- Location
- Le Locle Neuchâtel Switzerland
- Employment
- Full-Time
- Seniority
- Director
- Industry
- Fine Watches & Horology
- Posted
- Oct 19, 2026
About Audemars Piguet
The brand is a prestigious entity within the luxury fashion sector, renowned for its exquisite craftsmanship and innovative designs. As part of a leading global luxury group, it offers unparalleled opportunities for professional growth and development in a dynamic and sophisticated environment.
As a member of the Le Locle branch’s management committee, the Head of Movement Development leads and evolves complicated movement development, technical innovation and industrial performance. The role coordinates feasibility, prototyping, industrialization, cross-functional delivery, digitalization and intellectual property. Full-time position.
Role & Responsibilities
- Lead, structure and develop all complicated movement development activities at the Le Locle branch.
- Organize and validate development activities, while contributing to the definition of the overall strategy for movements, technical innovation and industrial performance.
- Guide teams in continuously monitoring technological and horological developments in movement architectures, materials, processes and industrial resources.
- Define prototyping and fine-tuning work for highly complicated movements, integrating industrialization and production reliability considerations from the outset.
- Contribute to the preparation and validate technical and industrial feasibility studies in response to internal needs and strategic directions.
- Ensure compliance with the development workflow and coordinate closely between the head office and the relevant departments: Product, Production, Quality, Methods, Purchasing and Supply Chain.
- Ensure developments meet cost and timing objectives and deliver industrial robustness and technical reliability.
- Coordinate digitalization projects within the role’s scope.
- Structure and catalogue all project-related technical data, ensure its preservation, and manage intellectual property and patents within the role’s scope.
Qualifications
- Master’s degree in engineering from an EPF or equivalent; further training in management, leadership and/or business management is an advantage.
- Significant, recognized experience developing watch movements, including complicated movements, gained at a haute horlogerie maison, ideally in a position of responsibility.
- Solid experience leading complex projects involving development and industrialization.
- Organized, proactive and committed, with the ability to anticipate risks and make the decisions needed to bring projects to completion in a demanding environment.
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to unite, engage and develop multidisciplinary teams of subject-matter experts.
- Good level of English (minimum B2) and proficiency with Windows office tools.
- Willingness to travel regularly to the Le Brassus site.
Skills
Experience
Significant, recognized experience in watch movement development, including complicated movements, ideally in a position of responsibility; solid experience leading complex development and industrialization projects.
Education
Master’s degree in engineering from an EPF or equivalent; further training in management, leadership and/or business management is an advantage.
Workplace
This position is based in Le Locle, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
Explore jobs in Neuchâtel or in Switzerland.
Benefits
Health insurance coverage (basic and supplementary); 5 weeks of annual vacation and 2 additional weeks between Christmas and New Year through the daily accumulation of additional minutes; contribution to sports or cultural activities; remote work may be available depending on the role; company restaurant; advantageous LPP pension plan.
Culture
The brand fosters a culture of excellence and innovation, where creativity and individual contributions are highly valued. Employees are encouraged to pursue personal growth and are supported in their professional development within a collaborative and inclusive environment.
About Cerulean
Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.
Frequently Asked Questions
The luxury industry is characterised by a diverse and nuanced nomenclature. Esteemed houses frequently employ proprietary terminology, and even within a single organisation like Audemars Piguet, titles may vary across global markets to reflect local conventions. To ensure absolute clarity, Cerulean assigns a standardised, industry-coherent canonical title to every listing. However, it is worth noting that this role is functionally synonymous with «Director of Movement Development», «Movement Development Director», «Head of Complicated Movement Development», «Movement Engineering Director», and other variations. Our sophisticated search architecture anticipates these variations, ensuring that inquiries using related terms will seamlessly yield the exact roles you desire.