Head of Project Management Office (PMO) (m/f/d)

Overview

Bruker is enabling scientists and engineers to make breakthrough post-genomic discoveries and develop new applications that improve the quality of human life. Bruker’s high performance scientific instruments and high value analytical and diagnostic solutions enable scientists to explore life and materials at molecular, cellular, and microscopic levels. In close cooperation with our customers, Bruker is enabling innovation, improved productivity, and customer success in post-genomic life science molecular and cell biology research, in applied and biopharma applications, in microscopy, as well as in industrial and cleantech research, and semiconductor metrology in support of AI. Bruker offers differentiated, high-value life science and diagnostics systems and solutions in preclinical imaging, proteomics and multiomics, spatial and single-cell biology, structural and condensate biology, as well as in clinical microbiology and molecular diagnostics. 

 

For more information, please visit www.bruker.com.

 

The Head of Project Management Office (m/f/d) owns the PMO system, standards and performance discipline across all project management teams, creating one integrated PMO organization with one unified global planning process for projects, milestones and resources. The role ensures consistent project governance that combines gate-based control with agile planning methods, portfolio transparency, proactive risk management and escalation discipline, while continuously improving PMO standards and tools. The Head of PMO gives project management dedicated leadership so that multi-year customer customization projects in a combined hardware and software environment are delivered on time, in scope and on budget to consistent standards across the organization. 

Responsibilities

• Own PMO standards, methodology and governance across all project management teams; maintain and further develop them within the quality management system. 
• Establish one unified global planning process across all project teams, covering project, milestone and resource/capacity planning, so that capacity and delivery commitments are transparent, consistent and actively steered at portfolio level. 
• Govern multi-year customer customization projects in a combined hardware and software environment through a hybrid project lifecycle: defined phase gates, milestone plans, combined with agile planning methods (e.g. iterative backlog and sprint planning) for software and customization scope, including defined pre-sales project management involvement for complex projects. 
• Manage and mitigate project risks through a standardized risk management process (risk register, probability/impact assessment, mitigation owners and tracking), ensuring schedule and scope deviations are identified and addressed early in execution. 
• Control change and claim management on customization projects, including change orders, re-pricing or re-negotiation where execution deviates from contract, and closure of FAT/SAT exceptions.
• Drive customer excellence and ensure customer success throughout project delivery by maintaining strong senior customer relationships, aligning expectations and outcomes, and managing project and customer escalations as the escalation layer above the team leads. 
• Prioritize resources and capacity across the project management teams and align project demand with the delivering functions (engineering, procurement, production, logistics, installation).
• Develop the project managers through OKR-based goal setting and agile management practices: cascade PMO objectives and key results to the teams, coach and build PM competencies (risk, claim and customer relationship management), drive lessons learned and continuous improvement. 

Qualifications

Qualifications & Experience

• Master’s degree in Engineering, Business Administration, Project Management, or a related field.
• Minimum 10+ years of experience in project management, program management, or PMO leadership within a complex technical environment, ideally combining hardware, software, and customer-specific solutions.
• Several years of people leadership experience, including leading managers or geographically distributed project management teams.
• Proven track record of establishing, scaling, and continuously improving PMO standards, governance frameworks, and project delivery organizations.
• Strong experience managing large-scale, multi-year customer projects, including resource planning, stakeholder management, risk mitigation, and commercial project controls.
• Demonstrated success in portfolio management, capacity planning, and balancing competing priorities across multiple projects and functions.
• Extensive experience with hybrid project management methodologies, combining traditional stage-gate processes with agile delivery approaches.
• Strong understanding of change management, claim management, contract execution, and customer escalation management.
• Experience working in a global matrix organization and collaborating across engineering, procurement, operations, manufacturing, logistics, and customer-facing functions.
• Excellent leadership, communication, negotiation, and influencing skills, with the ability to engage stakeholders at all organizational levels and with senior customer representatives.
• Fluent in English; additional languages are an advantage.

 

Preferred Certifications

• Recognized project management certification (e.g., PMP, IPMA, PRINCE2).
• Agile certification (e.g., PMI-ACP, Professional Scrum Master, SAFe).
• Risk management certification (e.g., PMI-RMP, M_o_R).

 

Personal Competencies

• Strategic thinker with strong execution focus.
• Customer-centric mindset with a passion for delivering successful project outcomes.
• Data-driven decision maker with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to drive accountability, governance, and continuous improvement across teams.
• Resilient and proactive leader who thrives in complex, fast-paced environments.