 Project Management:own the operational management of large publicly funded research programmes, ensuring milestones, deliverable, budgets and reporting obligations are met throughout the projectl ifecycle.
• 03 Reporting: You coordinate the extensive report writing– in particular interim and final reports for funding institutions – making sure they get done on time, with input gathered from the technical staff
• 04 Budget Tracking: You handle budget tracking and cost reporting across the projects, in close coordination with Finance
• 05 Compliance & Contracts: You keep projects audit-ready by maintaining complete, accurate documentation throughout the project lifecycle, and support contract administration (with Legal) and procurement where required
• 06 Consortium Meetings: You plan and organise the periodic consortium meetings that some projects require across all partner organisations (e.g. every six months), including documentation and follow-up actions
• 07 Point of Contact: When needed,you act as a point of contact for funding institutions, project sponsors, and consortium partners on administrative matters
• 08 Stakeholder Management:Coordinate collaboration across universities, research institutes, industrial partners,and funding organisation
• 09 Organise consortium meetings, steering workshops, and follow up on agreed actions to keep all partner aligned.
• 10 Process Improvement: You take ownership of continuously improving the processes, templates, and digital tools around project administration, reporting, and budget tracking

What they're looking for

• Background & Experience: A background in either a technical field (e.g. physics, engineering, natural sciences) or business/management (e.g. business administration, economics, project management). At least a degree plus 2 years of relevant professional experience (or more experience without a degree).
• Organisation & Numbers: Strong organisational skills, a structured, methodical way of working, and comfort working with numbers and budgets
• Funded R&D: Experience coordinating publicly funded R&D projects, including application platforms and interim/final reports
• Writing: Excellent written communication skills, particularly for structured reports
• Languages: English at a minimum of C1 level and German at a minimum of B2 level

Nice to have

• Grant Accounting & Audits: Deep grant-accounting expertise (e.g. BMFTR/DLR cost claims, Horizon Europe financial reporting) and experience with project audits and audit-readiness
• International Context: Experience in interdisciplinary and/or international project contexts
• Deep Tech: A background in quantum technologies or another deep-tech environment

planqc is a German neutral-atom quantum computing company built on research from the Max-Planck-Institute for Quantum Optics. Its technology uses individual atoms confined in crystals of light as qubits, and the company has demonstrated scaling of neutral atoms to 1,200 qubits.