Industrial Trainee

ZEISS in India

ZEISS in India is headquartered in Bengaluru and present in the fields of Industrial Quality Solutions, Research Microscopy Solutions, Medical Technology, Vision Care and Sports & Cine Optics.

ZEISS India has 3 production facilities, R&D center, Global IT services and about 40 Sales & Service offices in almost all Tier I and Tier II cities in India. With 2200+ employees and continued investments over 25 years in India, ZEISS’ success story in India is continuing at a rapid pace.

Further information at ZEISS India.

Role Purpose

The Industrial Trainee will support the Plant & Manufacturing Finance team, providing hands-on assistance across costing, reporting, budgeting, and finance transformation projects across manufacturing operations. This is a structured training role designed for CA students, offering practical exposure to plant finance, controlling, and cross-functional projects in a global manufacturing environment.

The trainees (2 nos) will report either to the Manager – Plant Finance (Controller, Manufacturing) and the other to the Head of Plant & Manufacturing Finance. Responsibilities are broadly common; specific project allocation will be guided by the respective reporting manager.

Key Responsibilities

1. Costing & Cost Transparency Support

Assist in product and process costing, standard costing, and variance analysis.

Help maintain cost data and prepare cost transparency reports for products and processes.

Support structured analysis to identify cost reduction and efficiency opportunities.

2. Reporting, MIS & Analysis

Support preparation of monthly plant finance reports, MIS, and management dashboards.

Assist in OPEX and CAPEX tracking, along with actual vs. budget/forecast variance analysis.

Help standardize, streamline, and automate recurring manufacturing finance reports.

3. Budgeting & Forecasting Support

Assist in data collection and consolidation for annual budgets and rolling forecasts.

Support variance analysis and preparation of review decks for finance and plant leadership.

4. Inventory & Working Capital

Support inventory reporting, valuation checks, and slow-moving / obsolete stock analysis.

5. SAP, Systems & Automation

Assist with data extraction, reconciliation, and reporting in SAP (FI / CO / MM).

Support system-based reporting and finance automation initiatives.

6. Compliance & Audit Support

Assist in preparing schedules and documentation for statutory and internal audits.

Support adherence to internal controls, accounting policies, and governance requirements.

Key Projects

The trainees will provide dedicated support on strategic finance and transformation initiatives, including:

Adoption of global standards such as CMM tool implementation.

Standardization of manufacturing OPEX reporting.

Automation projects across plant finance processes.

SAP transformation project support

Bluebird Financial Readiness

Revenue and Cost Dashboards

Other ad hoc costing, reporting, and process-improvement projects as assigned.

Desired Profile

Qualification

CA Intermediate (both groups) cleared; currently pursuing CA and eligible for / undertaking industrial training as per ICAI norms.

Experience

Articleship experience in finance, costing, accounts, or audit.

Exposure to manufacturing or plant finance is an advantage

Technical Skills

Strong MS Excel skills and comfort working with large data sets.

Strong analytical skills

Working knowledge of SAP (FI / CO / MM) is an advantage.

Sound understanding of costing, accounting, and financial analysis fundamentals.

Behavioral Skills

Eagerness to learn, high ownership, and strong attention to detail.

Structured, analytical, and disciplined problem-solving approach.

Good communication and ability to work with cross-functional and shop-floor teams.

Comfortable working in a factory environment.

What the Role Offers

Hands-on exposure to plant and manufacturing finance in a global organization.

Involvement in live finance transformation and automation projects.

Direct mentorship from experienced

Your ZEISS Recruiting Team:

Manoj Badaik