Richemont Watch Development Project Manager

About Richemont

Richemont is a Swiss-based luxury goods group that owns and partners with leading maisons in fine watches, jewellery and accessories. The group combines artisanal heritage with industrial know‑how and operates internationally across design, production and retail; employees typically work in a multidisciplinary, craft‑driven environment with strong emphasis on quality, heritage and technical excellence.

Role & Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end watch development projects from specification through prototyping, testing and pre-production release, ensuring alignment with time-to-market and quality objectives.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams including design, R&D, engineering, industrialisation, quality, procurement and external suppliers to drive technical decisions and milestone delivery.
• Define and manage technical specifications, bills of materials and product documentation; ensure design-for-manufacture and regulatory/compliance requirements are met.
• Manage project timelines, budgets and risk registers; escalate issues, propose mitigations and report progress to senior stakeholders.
• Oversee prototype validation, functional testing and Quality Control inspections; translate test feedback into corrective actions and design iterations.
• Develop and maintain supplier relationships, negotiate technical agreements and ensure suppliers meet component quality and delivery standards.
• Implement and maintain structured project governance, change control and release procedures to guarantee traceability and reproducibility.

Qualifications

• Degree in mechanical engineering, micro‑engineering, watchmaking or a related technical discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
• Proven experience managing watch product development projects within the horology industry; demonstrated knowledge of movements, complications and watch components.
• Strong project management capability with a track record of delivering complex, cross‑disciplinary programmes on time and within budget.
• Excellent technical documentation skills and familiarity with prototyping and validation processes.
• Ability to liaise effectively with external suppliers and internal production teams; strong negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Professional command of written and spoken French and English is highly desirable.

Skills

Experience

Minimum five years' experience in watch product development or engineering roles, with demonstrable leadership of multi‑disciplinary projects and supplier networks within the horology sector.

Education

Degree in mechanical engineering, micro‑engineering, watchmaking (CFC/HS) or equivalent technical qualification.

Workplace

Culture

Richemont’s maisons prioritise craftsmanship, technical excellence and long‑term product stewardship. Teams are highly collaborative and international, combining traditional watchmaking techniques with contemporary engineering and project governance to deliver technically ambitious collections.

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.