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# Technical Lead USV Automation

- **Company:** Darwin Recruitment
- **Location:** Den Haag, Netherlands
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Agile Methodology, Code Review, Controller Development System (CoDeSys), Communications Protocols, Modbus, Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT), Scrum Methodology, Software Engineering, Systems Architecture, Systems Integration, Infrastructure Automation Frameworks, Iec61131-3
- **Published:** September 11, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.adzuna.nl/details/5876948739

## About the Role

* Degree in Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Automation Engineering, or a related field
 * 5+ years of experience in industrial automation, embedded systems, or marine control systems
 * Strong hands-on experience with PLC programming (CODESYS, e!COCKPIT, IEC 61131-3)
 * Proven leadership experience in a technical or team lead capacity
 * Familiarity with communication protocols including NMEA, CAN, Modbus, and MQTT
 * Experience with agile development methodologies (Scrum, SAFe, or similar)
 * Strong communication and coordination skills with a proactive, ownership-driven mindset

Required / Highly Preferred:

 * Experience aligning technical decisions with product roadmaps, working alongside Product Owners and Project Managers
 * Ability to lead sprint planning, code reviews, and technical decision-making processes
 * Experience coordinating with geographically distributed teams
 * Track record of ensuring compliance with safety, cybersecurity, and marine standards
 * Hands-on experience during testing, commissioning, or system integration

Beneficial:

 * Experience collaborating with external suppliers to source and integrate software components
 * Familiarity with ensuring platform scalability and reusability across different vessel classes or hardware platforms
 * Background in continuous improvement of development processes and system architecture

## Description

We are working with a well-established organisation operating at the forefront of maritime technology. They are looking to hire a Technical Lead to drive the development of an Automation Platform for Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs), across sectors including autopilot systems, propulsion control, and PLC-based vessel automation. This is a full-time, permanent hybrid position combining technical leadership with people management, guiding a multidisciplinary engineering team to deliver robust, scalable, and reusable automation solutions across multiple USV classes.


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