R&D Section Manager Infrastructure

Company Description

Vattenfall is a European energy company with approximately 21 000 employees. For more than 100 years we have electrified industries, supplied energy to people’s homes and modernized our way of living through innovation and cooperation. We now want to enable the fossil freedom that drives society forward. To be able to reach this ambitious goal we are looking for talented individuals who, in addition to passion for their own role, also have strong team spirit and want to contribute to supporting a meaningful corporate mission.  

The Staff Function Research & Development (R&D) counts circa 150 employees working to accelerate the pursuit of fossil freedom through the development of competitive solutions. From its central position at group level, R&D supports business units in Vattenfall with deployment of new solutions, while leveraging synergies across the various businesses. Vattenfall R&D is based at two locations in Sweden, namely the Vattenfall headquarters in Stockholm and the R&D Laboratories in Älvkarleby. 

The Vattenfall R&D Laboratories is a department of about 75 employees in five R&D Sections. By means of predominantly hands-on experimental work, the R&D Sections deliver added value through innovation to the business units/areas of Vattenfall such as Hydro, Wind, Nuclear, SKB, Distribution, Markets and Customers & Solutions. In this context, the R&D Section Infrastructure develops competitive solutions for utility assets, for example in the fields of dam safety, wind power foundations, operation & maintenance and lifetime extension. Colleagues of the R&D Section Infrastructure cover competences such as Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering and Naval Architecture. The majority of the direct reports are based in Älvkarleby. 

Job Description

We are looking for an R&D Section Manager Infrastructure 

While reporting to the Director of R&D Laboratories, you manage 16 highly skilled engineers forming the Section Infrastructure. The projects and tasks are executed in program-dedicated teams reflecting the innovation challenges of operating the utility assets of Vattenfall. This includes for example the assessment of concrete structures, steel welds and embankment dams, development of climate-enhanced concrete, shotcrete recipes and onshore wind foundations as well as development of measures for lifetime extension.  

The section is run as a cost centre with an annual budget. Most projects have a predominantly experimental approach. They are executed in the laboratory or in the field, usually on a power plant. In all activities, we pursue extensive customer engagement.  

Main tasks and responsibilities 

The R&D Section Manager Infrastructure leads and develops the section, ensures alignment with business goals, fosters innovation and delivers high-quality outcomes. The role involves fostering strong internal and external collaborations to support the success of the Section Infrastructure. Responsibilities include: 

• Develop and implement R&D strategies and objectives that align with the goals and business needs of Vattenfall as an international utility. 
• Fostering a safe, collaborative and innovative work environment. 
• Developing and coaching direct reports individually as well as a team.  
• Allocation of resources, ensuring that projects are adequately staffed and funded. 
• Systematically improving the working environment. 
• Budget management of the section according business plan.  

The position involves regular social interaction, such as frequent team building activities, client meetings and R&D-internal presentations. In terms of collaboration and communication, the R&D Section Manager Infrastructure: 

• Engages with external partners, suppliers, and research institutions to foster collaboration and drive innovation. 
• Maintains contacts at various levels inside and outside the organisation including co-determination and labour representatives to gather information relevant for the section, to inform and give advice to the various groups on a range of operating issues. 

For knowledge management, the R&D Section Manager Infrastructure stays updated on industry developments and regulatory requirements (for example HSSEQ) as well as identifies and integrates new technologies and methodologies as appropriate.  

Qualifications

We are looking for a manager holding at least an MSc degree in engineering, preferably in Civil Engineering. Also a degree in soil mechanics, materials engineering, structural engineering or equivalent might be adequate. You demonstrate confidence in your engineering expertise and decision-making. Former experience in personal management, leadership as well as managing change is requested. A basic understanding of organisational change management is advantageous. A strong customer orientation is required. Your experiences from a technology and innovation organisation in preferably a laboratory environment are highly valued. 

Furthermore, you recognize yourself in the following: 

• You are strong in building teams inspired to collaborate on shared tasks. 
• You adopt different leadership styles to best address the demands of a particular situation. 
• You engage in interdisciplinarity for the development of holistic solutions. 
• You systematically improve HSSEQ topics for a laboratory environment. 
• You contribute to the development of corporate governance. 
• You enjoy working in an international organisation with a multitude of subsidiaries which requires to handle different social and business cultures. 

To advance innovation in our co-creative environment, we believe that you act with integrity as well as empathy and fully align with the Vattenfall core values – Active, Positive, Open and Safety. 

The position necessitates linguistic proficiency in English. Additional language skills are valuable, particularly Swedish, German, Dutch and Danish. 

At Vattenfall we are convinced that diversity contributes to build a more profitable and attractive company, and we strive to be a good role model regarding diversity. Vattenfall works actively for all employees to have the same opportunities and rights regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, transgender identity or expression, religion or other belief, disability or sexual orientation. We believe that innovation needs diverse types of profiles to filter and process information in various ways. 

Additional Information

We offer flexible working hours, and we are open to discussing individual solutions to ensure a supportive work environment. Office space with single rooms is available. Most of the rooms face toward the picturesque Dalälven, one of the major rivers in Sweden. Office space and laboratory space are highly integrated.  

Location: Älvkarleby, Sweden. 

For more information about the position, you are welcome to contact the hiring manager Holger Ecke, [email protected]. For more information about the recruitment process, please contact recruiter Peter Blixter, [email protected]. During holiday season our feedback on questions regarding the position might be a bit delayed.  

 We welcome your application in English, including CV, at the latest August 16, 2025. 

Trade Union representatives are Akademikerna – Shahriar Badiei, Ledarna – Christer Gustafsson, SEKO – Juha Siipilehto, Unionen – Anders Bohlin. You can reach them via 08-739 50 00. 

Since Vattenfall is a part of the Swedish critical infrastructure, many of our services are security classed. If this position is security classed, the final candidates might be subjected to a security vetting process, according to the Swedish legislation. 

We look forward to receiving your application!