Senior Project Manager (Switzerland/DACH)

The Senior Project Manager – Life Sciences will lead complex engineering projects for pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients across Europe, with a particular focus on Switzerland and the DACH region.

The role combines strong technical project leadership with senior client management and commercial awareness. The Project Manager will be accountable for successful project delivery while developing trusted client relationships, understanding evolving client needs and helping translate those needs into additional engineering opportunities for Klinea.

This is fundamentally a project leadership role. We are looking for a technically credible Project Manager who, through successful delivery and close client relationships, can also contribute to the continued development of Klinea's business in Europe

Key Responsibilities

Project Leadership & Coordination

• Define and propose the project team structure in collaboration with the client and internal stakeholders.

• Lead and manage multidisciplinary project teams, delegating responsibilities to Project Engineers, Design Teams, and Discipline Leads.

• Establish the project execution methodology, tools, and systems, including project organization, CAE platforms, project controls, and related processes.

• Ensure effective communication and coordination among all internal and external stakeholders, including engineering partners and international construction teams.

Client Management

• Act as the primary point of contact for clients, ensuring a clear understanding of their needs and effective translation into project requirements and deliverables.

• Build and maintain strong, trusted relationships with client stakeholders at technical, operational and management levels.

• Manage client expectations throughout the project lifecycle and ensure effective communication around scope, progress, risks and key decisions.

Client Development & Value Creation

• Develop a strong understanding of clients' technical, operational and investment priorities beyond the immediate project scope.

• Identify opportunities where Klinea's engineering capabilities could provide additional value and translate client needs into potential project scopes, resource requirements, schedules and preliminary budgets.

• Support the preparation of technical and commercial proposals in collaboration with Klinea's engineering and management teams.

• Contribute to the development of client accounts through strong project delivery, trusted relationships and identification of follow-on opportunities.

Project Planning & Execution

• Define project scope, develop schedules, establish key milestones, and estimate task durations.

• Monitor project progress, proactively identify potential delays and risks, and implement appropriate corrective actions.

• Take ownership of project financial performance, including budget control, resource utilization, scope changes, variations and project profitability.

• Prepare and present regular project status reports to both client organizations and internal management.

• Coordinate multiple project activities and ensure alignment with agreed objectives, timelines, budgets, and quality requirements.

Required Experience & Qualifications

• 10+ years of proven experience as a Project Manager or Project Engineer within technical, engineering, or industrial environments.

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering, preferably Chemical Engineering, Life Sciences Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline.

• Full professional proficiency in English is required. German is highly valued; French and other European languages will be considered an advantage.

• Strong command of project planning, reporting and project control tools and methodologies.

• Demonstrated experience working in international environments and coordinating clients, teams and stakeholders across different countries and cultures.

• Experience delivering projects in Switzerland and/or the DACH region will be highly valued.

• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary engineering teams and external partners is highly desirable.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong commercial awareness, with the ability to understand the business implications of technical decisions.

• Ability to recognize client needs beyond the immediate assignment and translate them into clearly defined engineering opportunities.

• Comfortable developing high-level scopes, resource plans, schedules and budget estimates for potential projects.

• Entrepreneurial mindset and ability to operate with autonomy in a growing international engineering organization.

• Credibility with both technical stakeholders and senior client management.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interact effectively with international clients, partners, and multidisciplinary teams.

• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving capabilities.

• Excellent time-management and organizational skills, with the ability to meet demanding deadlines.

Highly Valued Qualifications & Experience

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent project management qualification.

• Experience within pharmaceutical, biotechnology, life sciences or other regulated/process-intensive industries.

• Knowledge of GMP principles and relevant pharmaceutical engineering standards and regulatory frameworks (e.g., ISPE guidance, EU GMP, FDA).

• Experience delivering engineering projects for pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities across feasibility, concept, basic/detailed design, construction or commissioning phases.

Reporting line

• Managing Director Europe