Project Manager

About the company

Cognite develops AI and data solutions for industrial businesses, helping customers solve complex, high-stakes operational challenges. The company combines deep industrial experience with modern AI capabilities, including low-code AI agents, to accelerate digital transformation and improve performance at scale.

Its long-term ambition is to create $100B in customer value by 2035 and help reshape how global industry operates.

Role overview

This role is centered on end-to-end ownership of high-priority industrial AI implementation projects. The Project Manager acts as the primary accountable owner from contract signature through deployment, customer adoption, and measurable value delivery.

The position requires a strong focus on execution, customer outcomes, financial performance, cross-functional coordination, and governance. You will work closely with internal teams and external stakeholders to ensure projects deliver strategic and measurable business impact.

Key responsibilities

• Take full ownership of delivery across the complete project lifecycle, including scope, schedule, budget, quality, and customer results.
• Convert use-case goals into measurable business KPIs and run value-realization workshops to define baselines and track impact.
• Create detailed project plans covering work scope, timelines, staffing, budget, dependencies, risks, and quality controls.
• Lead complex integrations that connect OT and IT data sources while working in an agile environment and keeping stakeholders engaged.
• Align delivery with customer priorities such as operational excellence, safety, sustainability, and cost efficiency.
• Keep Account Executives, Customer Business Executives, and other key stakeholders informed about status, scope, risks, and financial performance.
• Work with Product teams on committed features or deliverables, escalating gaps through the relevant governance process when needed.
• Manage project finances, including bookings, revenue recognition, cost monitoring, margin analysis, and forecasts, with clear reporting to the Portfolio Manager.
• Serve as the customer-facing point of contact during execution, including governance routines, steering committee meetings, and executive briefings.
• Monitor customer satisfaction, coordinate with vendors and partners, and maintain clear process documentation.
• Support change management activities such as user training and adoption support in partnership with the Customer Business Executive.
• Act as the bridge between clients and internal groups such as Engineering, Product, and Customer Success to resolve issues and maintain alignment.
• Identify expansion opportunities by understanding customer needs and coordinating the right internal stakeholders.
• Apply PMO playbooks and best practices while contributing ideas that improve processes for future projects.

What success looks like

• Demonstrating value through project outcomes, KPI tracking, and data-backed reporting that strengthens customer trust.
• Consistently delivering work on time and within budget in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
• Influencing technical and business decision-makers without formal authority to keep teams aligned on shared goals.
• Capturing lessons learned and improving repeatable delivery methods for future engagements.
• Working in a way that reflects the company values of Impact, Ownership, and Relentlessness.

Required experience and qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Business, or a related discipline.
• At least 5 years of project management experience, ideally in SaaS, cloud, or enterprise software delivery.
• Experience delivering complex industrial or enterprise IT/AI projects is strongly preferred.
• Background in software industry environments is required.
• Hands-on experience with SaaS implementation cycles, including onboarding, training, and change management.
• Proven success managing complex projects with many stakeholders in fast-moving environments.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams such as Data Scientists, Engineers, and Solution Architects.
• Strong understanding of industrial sectors such as Energy, Manufacturing, Chemicals, Oil & Gas, Life Sciences, Utilities/Power, and Renewables.
• Solid financial understanding, including project realization and forecasting.
• Working knowledge of Agile/Scrum and familiarity with PMO methods such as PMP or PRINCE2.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to use project tools like Jira, Confluence, MS Project, or Smartsheet.
• Willingness to travel up to 25% for client engagements.
• Fluency in both English and German is mandatory.

Preferred background

• Certifications in PMP, PRINCE2, or Agile/Scrum are an advantage.
• Exposure to data platforms, cloud environments such as Azure or AWS, or industrial IoT is helpful.
• Experience with data engineering, analytics, AI, or machine learning projects is a plus.

Equal opportunity

Cognite promotes a diverse and inclusive workplace and considers all qualified applicants equally for employment.