Forward Deployed Lead

Your Impact

As Forward Deployed Lead, you will define and scale how Tacto delivers measurable, defensible procurement value to our customers.

You will move beyond AI-driven alerts by building and leading a dedicated forward-deployed Customer Value Task Force (~5 people) that drives high-impact procurement initiatives and strategic transformation projects for our most important customers enabled by our award-winning product.

By combining deep procurement and consulting expertise with Tacto’s data and AI platform, you will enable customers to realize savings and performance improvements that would not be achievable without Tacto. Thereby, you will lay the foundation for long-term customer relationships.

Your Tasks

• Build and lead a high performing Forward Deployed team

  Hire, onboard, and develop a team of ~5 Customer Value Strategists with a strong consulting background (e.g. BCG Inverto, Oliver Wyman). Set clear standards for analytical rigor, execution quality, and measurable customer impact while acting as a hands on leader in critical situations.

• Drive Product Enhancement

  Partner closely with Product and Tech to embed procurement best practices and cost saving methodologies into the Tacto platform. Proactively leverage AI to accelerate team workflows, experiment with new approaches, and turn successful use cases into scalable capabilities.

• Drive measurable and defensible cost savings for customers

  Own the end to end realization of savings from opportunity identification and business case development to execution and tracking. Lead initiatives such as category strategies, supplier negotiations, and spend optimization programs to ensure results are tangible and realized.

• Lead complex, executive level customer engagements

  Work directly with manufacturing companies ranging from €50M to €5Bn in revenue. Lead the most complex engagements and senior stakeholder discussions, acting as a trusted sparring partner for Heads of Procurement, CFOs, and Managing Directors.

Your Profile

Now you may wonder what experiences and skills you need for this role. We believe that leadership, problem-solving, and a strong bias for execution matter more than any specific tool. The following references provide guidance on what we believe is helpful.

• You have at least one year of experience in leading high-performing teams in a dynamic and demanding environment.

• You have extensive experience in strategy, procurement, or operations consulting, with a proven track record in realizing measurable cost savings and leading complex multi-stakeholder projects.

• You are comfortable working analytically and data-driven, translating complex analyses into clear decisions

• You have experience in building long-standing relationships working closely with customers in demanding, executive-level environments and are confidently engaging with and building relationships to C-level decision-makers

• You bring experience in - or a strong interest in - industrial manufacturing, supply chain management, or procurement

• You thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments and enjoy building new initiatives from the ground up

• You possess outstanding communication and presentation skills in German, enabling you to clearly articulate value, challenge assumptions, and lead complex stakeholder discussions

Our Background

Tacto is building the intelligence layer that connects AI to the physical world of manufacturing, starting with procurement. AI is transforming every industry, but it stops at the factory gate. The knowledge that holds manufacturing together - part costs, suppliers, materials - is scattered across systems and people. Over 50% of a product's cost originates from suppliers, making procurement the single largest cost lever in manufacturing and the missing connection between the digital and the physical world. Yet it still runs on Excel and legacy systems. We're changing that with our Procurement Intelligence Platform, trusted by hundreds of companies running billions of Euros of material.

Based in Munich, we are 100+ passionate builders who are in-office, with high expectations, fast growth, and a lot of fun. We are supported by >€50m from Sequoia, Index, and Europe's leading tech entrepreneurs and industry veterans.

Why It Matters

Manufacturing forms Europe's economic backbone, driving a fourth of Europe's GDP and providing over 30% of jobs. These hidden champions and global market leaders manufacture the physical world around us, from the machines that build our cities to the medical devices that save lives.

But the world is changing. The US dominates the digital world of bits. China is scaling the world of atoms, manufacturing at unprecedented speed and scale. Geopolitics are more uncertain than ever. Europe's strength lies in its deep industrial knowledge through generations of engineering. Manufacturing worldwide runs on European machines and software. But that heritage is only an advantage if we leverage it in the age of AI.

Tacto builds the AI that connects Atoms and Bits, empowering our Industrial Base to Stay Stronger and building a lighthouse for European tech.

What We Offer

The people at Tacto are passionate about building the organization, growing themselves, and our product while having fun and being real. We have high expectations, great talent density, and a culture where your ambition, performance, and agency are what count - not where you come from or how big your ego is. You'll grow at the forefront of AI, have real ownership and impact, and be surrounded by the best people in their field who challenge you and make you better every day. That is demanding and rewarding, but that's where we thrive. Besides that you have:

• Money: Competitive salary & equity in the company with real upside, so you are invested in our success

• Workplace: A vibrant in-office culture (> 4 days/week) in a beautiful office in central Munich

• Development: A development budget and regular exposure to exceptional people, e.g., Lunch & Learns, peer mentoring, external speakers

• Time off: 26 + 4 vacation days per year (4 fixed “company rest days”) as well as regular off-sites and team events

• Health: Wellpass membership, of course, a fruit basket (!), and access to Jobrad, for your health

• Family & Social Security: Voluntary pension contribution, voluntary KITA subsidy for your children

Tacto is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, or gender identity. Please do not submit personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, data concerning your health, or data concerning your sexual orientation.