Solution Architect - Digital Innovation for R&D

The imec ICT department is searching for a solution architect focussed on digital innovation for R&D. Imec has a lot of R&D units, each focussed on their own specific research. What they all have in common, is that they can use digital innovation to make themselves more efficient in the specific business processes that they do. This can go from managing experiments, managing labo-equipment, managing requests or tasks coming from other groups, getting data out of labo-tools or systems, transforming and analysing data, running simulations, ... A lot of work still happens in excel, requiring a lot of manual work which could be automated, processes suffer from human errors, ... These challenges can typically be solved or improved with "digital innovation": building applications, automation through data pipelines, automated reports, data platforms and solutions, ....

ICT offers a lot of platforms and technology to help R&D units to apply digital innovation easily and to make it efficient, scalable and reliable to create and maintain digital solutions for their problems. R&D units can use these platforms themselves via self-service, or projects can be initiated to engage developers in a specific project. This is where the solution architect comes in: helping these self-service people and project teams to select the right platforms, technology and approach for the right problem. The solution architect talks to the various R&D units, understands their business and their problems, designs solutions to solve their problems, selects the right technologies to implement these solutions, drives the implementation, and makes sure that the problem is solved in the end.

The main platforms that you will use are data engineering, business intelligence, data storage and querying, data science & AI, compute, and application development. You support the R&D people who want to make use of these platforms and bring them in contact with the people responsible for the individual platforms. You help them select the right platform(s) for their challenge. You help them write some simple scripts in a notebook to get them started, you help them deploy a template app so they can get started creating a simple application, you get them a data storage container so they can start sharing data, ...

Next to helping individuals and teams, you also try to find common patterns and problems that a lot of these people and teams have in common, and you shape projects that solve those common problems. You do workshops with different stakeholders to understand their needs, and you help them to align on common requirements for digital solutions. For those common problems, you can drive projects to solve them, and you drive adoption for those commonly created digital solutions in the various R&D teams.

What we do for you

We offer you the opportunity to join one of the world's premier research centers in nanotechnology at its headquarters in Leuven, Belgium. With your talent, passion and expertise, you'll become part of a team that makes the impossible possible. Together, we shape the technology that will determine the society of tomorrow.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and proud of our open, multicultural, and informal working environment with ample possibilities to take initiative and show responsibility. We commit to supporting and guiding you in this process; not only with words but also with tangible actions. Through imec.academy, 'our corporate university', we actively invest in your development to further your technical and personal growth.

We are aware that your valuable contribution makes imec a top player in its field. Your energy and commitment are therefore appreciated by means of a market appropriate salary with many fringe benefits.

• You have at least 5 years of experience in data engineering, python scripting, developing applications, or any other form of digital innovation in a technical way.
• Assets include experience with JavaScript front-end frameworks, data engineering, Azure, event-driven architecture and Kafka, Power BI, machine learning, ...
• You are proficient in writing code with a general-purpose programming language. Strong preference for prior Python experience. You know GIT and you understand CICD. You have a basic understanding of SQL.
• You communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical profiles. You have some project management skills.
• You are an analytical thinker and problem solver. You are an architect by nature.
• Experience in an R&D environment or semiconductor industry is a plus.

IMEC and its affiliates will not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from a candidate. IMEC will consider unsolicited referrals and/or resumes submitted by vendors such as search firms, staffing agencies, professional recruiters, fee-based referral services and recruiting agencies (hereafter "Agency") to have been referred by the Agency free of charge. IMEC will not pay a fee to any Agency that does not have a prior written agreement with IMEC, validated by its HR department, in place regarding a specific job opening and allowing to submit resumes.