Manager, AI & Automation (m/f/d)

The AI & Automation Practice is where technology meets value creation within AURELIUS WaterRise. Our mission: unlock measurable efficiency and growth across the portfolio through practical, scalable use of AI and automation.

Working directly with management teams, we identify real operational pain points - not abstract use cases - and turn them into working digital solutions. From rapid-fire prototypes to enterprise-grade roll-outs, we test, iterate, and deliver.

This team is built for people who bridge business and tech: curious enough to experiment, structured enough to execute, and bold enough to build what doesn’t yet exist.

What you'll do

• Engage directly with C-level executives and business functions across our portfolio companies to identify opportunities for automation and digital transformation

• Conduct structured process analyses to capture, assess and prioritise improvement potential

• Design, prototype and implement AI and automation solutions in close collaboration with internal experts and external technology partners

• Manage and coordinate technology partners, start-ups and consultancies to ensure measurable value creation

• Develop reusable frameworks, components and best practices to sustainably scale automation initiatives

• Prepare and lead contract and partnership discussions with technology providers and consulting firms

• Develop clearly defined business cases for AI and automation projects, including monitoring and reporting on achieved results

• Contribute to internal AURELIUS initiatives aimed at improving efficiency and optimising processes through targeted use of AI and automation technologies

What you'll need

• Completed degree in economics, engineering, or computer science

• 5-8 years of professional experience in consulting, technology, process automation or a start-up / scale-up environment

• Confident in engaging with C-level stakeholders, with the ability to communicate complex topics clearly and with impact

• Proven experience in the successful delivery of digital, data-driven or AI / automation projects

• Hands-on experience with workflow and process automation tools (e.g. Make, Zapier, n8n, UiPath, Power Automate)

• Solid knowledge of prompt engineering (incl. structured prompts, tool integration and RAG basics)

• Ability to independently build and implement prototypes and automation solutions

• Highly self-organised and reliable working style

• Business fluent in English and ideally in German

• Experience conducting user interviews, process analyses and structured problem-framing is desirable

• Basic familiarity with version control (e.g. GitHub) to collaborate with developers and make minor adjustments

• Foundational knowledge of Python (e.g. for data processing, API calls or logic implementation) is preferred