Team Lead Hardware Engineering, R&D / Project Manager (m/f/d)

We're seeking a Team Lead Hardware Engineering – Flexo Platemaking (f/m/d) to lead and grow a highperforming hardware R&D team that drives innovation in Esko's packaging and print hardware solutions. In this role, you'll shape the direction of key R&D projects, ensure delivery against business goals, and build and grow the technical skills and capabilities of your engineering team. This is an opportunity to grow your career in a globally connected engineering organization, working at the intersection of technology, product strategy, and customer impact.

You'll partner with Marketing, Operations, and cross-functional engineering teams — and own turning business strategy and customer needs into hardware solutions that actually ship. Success in this role means delivering R&D projects on time and within budget, building a high-performing and continuously developing team, and measurably advancing Esko's hardware product portfolio within 12–18 months.

In this role, a typical day will look like:

• Contribute to product specification and design discussions within the cross-functional team to ensure hardware development is aligned with strategic product goals.
• Lead key R&D projects from concept through delivery, ensuring they remain on schedule and within budget while meeting business objectives.
• Shape project goals and priorities together with Product Management, Marketing, Operations, and Production — balancing customer impact with business value.
• Drive the transfer of new technologies, products, and manufacturing processes into and out of the organization to accelerate innovation and scalability.
• Research, design, and evaluate materials, assemblies, processes, and equipment to support the development of differentiated hardware solutions.
• Monitor team metrics and objectives, identifying and addressing risks early to ensure goals are consistently met.
• Develop, execute, and manage the R&D budget, ensuring responsible allocation of resources across projects and initiatives.
• Recruit, onboard, and coach a hardware engineering team built on ownership, curiosity, and continuous growth
• Partner with customers on-site to understand their needs and translate those insights into R&D strategies and roadmap priorities.
• Partner closely with Production, factory operations, and support to design hardware that's not only great for the customer, but easy to build and service.
• Optimize research project scope assessments to ensure realistic planning and timely execution across the team

The essential requirements of the job include:

• Master's degree in Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related field.
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field with substantial experience in R&D and/or technical project management.
• Proven track record of leading R&D or engineering projects from concept to delivery, including budget oversight and timeline management.
• A keen interest in forward-looking hardware technologies, particularly in the fields of optics, lasers, LEDs, image processing and automation.
• Demonstrated leadership ability, with experience guiding, developing, and motivating technical teams toward measurable outcomes.
• Effective analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to assess complex technical challenges and translate them into actionable plans.
• Fluent in both English and German, spoken and written, to support effective collaboration in an international environment.
• Willingness to travel worldwide to engage with customers and support global business objectives (6 times per year).
• Experience with agile project management tools, including JIRA, for planning and tracking R&D workstreams.
• Background in technology transfer, including moving new technologies or products into production or across organizational boundaries.
• Experience with customer-facing roles in a technical or engineering context, with the ability to translate customer insights into engineering requirements.
• Demonstrated experience in cross-functional collaboration with Marketing and Operations stakeholders

At Esko, a Veralto Company, innovation comes in every color and never in the same package. Join Esko and see how diversity of people and thought fuels a career journey like no other. Create unique technology solutions for the packaging value chain, bring new ideas to life, make and influence decisions, and experience career growth, rewards, and recognition in our global Packaging & Color organizations. Esko is proud to be a Product Quality & Innovation company in Veralto (NYSE: VLTO). Imagine a world where everyone has access to clean water, safe food and medicine, and trusted essential goods. That is the tomorrow Veralto is creating today. Veralto is a $5B global leader in essential technology solutions made up of over 17,000 associates across our Water Quality and Product Identification segments all united by a powerful purpose: Safeguarding the World’s Most Vital Resources.

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