Project Manager, Controlling & Research Project Management (m/f/d)

Last Mile Semiconductor GmbH, a Dresden-based deep-tech startup, is developing the next generation of energy-efficient wireless connectivity solutions based on the new DECT NR+ standard. In this role, you will be independently responsible for planning, coordinating, and managing challenging research and development projects. You will combine project management, grant administration, and financial controlling to ensure that technical goals, financial planning, and formal requirements are reliably aligned.

In doing so, you’ll work closely with our technical project management team, the relevant departments, and our finance department. While the technical project management team is responsible for the technical implementation, your focus will be on cross-functional project management, grant management, financial transparency, and reporting to senior management. You’ll become part of a growing deep-tech company where processes aren’t just carried out—they’re collaboratively refined. Your experience will help us professionally expand our project management, controlling, and reporting structures.

Your Responsibilities:

• Independent planning, coordination, and management of national and international research and development projects
• Responsibility for budget, schedule, and resource planning, as well as for ongoing project controlling
• Monitoring project progress, milestones, work packages, and funding requirements
• Early identification of risks, deviations, and areas requiring action, as well as the implementation of appropriate measures
• Preparation of forecasts, target-actual analyses, plans, and management reports
• Regular reporting on project status, budget trends, and key risks to senior management
• Preparation of decision-making documentation and relevant KPIs for managing our project portfolio
• Responsibility for grant management, including funding requests, statements of expenditure, record-keeping, and processing of additional claims
• Communicating and coordinating with project sponsors, funding agencies, consortium partners, and other external stakeholders
• Coordinating collaboration between technical project management, the finance department, internal departments, and external project partners
• Ensuring complete, traceable, and audit-ready project documentation
• Continuously optimizing our project management, grant controlling, and reporting processes
• Helping to establish scalable structures for multiple concurrent research and development projects
• Occasional participation in meetings with project partners and funding agencies

Your Profile:

• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in project management, project controlling, or grant management
• Experience independently managing projects with responsibility for budgets, timelines, and resources
• Proficiency in grant law and grant administration, particularly regarding funding requests, statements of expenditure, record-keeping, and facts relevant to grants
• Practical experience with the entire grant lifecycle—from planning and application submission to audit-ready reporting and processing of additional claims
• Experience in communicating and negotiating with project organizers, funding agencies, consortium partners, and executive management
• Strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to reconcile differing interests in a structured manner
• High degree of personal responsibility, decision-making ability, and commitment
• Very good command of German at a minimum C2 level or native-level proficiency in spoken and written German
• Very good English skills at a minimum C1 level or native-level proficiency in spoken and written English

Nice to Have

• • Experience with German funding programs such as BMBF, BMWE, state funding, or ZIM
  • Proficiency in handling grant award letters, AZK applications, fixed asset accounting, and eligible costs
  • Experience with EU collaborative projects, particularly Horizon Europe, MSCA, or EIC
  • Knowledge of Part A/Part B logic and experience with consortium agreements
  • Experience with large-scale funding instruments or those involving complex state aid regulations
  • Experience in the semiconductor industry, microelectronics, or chip development
  • Understanding of typical firmware, embedded software, or hardware development projects
  • Familiarity with contractual and commercial aspects of the semiconductor industry, such as NRE costs, licensing models, milestone payments, or IP licensing agreements
  • Experience with project management and controlling tools such as MS Project, Jira, Confluence, or Smartsheet
  • Certification in project management, such as PMP, PRINCE2, or IPMA
  • Experience in establishing or further developing PM, controlling, and reporting structures in a startup or scale-up environment

We offer:

Creative freedom & responsibility

• Plenty of creative freedom and genuine ownership instead of micromanagement
• Short decision-making paths and direct influence on strategic decisions
• A tangible contribution to the success of our product and company
• The opportunity to play a key role in a growing deep-tech company
• Contributing to a technology that can transform the future of wireless communication

Benefits

• Employer contribution toward the Deutschlandticket or DVB Jobticket in the amount of €55.10 per month
• Alternatively, an employer contribution toward the JobRad of €54.90 per month
• Unlimited free gym access right in the building
• Company pension plan with a €100 monthly employer contribution

Flexibility & Work Environment

• Flexible work hours with core hours from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Hybrid work with a high degree of flexibility
• Modern hardware and professional work tools
• Bright, modern office spaces in a central location in Dresden
• Ergonomically designed workstations

Team & Culture

• An international team with flat hierarchies and short lines of communication
• Direct interaction with management and technical decision-makers
• Colleagues who support one another and share knowledge
• Lunch breaks together and regular team events
• A corporate culture in which initiative and new ideas are actively encouraged