Who we are
Cowboy is a Belgian startup that is developing innovative electric bikes for urban riders. Cowboy’s main goal is to improve urban mobility and take commuters to their destination in a more enjoyable, sustainable and efficient manner.
Founded in 2017 by entrepreneurs Adrien Roose, Karim Slaoui and Tanguy Goretti, Cowboy is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Cowboy is the winner of the Eurobike 2017, the Red-Dot bicycle design award 2018 and the Red-Dot Best of the Best award for the Cowboy 2.
With traffic congestion plaguing metropolitan areas, electric bikes are proving to be the fastest means of transportation, beating cars and ground public transport. Cowboy’s vision is to elevate the daily commute to the next level in terms of speed, comfort and freedom of movement around the city. Cowboy enhances the riding experience by unifying intelligent technology, delightful design and meticulous customer service.
In April 2019, Cowboy launched its second model, the Cowboy 2, and introduced it to 8 additional countries (Germany, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom). In June 2020, Cowboy unveiled its third generation electric bike.
In July 2020, Cowboy raised 23 Million from international investors (including Exor Seeds, the early stage investment arm of Exor, Isomer Capital, Future Positive Capital and Index Ventures) in the Series B round. Cowboy plans to recruit 30+ new talent in the next six months, scale operations, and expand its footprint across Europe through its Test Ride and Mobile Service networks.
The role
We’re looking for an experienced Senior Project Leader to join us here at Cowboy to help us achieve our ambitious vision; to change urban mobility through mass production of high-tech yet affordable electric bicycles.
In this role, you have the opportunity to lead end-to-end product development projects in Cowboy from the Idea phase to Product launch.
What you'll be doing
Leading one major project, where the project team can be between 30 and 50 people across the Cowboy organisation.
Your tasks will include:
- Establishing the project master schedule, and rigorously maintaining the adherence to this schedule.
- Based on customer needs you will determine together with our marketing and internal technical competence departments which innovations, technologies, and standard modules will be used in the product.
- Based on this decision you will start up, and execute the product development phase together with internal function developers, industrial designers, mechanical and electronic product developers, quality engineers, marketing and procurement.
- After finalizing the product development phase, you are responsible for developing and releasing the production processes and equipment in the Supply Chain or at key suppliers abroad.
- Together with your team, you will set up a review structure that provides optimal insight into the current status of the project and you initiate corrective actions if required.
- You will communicate project status, results, and activities with team members and internal and external stakeholders, always ensuring alignment of expectations.
- You will take the lead in setting up and managing the project budget, as well as overseeing and managing the cost and weight targets.
- You have an international scope, so some travelling is part of this job.
Requirements
Who we are looking for
- Master’s degree in a technical subject, preferably mechanical engineering.
- PMP Certification
- +5 years demonstrated ability in handling international multidisciplinary projects
- Engineering experience in product development is required, whereas experience in production is an advantage.
- Next to your technical background you can look from a business perspective. You have a basic understanding of other disciplines, e.g. marketing, purchasing, design.
- You are eager to learn and have an entrepreneurial mindset / can-do attitude
- You like challenges and get energy from taking away roadblock. The impossible task is what gets you through the day.
- Strong leadership and communication skills, able to influence on different levels. This allows you to make good and effective decisions.
- Mentor skills, able to build dedication and empower your team and others.
- Organizational sensitivity and ability to communicate on all levels within the organization.
- An independent, mature, and positive attitude, not willing to give up in case of resistance.
- A combination of an analytical and a pragmatic approach: you make it happen
- Excellent written and verbal communicator, proven track record of working in a dynamic cross functional team.