Manager - Customer Operations & Order Management

About ZEISS Industrial Quality & Research

ZEISS is a global technology leader in optics, precision engineering and industrial innovation. Within ZEISS, the Industrial Quality Solutions and Research Microscopy businesses serve some of the world's most advanced customers across automotive, aerospace, mechanical engineering, plastics, medical technology, research and scientific institutions.

At ZEISS India, we are building a new back-office capability in Bengaluru to support customers and teams in Germany. This is not just a transactional support role. It is part of a strategic capability build-out that will define how high-quality customer service, order management and commercial operations can be delivered from India for global ZEISS businesses.

Why This Role Matters

We are looking for the first two senior team members who will help establish this capability from the ground up.

These roles will set the benchmark for quality, reliability, stakeholder trust and operational maturity. The way this team performs will directly influence how the model scales in India and how many future roles are created here.

This is an opportunity for professionals who enjoy both execution and institution-building: people who can manage day-to-day customer service and order management responsibilities while also helping design better processes, improve ways of working and build credibility with German stakeholders.

Your Role

As a Manager - Customer Operations & Order Management, you will support ZEISS teams and customers in Germany across customer service, order management, service coordination and commercial back-office processes.

You will work closely with Sales, Service, Customer Support and internal business teams to ensure accurate, timely and professional handling of customer requests, service tickets, quotations, orders, invoicing and master data.

In the initial phase, you will also play an important role in stabilising the operating model, identifying process gaps, documenting workflows, building stakeholder confidence and helping define the future scale-up of this team in India.

Key Responsibilities

Customer Service & Ticket Coordination

• Review, validate and process incoming customer and service-related requests.
• Check service tickets, create new tickets where required and route them to the appropriate support teams.
• Handle written inquiries from customers, service technicians and internal stakeholders in German and English.
• Ensure timely follow-up, clear communication and accurate documentation of customer interactions.

Order Management & Commercial Operations

• Prepare quotations for service offerings based on defined specifications and commercial inputs.
• Enter and manage customer orders in the relevant systems.
• Support invoicing for services rendered across domestic and international markets.
• Track order status, resolve process gaps and coordinate with internal teams to ensure smooth execution.

CRM, ERP & Master Data Management

• Maintain customer, contact and order-related data in CRM and ERP systems.
• Record, update and route relevant customer and service information within CRM.
• Perform basic master data maintenance, including creation and updates of customer and contact records.
• Ensure data accuracy, compliance and process discipline across systems.

Stakeholder Coordination

• Coordinate regularly with Sales, Service, Customer Support and other business functions.
• Act as a reliable interface between India-based operations and Germany-based stakeholders.
• Support process documentation, knowledge transfer and standard operating procedures.
• Help build confidence in the India back-office model through responsiveness, accuracy and ownership.

Process Set-up & Continuous Improvement

• Contribute to the set-up of the new back-office operating model in Bengaluru.
• Identify improvement opportunities in workflow, documentation, turnaround time and system usage.
• Support transition activities, knowledge capture and process stabilisation.
• Help create the foundation for future expansion of the team.

What We Are Looking For

We are looking for professionals who combine operational excellence with maturity, ownership and international stakeholder orientation.

Experience & Skills

• Professional experience in customer service, order processing, order management or commercial back-office operations, preferably for technical products or services.
• Hands-on experience with SAP / ERP systems; experience with SAP S/4HANA will be an advantage.
• Experience with SAP CRM, Salesforce or similar CRM platforms is desirable.
• Good working knowledge of MS Office tools.
• Ability to understand basic technical concepts and service-related workflows.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English. Working knowledge of German language is preferred.
• Experience working with international stakeholders, especially European or German teams, will be an advantage.

Behavioural Competencies

• High level of ownership, reliability and attention to detail.
• Strong service mindset and customer orientation.
• Ability to work independently while being highly collaborative.
• Flexible, resilient and comfortable working in a new set-up environment.
• Strong process discipline with the ability to improve ways of working.
• Willingness to learn, adapt and contribute beyond a narrowly defined role.
• Ability to manage working hours flexibly to support Germany-based stakeholders.

Who Will Thrive in This Role

This role is ideal for someone who does not want to be just another member of a large back-office team.

You will thrive here if you are excited by the idea of being part of the first team, building credibility from day one and shaping how a global operations capability grows in India.

This role offers the opportunity to work with a globally respected technology company, support sophisticated customers in Germany and help build a new capability for ZEISS from Bengaluru.

What Makes This Opportunity Unique

• Be part of the first India-based team supporting ZEISS Germany for IQS / RMS operations.
• Work on a global process with direct exposure to German stakeholders.
• Help shape a new operating model rather than simply inherit an existing one.
• Build expertise across customer service, order management, CRM, ERP and service operations.
• Create the performance benchmark for future roles moving to India.
• Join ZEISS at a stage where India is becoming an increasingly important global capability hub.

Working Model

This position will be based in Bengaluru, India, with close collaboration with Germany-based business and functional stakeholders. The role may require flexible working hours to ensure effective overlap with Germany and timely support for business-critical activities.