Operational Director

Published September 2, 2025

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. Our mission is to build Europe’s leading hub for sciencepreneurship in deep tech and life sciences. In our domain-specific labs, we support high-tech founding teams from the very first idea to investor readiness - providing access to world-class research facilities, industry partners, mentors, and tailor-made programs. At the same time, we empower the next generation of scientists and students to transform their research innovations into scalable, technology-based companies with global impact.

Join our mission and support us as **Operational Director - Advanced Manufacturing (f/m/d)** in further expanding Europe’s leading network for deep-tech startups

**Your Mission**:
You will strategically establish and operationally manage the Advanced Manufacturing & Industrialization area.

You will support technology-driven founding teams from the idea stage to market readiness.

You will develop formats that strengthen the growth of our start-ups, such as mentoring programs or prototyping workshops.

You will work closely with research institutions, industry partners, and funding organizations, and open up new fields of cooperation.

You will connect with investors, mentors, and experts, further expanding our network.

You will identify technological trends and discover new growth opportunities.

You will work across domains in line with our “One Venture Lab” philosophy, which brings together a wide range of disciplines.

**Your Profile**:

- You hold a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Production Technology, Industrial Engineering, or a comparable field. A PhD is a plus, but not a must.
- Your industry experience - for example in manufacturing, automation, or production planning - enables you to master complex challenges.
- You thrive in start-up and innovation environments. Ideally, you have already taken on leadership responsibility and you are familiar with the start-up journey.
- You can commit at least 30 hours per week to our mission
- Entrepreneurial thinking drives you: you don’t just want to research technologies - you want to bring them to life.
- Networking is your strength. You enjoy reaching out to people, connecting ideas, and communicating clearly and respectfully.
- You work in a structured way, take responsibility, and pursue goals with determination.
- You bring strong organizational skills to (agile) project management and lead teams with clarity and empathy.
- You communicate confidently in both German and English - whether in meetings, presentations, or when engaging with international partners.
- Most importantly: you are a doer - someone who gets things moving and sticks with it until results become visible.

**What we offer**:

- Plenty of room for creativity, ownership, and responsibility.
- An annual, generous training budget and access to a wide range of development opportunities - from internal trainings to external seminars, conferences, and keynotes.
- Unlimited access to our high-tech workshop _MakerSpace_.
- Flexible working hours and the option to work from home, ensuring a healthy work-life balance.
- Access to TU daycare facilities, part-time and parental leave models, plus childcare subsidies.
- A flexible monthly mobility budget via the Moovster app (covering Jobticket, MVG, Lime, Uber, JobRad, and more).
- A comprehensive sports program including yoga, pilates, mindfulness training, crossfit, Wellpass membership, and access to TUM’s sports offerings.

Carina Schreyer, HR Business Partner
UnternehmerTUM GmbH
Lichtenbergstraße 6, 85748 Garching/München