Industrial Trainee

ZEISS in India

ZEISS in India is headquartered in Bengaluru and present in the fields of Industrial Quality Solutions, Research Microscopy Solutions, Medical Technology, Vision Care and Sports & Cine Optics.

ZEISS India has 3 production facilities, R&D center, Global IT services and about 40 Sales & Service offices in almost all Tier I and Tier II cities in India. With 2200+ employees and continued investments over 25 years in India, ZEISS’ success story in India is continuing at a rapid pace.

Further information at ZEISS India.

A. Role Purpose

The Industrial Trainee will support the Plant & Manufacturing Finance team, providing hands-on assistance across costing, reporting, budgeting, and finance transformation projects across manufacturing operations. This is a structured training role designed for CA students, offering practical exposure to plant finance, controlling, and cross-functional projects in a global manufacturing environment.

The trainees (2 nos) will report either to the Manager - Plant Finance (Controller, Manufacturing) and the other to the Head of Plant & Manufacturing Finance. Responsibilities are broadly common; specific project allocation will be guided by the respective reporting manager.

B. Key Responsibilities

1. Costing & Cost Transparency Support

- Assist in product and process costing, standard costing, and variance analysis.

- Help maintain cost data and prepare cost transparency reports for products and processes.

- Support structured analysis to identify cost reduction and efficiency opportunities.

2. Reporting, MIS & Analysis

- Support preparation of monthly plant finance reports, MIS, and management dashboards.

- Assist in OPEX and CAPEX tracking, along with actual vs. budget/forecast variance analysis.

- Help standardize, streamline, and automate recurring manufacturing finance reports.

3. Budgeting & Forecasting Support

- Assist in data collection and consolidation for annual budgets and rolling forecasts.

- Support variance analysis and preparation of review decks for finance and plant leadership.

4. Inventory & Working Capital

- Support inventory reporting, valuation checks, and slow-moving / obsolete stock analysis.

5. SAP, Systems & Automation

- Assist with data extraction, reconciliation, and reporting in SAP (FI / CO / MM).

- Support system-based reporting and finance automation initiatives.

6. Compliance & Audit Support

- Assist in preparing schedules and documentation for statutory and internal audits.

- Support adherence to internal controls, accounting policies, and governance requirements.

C. Key Projects

The trainees will provide dedicated support on strategic finance and transformation initiatives, including:

- Adoption of global standards such as CMM tool implementation.

- Standardization of manufacturing OPEX reporting.

- Automation projects across plant finance processes.

- SAP transformation project support

- Bluebird Financial Readiness

- Revenue and Cost Dashboards

- Other ad hoc costing, reporting, and process-improvement projects as assigned.

Desired Profile

Qualification

- CA Intermediate (both groups) cleared; currently pursuing CA and eligible for / undertaking industrial training as per ICAI norms.

Experience

- Articleship experience in finance, costing, accounts, or audit.

- Exposure to manufacturing or plant finance is an advantage

Technical Skills

- Strong MS Excel skills and comfort working with large data sets.

- Strong analytical skills

- Working knowledge of SAP (FI / CO / MM) is an advantage.

- Sound understanding of costing, accounting, and financial analysis fundamentals.

Behavioral Skills

- Eagerness to learn, high ownership, and strong attention to detail.

- Structured, analytical, and disciplined problem-solving approach.

- Good communication and ability to work with cross-functional and shop-floor teams.

- Comfortable working in a factory environment.

E. What the Role Offers

- Hands-on exposure to plant and manufacturing finance in a global organization.

- Involvement in live finance transformation and automation projects.

- Direct mentorship from experienced plant finance leaders.

Your ZEISS Recruiting Team: