Managing Director

Role: Managing Director (Geschäftsführer) at Buoyancy Aerospace DE GmbH Hamburg (m/f/d)

Location: Hamburg (on-site)

Salary: Competitive base plus a performance bonus tied to measurable results

About Buoyancy Technologies

Enabling Europe's leading aerospace, space, and defence institutions. Buoyancy Technologies was founded to meet the rising demand for European solutions in aerospace, space, and defence - markets underserved by a dysfunctional supply chain. We attract the most capable talent with integrity and build and leverage generative AI for digital and physical solutions. We are proud to contribute significantly to the most prestigious and complex platforms, most of them under confidential mandates.

We are not a company of promises. With active production facilities in the UK and Germany and a growing workforce of currently >120 employees, we are scaling rapidly, but already delivering to our customers. We operate in both worlds: established aerospace and defence platforms with long service lives, and modern digital technologies that materially improve how those platforms are designed, built, and supported. We do not chase hype; we separate signal from noise.

Our culture is purpose-driven and focused on innovation, high standards, and execution. This is a high-performance environment. If you seek meaningful work at the intersection of technology and defence, this is the place for you. This role is suited to candidates who thrive in ambiguity and take ownership for their responsibilities; it may not suit those who prefer highly structured and comfortable corporate roles.

The Role: Managing Director (Geschäftsführer) (m/w/d) Buoyancy Aerospace DE GmbH, Hamburg

Buoyancy Aerospace DE GmbH, Hamburg, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Buoyancy Technologies SE, a European aerospace, space, and defence group headquartered in Munich with production sites in the United Kingdom and EU. The Hamburg site is a composites manufacturing facility, currently serving major civil aerospace programmes and intended to become a defence-capable production site over time. Processes, cost discipline, and operational performance require substantial improvement. You will be the registered Geschäftsführer and the most senior executive on site, fully accountable for the P&L and day-to-day performance within group-level guardrails and approval thresholds. Group strategy, key accounts, and defence business development are led from Munich. Your mandate is to turn this operation into a reliable, profitable, and scalable composites facility. This role requires sustained on-site leadership, personal ownership, and the stamina to rebuild an operation that is not yet where it needs to be.

Production and operations:

* Own all production output

* Drive the primary levers of site profitability

* Establish and enforce rigorous process discipline: standard work, production planning, tooling, and maintenance

* Systematically eliminate root causes of scrap, rework, and poor utilization

* Exercise capex decision authority within agreed thresholds with speed and ownership

Quality, safety, and compliance:

* Own all relevant special process and customer-/market-specific quality standards

* Drive scrap and rework reduction as a primary margin improvement lever

* Maintain and extend all certifications and customer approvals; own site-level EHS standards

Financial performance:

* Own the site P&L, i.e. revenue delivery against plan, direct costs, overhead, inventory/WIP discipline, and EBITDA (all within the group framework)

* Drive margin improvement through pricing inputs, labour efficiency, material cost control, and overhead discipline

* Drive working capital performance: inventory accuracy, WIP visibility, and purchasing discipline

* Partner with the group finance function on cost accounting, reporting, and ERP implementation

People and organisation:

* Assess, restructure where necessary, and develop a workforce to high-performance standards

* Build a culture of accountability and ownership through personal example and clear consequences

* Engage constructively and firmly with works council and employee representatives while maintaining management authority

Group coordination:

* Report to the CEO through defined KPIs and monthly business reviews

* Collaborate with the group CFO on financial controls and ERP implementation

* Support customer-facing and qualification processes where technical site expertise is required

* Support the operational preparation of the site for future defence programmes as directed by the group

Where you have decision authority, you use it. Where you need group alignment, you seek it efficiently. You report results and opportunities, not obstacles.

Requirements

First and foremost, you must bring outstanding problem-solving skills, strong work ethics, sound judgement, and uncompromising integrity to the table. You must have a genuine interest in building Buoyancy Technologies into a leading long-term aerospace, space, and defence group.

Experience and track record:

* 10+ years in senior production leadership (Werkleiter, Plant Manager, Managing Director, or equivalent) in composites, advanced materials, or closely related manufacturing

* Full P&L accountability for a site of 50–500 people as the decision-maker, not within a matrix

* Demonstrated turnaround or restructuring experience: you have rebuilt an underperforming operation, not merely maintained a stable one

Technical expertise:

* Strong understanding of composite or advanced manufacturing processes; direct autoclave, layup, and finishing experience is strongly preferred

* Working knowledge of relevant special process standards and major OEM quality frameworks; experience with AS9100 and Nadcap composites is strongly preferred

Financial and commercial acumen:

* You understand what drives a manufacturing P&L because you have owned one, including cost accounting, inventory, WIP, and margin management

* Comfortable working with ERP systems and financial reporting as management tools, not administrative obligations

Leadership:

* Present, credible, and decisive. You lead from the operation, not from behind reports

* You make hard calls on processes, people, and priorities, and you own the outcomes

* You operate with autonomy within a group governance framework — without needing to be managed, and without pursuing a separate agenda

* Trustworthy and discreet, given the legal weight of the Geschäftsführer role of an important subsidiary

Language and location:

* Fluent German (mandatory) and strong English (group language)

* Based in or willing to relocate to Hamburg

Despite operating in a highly regulated sector, we value entrepreneurial thinking.

Buoyancy is best suited to people with a track record of exceptional achievement, those who have consistently aimed high and delivered outstanding results in demanding environments.

What We Offer

We believe to offer something different.

* Strategic Impact: You actively shape critical operational processes and establish a legacy of excellence in a rapidly scaling organisation

* Prestige and Innovation: You work on high-stakes projects that define the future of European aerospace, space, and defence and therefore ensure our safety, protect our European democracies

* Meritocratic Culture: You join an organisation where excellence, integrity, and results are the foundation of everything we do. We are proud of our unique team ethos, direct communication, enabling and supporting each other, going the extra mile together

Compensation for this high-impact role is market‑competitive for a scale-up and aligned with responsibility and performance; those who thrive at Buoyancy are motivated at least as much by the mission and the team as by the pay.

The application process includes multiple interviews, a version of our written problem-solving test, and several practical exercises.

To be considered, please submit a complete application (motivational letter, CV, and all references) to [email protected]

Please note that only complete applications by email will be considered. Incomplete submissions, including those missing motivational letter, CV, and all references will not be reviewed and automatically rejected.

Buoyancy Technologies SE and its subsidiaries are equal opportunity employers. We make hiring decisions based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion or belief, ethnic origin, or any other status protected by applicable law (including the German General Equal Treatment Act – AGG). Applicants who require adjustments during the recruitment process are encouraged to contact us.