Senior Category & Product Manager - ZEISS Camera Lenses (m/w/x)

Step out of your comfort zone, excel and redefine the limits of what is possible. That’s just what our employees are doing every single day – in order to set the pace through our innovations and enable outstanding achievements. After all, behind every successful company are many great fascinating people.

In a spacious modern setting full of opportunities for further development, ZEISS employees work in a place where expert knowledge and team spirit reign supreme. All of this is supported by a special ownership structure and the long-term goal of the Carl Zeiss Foundation: to bring science and society into the future together.

Join us today. Inspire people tomorrow.

Diversity is a part of ZEISS. We look forward to receiving your application regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, philosophy of life, disability, age, sexual orientation or identity.

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Your role

ZEISS, a leading supplier of optical and optoelectronic technologies, is bundling units outside the divisions in the Photonics & Optics strategic business unit that offer customers a wide range of optical and photonic technologies in highly specialized markets around the world: mobile imaging, hunting & nature, cinematography, microoptics, spectroscopy, planetariums and simulation projection solutions.

Do you want to shape the future of premium camera lenses? In this strategically important role, you will own the long-term portfolio and category strategy for ZEISS Camera Lenses — from market intelligence and business cases to successful product launches and lifecycle management.

• Define and continuously evolve the global, multi-year category and product roadmap for ZEISS Camera Lenses.
• Identify growth opportunities, adjacent use cases and potential new business fields based on customer, competitor and technology insights.
• Steer the portfolio throughout the full product lifecycle — from product concept and investment decision through launch and optimization to phase-out.
• Develop and own business cases, including revenue, volume and margin planning, pricing logic, investment requirements, risks and scenario assumptions.
• Define pricing corridors, commercial success criteria and volume forecasts; derive actions from business performance and market developments.
• Lead international, cross-functional product and portfolio initiatives with R&D, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Quality, Service and external partners.
• Translate market, customer and technology needs into prioritized product requirements and compelling commercial concepts.
• Ensure launch readiness, including product positioning, sales enablement, sample planning and initial sales quantities.
• Represent the category perspective in discussions with internal stakeholders, selected customers, partners and industry contacts.

Your profile

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Industrial Engineering, Product Management, Marketing, Engineering, Optics, Imaging Technology or a related field.
• At least eight years of experience in senior product management, category management, portfolio management or business development — ideally within photography, videography, imaging, optics, consumer electronics or premium technology.
• Proven experience defining and managing multi-year product roadmaps, business cases and lifecycle decisions for hardware or technology products.
• Strong commercial and financial expertise, including pricing, profitability analysis, volume forecasting and commercial risk assessment.
• Experience leading international, cross-functional teams in a matrix organization, including lateral leadership.
• Deep understanding of photography ecosystems, camera markets, imaging technologies and optical performance drivers.
• A strategic, analytical and entrepreneurial mindset, with the ability to turn market trends and customer insights into concrete growth opportunities.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills in English; German is a plus.
• Willingness to travel internationally up to 15%.
• A genuine passion for photography, imaging technology, premium consumer products and the ZEISS brand.

Contact

Bastian Hoffmann