Continental Engineering Services adds financial services and 200 jobs in Porto

Three years after setting up in Porto with functions mainly focused on the areas of electrification of vehicles, autonomous driving, connectivity, cybersecurity, green technology and Industry 4.0, Continental Engineering Services (CES) decided to expand this hub to also provide services in areas such as financial consulting, internal audit, sustainability or human resources, transversal to the German group that owns the Continental Mabor tyre plant in Famalicão.

The expansion of competencies in the Portuguese office, which currently employs 200 people, was confirmed to ECO by Mark Schudeleit, with the location manager stating that the subsidiary of German giant Continental intends to "reach 400 employees in 2023". It started this hiring phase in August, mostly for profiles specialised in software engineering, but also for the new corporate functions, with positions already open for the financial, SAP consultant, business consulting and data engineering areas.

With an average age of 27, the Portuguese team is located in a complex opposite S. João Hospital, in Circunvalação, near the Asprela university campus where, for example, the Faculty of Engineering of Porto University (FEUP) is located. About a possible change of offices, Mark Schudeleit indicates that, for now, he is expanding the areas within the current building. "We started the operation with the occupation of one floor and currently we already have three. We are currently finishing the adaptation works of this last space," he details.

"The availability of highly qualified human resources, the excellent universities, the attractive and convenient location [of the city] and the excellent performance of CES Porto contributed decisively to the choice of this location (...) Also the fact of already having a presence in Porto, with a structure already set up and growing, facilitates the integration of this new structure", summarises the spokesperson of the German company.

Founded in 2006 to provide engineering services to industries, CES started its activities in the German cities of Frankfurt and Nuremberg with just 30 engineers, and currently employs close to 2,000 people in 24 locations and 13 countries. It belongs to the historic tyre and automotive components manufacturer Continental, created in 1871, which employs 190,000 people and last year had sales of 33.8 billion euros and recorded profits of 1,455 million euros.

To show the work that Continental has been developing from Portugal to the world, the facilities of this service centre in the city and its different areas of activity, Continental Engineering Services will hold its first Open Day in Porto, which includes participation in thematic workshops and on-site demonstration of the application of different technologies developed in-house in four car brands with which it works.

The event is scheduled for Thursday, 29th September, between 9am and 5pm. Among the conditions CES Porto beckons job applicants with are the hybrid working model accompanied by flexible hours, career opportunities "stimulated by the high growth phase" of the company and also internal mobility within the group, and a "comprehensive benefits package in line with current trends".

"Oriented towards environmental sustainability and social responsibility", the German-origin company also underlines the incentive it gives to the use of softer means of transport, such as cycling, or to various actions, such as beach cleaning, fire prevention and walkathon to support causes it considers relevant. Registration for the Open Day can be made through the event's platform.