Lead Engineer Electronics

At Lely, we believe in achieving a sustainable, profitable and agreeable future for dairy farmers by combining robotisation, engineering and farming expertise.

It all started with a dream cherished by two brothers in Maassluis 75 years ago, and ever since, we have worked to become innovative market leaders in automated systems for dairy farmers across the globe. With a team of 2,500 professional specialists, we work constantly to bring about revolutionary solutions for the agro industry. We are based at our Maassluis Campus, a building which features the highest sustainability performance possible, not just in the Netherlands, but on a global scale. Our overall objective: making dairy farming interesting, also for the coming generations.

At Lely, innovation is at the core of everything we do. Our mission is to make the lives of dairy farmers easier and more sustainable, and we believe that smart electronics are essential to achieving that. As Lead Engineer Electronics, you’re not only guiding the design and development of electronic systems—you’re helping shape the future of high-tech dairy farming.

You’ll be leading a talented and diverse team of electronic engineers within our Competence Center Electronics & Platforms. From juniors just starting out to seasoned professionals, your team relies on your technical direction and motivational leadership. Together, you’ll cover the entire development cycle—from first concepts to product validation.

In this role, you are the bridge between strategic ambitions and technical execution. You collaborate with departments across Lely, ensuring integration, innovation, and impact in everything you develop.

Your key responsibilities include:

• Leading the development and testing of electronic systems for our agricultural machinery.
• Managing and mentoring a team of 7 to 12 engineers with varying levels of experience.
• Stimulating innovation and applying the latest technologies to enhance our product portfolio.
• Ensuring cross-functional collaboration for seamless integration of electronics in our systems,
• Driving improvements in product performance, reliability, and efficiency, while maintaining the life-cycle of our products.
• Supporting both the technical growth and career development of your team members.
• Steer and interact with our external suppliers and partners, supporting our supply chain departments.

This unique role blends visionary leadership with hands-on engineering. You won’t just manage projects—you’ll help set the direction for future generations of sustainable, farmer-focused technology.

Opportunities for Growth: This position offers significant growth opportunities, with the potential to grow to a head function within 2-3 years. We are committed to supporting your professional development and providing a clear career path to leadership roles.

You bring technical excellence and a natural leadership style. You enjoy guiding a team through complex challenges and share our passion for sustainable innovation. You also bring:

• A bachelor’s or master’s degree in Electronics Engineering or a related field.
• At least 10 years of experience in designing and developing electronic systems, ideally within a machine building or embedded systems environment.
• A minimum of 5 years in a leadership role, such as Team Lead or Senior Engineer with direct reports.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and coach individual engineers in their professional development.
• Strong problem-solving skills, a structured approach, and excellent communication abilities.
• The ability to collaborate effectively across departments and translate technical developments into impactful products.

Working at Lely means contributing to sustainable progress within one of the most innovative organizations in the Netherlands. You contribute to making the agricultural sector future-proof - and we make sure that you get all the space, resources and support you need to do so.

• An international working environment with opportunities for own initiative and entrepreneurship.
• Excellent working conditions, including up to 8 weeks of vacation per year and a good pension scheme.
• A salary within the scale of €6400 - €9000 gross per month, in which we like to see opportunities for growth from your starting salary towards the future
• Good growth opportunities: you are in control of your development and can choose from various training courses through our Lely Academy - from personal development to job-specific training.
• Our modern Lely Campus offers daily access to extensive sports facilities: an indoor gym, outdoor padel courts, an outdoor basketball and volleyball court, table tennis and table soccer. You can join Hyrox workouts or sign up for personal training - and challenge your colleagues during an active break.
• Enjoy fresh coffee and tea from our own barista, with milk straight from our farm, as well as a healthy and affordable company restaurant.
• A healthy work-life balance thanks to our hybrid work policy: you work at least three days a week on Campus, with flexible working hours and plenty of room to spend extra time on site (between 06:00 and 20:00).
• A free shuttle bus will take you to and from the metro in Maassluis, so your workday starts and ends smoothly.
• Successes need to be celebrated: from anniversaries to Christmas parties - at Lely we know how to do it!

We are also proud that our efforts and vision have been rewarded by winning the Rotterdam Entrepreneur Award 2025!

Recruitment & selection agency, consultancy, and/or secondment agency?

We appreciate the interest, but we are looking for all our candidates directly. We understand that you, as an intermediary, want to present candidates for our great positions and thus contribute to our ambitions, but this is not how we have set up our recruitment. This means that all unsolicited profiles offered on Lely vacancies will be treated as direct applications.