As Head of Business Applications, you will lead a high-impact department at the intersection of enterprise technology, business process excellence, and artificial intelligence. You will own the strategy, implementation, and continuous evolution of Brainlab's global application landscape — ensuring our core systems are scalable, compliant, and future-ready. As an experienced manager you steer, coordinate and support a group of senior team leads. Reporting directly to the leader of the Global IT Division, you will act as a trusted partner to business stakeholders and drive digital transformation across all functions.
Areas of Responsibility
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
- Set the strategic direction for the global SAP landscape (FI/CO, Controlling, and related modules), and guide the responsible team lead in translating that vision into operations
- Support the ERP team lead in coordinating annual and interim financial close activities, ensuring IT systems consistently meet audit and compliance standards
- Provide strategic oversight on SAP upgrade and migration decisions (incl. S/4HANA roadmap); act as the senior IT escalation point toward Finance, Controlling, and Legal stakeholders
Human Capital Management
- Define the HRM platform strategy and roadmap for SAP SuccessFactors
- Act as executive sponsor in the partnership with HR leadership, enabling the team to digitize and optimize talent, performance, and payroll processes
- Hold accountability for GDPR compliance and system integration standards; delegate operational enforcement to the responsible team lead
Customer Relationship Management
- Set the strategic vision for the Salesforce platform (Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, custom apps) and hold the platform team lead accountable for execution
- Guide the team in driving adoption and automation initiatives across the commercial organization, ensuring measurable ROI
- Govern cross-platform integration standards between Salesforce and ERP/PLM ecosystems at a strategic and architectural level
PLM / ALM / R&D Tools
- Define the strategic direction for PLM and ALM platforms, supporting the team lead in aligning the roadmap with R&D and Engineering priorities
- Ensure the team maintains compliance with applicable regulatory frameworks (ISO 13485, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, MDR) by setting standards and reviewing team-level controls
- Hold portfolio-level accountability for R&D-supporting tools and business-specific applications; steer prioritization and lifecycle decisions in collaboration with the team lead
AI Platform & App Development
- Serve as executive sponsor and strategic champion for Brainlab's internal AI platform; guide and support the team lead in driving development and rollout
- Create the conditions for business units to successfully leverage AI/ML capabilities, removing obstacles and aligning resources across teams
- Maintain strategic oversight of low-code/no-code and custom app development initiatives, ensuring architectural coherence and business alignment
Education & Experience
- University degree in Computer Science, Business Informatics, Engineering, or any related field
- 10+ years of professional IT experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership role
- Proven track record managing enterprise application portfolios in complex, international organizations
Business & Technical Expertise
- SAP Finance background is a strong plus
- Deep understanding of business processes, digitalization and business-led, tech-enabled transformations
- Strong understanding of enterprise integration patterns, APIs, and data architecture
- Experience with AI/ML platforms, data analytics, and modern enterprise architecture paradigms
Leadership & Business Acumen
- Excellent people leadership skills with experience managing diverse teams
- Strong ability to translate business requirements into technology strategies
- Experience working closely with Finance and senior management — able to speak the language of business
- Skilled in stakeholder management, prioritization, and executive communication
Soft Skills & Mindset
- Entrepreneurial, solution-oriented “drivers” mindset with a passion for digital innovation
- Ability to coach and support direct reports / managers
- High degree of integrity, accountability, and ownership
- Business fluent in English and German
The position is based in Munich.
- A mutually-supportive, international team
- Meaningful work with a lasting impact on medical technology
- 30 vacation days, plus December 24th and December 31st
- Flexible working hours as well as hybrid work model within Germany
- Bike leasing via cooperation partner "BikeLeasing"
- Parking garage and safe underground bike storage
- Award-winning subsidized company restaurant and in-house cafes
- Variety-rich fitness program in our ultra-modern 360m2 company gym
- Regular after work, team, and company events
- Comprehensive training and continuing education opportunities
Ready to apply? We look forward to receiving your online application including your first available start date and desired salary.
Contact person: Leonie von Leoprechting
