Lead Technical Specialist - Manning & Automation

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ABOUT US
Get on board with Damen Naval, along with more than 1,200 professionals based in The Netherlands, Romania, and Germany. We are the naval division of the family-owned Damen Shipyards Group which employs 12,000 professionals globally. Damen Naval designs and builds advanced naval vessels for customers all over the world. With a passion for technological innovation and sustainable solutions, we continue to push the boundaries in naval shipbuilding. You can be part of our team! Are you ready for duty?

THE ROLE
As the Lead Technical Specialist Manning & Automation at Damen Naval you will drive advancements in ship automation to increase the operability to support smaller crew sizes and enhance the situational awareness for naval operations. As a recognized expert, you will coordinate and execute research and technology development projects related to automation, digital twinning, system integration, and decision support systems. Your expertise will be integral to the design, proposal, and engineering phases of our shipbuilding projects.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
In this role, your responsibilities will include:

• Lead and coordinate a team of technology specialists throughout the research, design, proposal, and engineering phases of shipbuilding projects.

• Provide expert advice in automation and systems engineering to ensure the technical performance of our Smart Ships.

• Conduct and support verification and validation tests and trials during production support and warranty periods.

• Initiate and conceptualize new automation solutions to meet future requirements and promote their application.

• Advise on project activity lists and manhour budget assignments.

• Develop and review deliverables such as functional descriptions, calculations, simulations, technical specifications, and test/validation protocols.

• Support design reviews and contribute to continuous evaluation and improvement of departmental processes and tools.

• Engage in automation design and requirements engineering with subcontractors during the basic engineering phase.

• Specify, evaluate, develop, and test integrated mission management solutions.

• Integrate existing hardware and software products, ensuring compatibility and seamless operation.

• Evaluate the technical performance of new technologies during design, engineering, production, and commissioning phases.

• Serve as a member of technical project teams, ensuring projects are completed on schedule and within budget.

• Strive for highly standardized and modularized automation solutions by defining off-the-shelf building blocks for easy integration into our vessels.

• Fulfill a consulting role for new builds and existing vessels, defining fresh or updated Manning & Automation strategies.

• Maintain strong connections with industry partners, knowledge institutes, and the Royal Netherlands Navy, actively participating in Manning & Automation projects.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
We are looking for candidates with the following qualifications:

• Bachelor or Master degree in a relevant technical field with at least five years of experience.

• Deep and broad theoretical knowledge of specialist subjects for naval vessels or offshore installations.

• Knowledge of commonly used agile software development processes, such as Scrum.

• Proficient in the functional design of control and monitoring systems.

• Familiar with commonly used IT architecture solutions onboard vessels, including service-oriented cloud computing solutions (virtualization, IaaS, PaaS, SaaS).

• Acquaintance with the latest industrial automation developments, such as the (Industrial) Internet of Things (IIoT).

• Knowledge of classification societies and their rules and regulations is a plus.

• Extensive experience in relevant fields, preferably in complex naval projects.

• Experience in cooperating and communicating with research institutes, universities, vendors, and subcontractors.

• Independent, practical, customer-oriented thinker with excellent communication skills.

• Good command of the Dutch and English language both written and verbal.

• Excellent references, as a security screening is part of the hiring process.

• Permanent EU citizenship and passport are both required. Candidates with EU (work) visa or with both an EU and non-EU nationality and/or passport are not eligible in accordance with the requirements imposed by the military nature of our projects.

WHAT WE OFFER
At Damen Naval, we highly value our employees, and we will support your professional and personal development. We also provide our employees with:

• A competitive salary and 8% holiday pay.

• 27 holidays and 13 ADV days.

• Travel allowance of 23 cents per kilometre.

• PME-pension arrangement with an employer contribution of 60%.

• Profit sharing based on company results.

• Flexibility to work from home up to two days a week.

• Additional benefits including a bicycle plan and company fitness.

OTHER
Are you interested in this position, please submit your application with your CV and cover letter, along with an indication of:

• Your (preferred) monthly gross salary based on fulltime work.
• Availability (fulltime / part-time / number of hours).
• Notice period / possible starting date.

For more information about this vacancy or Damen Naval, please visit the Damen Naval website, the Damen Naval Career website or contact the Corporate Recruitment department via +31 118 485 000.

Please note that due to the military nature of our projects, only candidates who have permanent EU nationality can be considered for vacancies at Damen Naval. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to process candidates who (also) have a non-EU passport or nationality.

A pre-employment and security screening and investigation form part of the recruitment process.

Acquisition and introduction of candidates without a formal request is not appreciated and they will not be considered.

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