Director Additive & Advanced Manufacturing (f/m/d) Startup Support Garching Full or part-time

UnternehmerTUM GmbH; Garching bei München; On-site; USD 138,000 - 219,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working hours

Home-office options

Moovster mobility budget

Wellpass membership

Job summary

UnternehmerTUM GmbH, in collaboration with TUM Venture Labs, seeks a Director for Additive & Advanced Manufacturing. You will lead the AM Lab strategically and operationally, shaping offerings and partnerships to accelerate hardware-based ventures from lab to market.

You will connect academia, industry, and investors, build cross-disciplinary teams, and drive visible results while communicating in German and English.

Qualifications

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Production Technology, Industrial Engineering, or a comparable field.
• Additive Manufacturing, AI x Engineering, and building hardware-based systems are your playgrounds.
• Experience leading a team and supporting startups, venture-building or VC experience is a plus.
• Entrepreneurial mindset; strong network-building and cross-functional collaboration; fluent in German and English.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic and operational direction of the AM Lab with the MD and team.
• Grow Europe’s powerhouse for manufacturing-related start-ups and take them from lab to market.
• Build networks with research institutions, industry, and funding bodies for spin-offs.
• Identify trends and growth opportunities across disciplines within the One Venture Lab framework.

Skills

Strategic leadership

People management

Partnership development

Additive Manufacturing

AI in engineering

Startup support

Education

Mechanical Engineering

Industrial Engineering

PhD optional

Job description

The TUM Venture Labs are a non-profit initiative of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) – Europe's top-ranked technical university – and UnternehmerTUM, Europe's leading center for innovation and business creation. Together, we build Europe's leading hub for deep-tech and life-science entrepreneurship. In our domain-specific labs, we bring high-tech founding teams from first idea to investor readiness, with access to research facilities, industry partners, mentors, and tailor-made programs.
Manufacturing is Europe's economic backbone and a technological anchor for industrial sovereignty and resilient supply chains. With the TUM Venture Lab AM, we're actively shaping that shift – closely embedded in the TUM ecosystem, headquartered at the TUM-Oerlikon Advanced Manufacturing Institute in Garching, with academic leadership from Prof. Peter Mayr, Chair of Materials Engineering of Additive Manufacturing at TUM.
Help us shape the future of additive manufacturing – join us as Director – Additive & Advanced Manufacturing (f/m/d)!

Your mission

Strategic & operational leadership of the AM Lab (30%)

• You drive the TUM Venture Lab AM forward strategically and operationally – together with the Managing Director and your team
• You grow Europe's powerhouse for manufacturing-related start-ups – both those creating new solutions and those that need them

Supporting founding teams (approx. 30%)

• You support technology-driven founding teams from first idea to market readiness, helping them make the leap from lab to market
• You develop domain-specific offerings and formats that genuinely move deep-tech ventures in additive manufacturing forward

Network & partnerships (approx. 30%)

• You connect research institutions, industry partners, and funding organizations, and open up new fields of cooperation, paving the way for science-based spin-offs
• You build a strong network of investors, mentors, and additional expertise for our founding teams

Trend scouting & growth opportunities (approx. 10%)

• You have a sharp eye for technological trends and spot new growth opportunities before others do
• You think across disciplines – in the spirit of our "One Venture Lab" philosophy

Your profile

• You hold a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Production Technology, Industrial Engineering, or a comparable field; a PhD is a plus.
• Additive Manufacturing, AI x Engineering, and building hardware-based systems are your playing field – you bring real experience here.
• You have already taken on disciplinary leadership responsibility and know what it takes to support a start-up – whether through your own founding experience, experience in venture capital, or having worked at an early-stage start-up.
• Entrepreneurial thinking drives you: you don't just want to research technologies – you want to bring them to life and create real impact.
• Networking is your superpower – you connect people and ideas with ease.
• You work in a structured way, take ownership, and lead teams with clarity, empathy, and respectful communication.
• You communicate confidently in German and English – in meetings, presentations, and with international partners.
• Most importantly: you're a builder – someone who gets things moving and sticks with it until results become visible.

What we offer

• Opportunity to turn TUM's entrepreneurial ecosystem into Europe's leading deep-tech innovation hub.
• A highly dynamic and well-connected work environment with inspiring talents, entrepreneurs, leaders, and experts in Munich's start-up ecosystem.
• Flexible working hours and home-office options
• A flexible mobility budget via the Moovster app
• Budget to develop your personal and professional skills
• Option for a company-supported Wellpass membership and a JobRad

Diversity is important to us

Diversity enriches our team. We explicitly encourage all qualified individuals to apply, regardless of gender, social and ethnic background, sexual orientation, religion, age, or disability.