> Markdown version of [/jobs/ext/3764023-senior-system-engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/3764023-senior-system-engineer). Every page supports `.md` or `Accept: text/markdown`. Links point to the HTML versions so they work for humans too. Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md).

---

# Senior System Engineer

- **Company:** EnErgo Recruitment
- **Location:** Leiden, Netherlands
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Systems Engineering, Hardware-In-The-Loop Simulation, Systems Integration, Physical Design
- **Published:** October 16, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=da8c5a25404a5e29

## About the Role

* Vehicle Design Experience: A proven track record of leading the complete physical design cycle of complex vehicles (subsea platforms, aerospace vehicles, high-performance maritime crafts, or motorsport chassis).
 * Practical Experience You will have assembly, integration and test experience, and operational experience. Ideally, you've made vehicles as a hobby!
 * Technical Background: Degree in Systems Engineering, Naval Architecture, Aerospace Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering.
 * Budget Mastery: Demonstrated experience strictly managing mass, power, and aerodynamic/hydrodynamic drag budgets across competing engineering sub-teams.
 * Complexity Management: Deep experience working in environments with high physical constraints (e.g., watertight integrity, extreme shock/vibration, thermal management in enclosed spaces).
 * Nationality: Due to defense contract requirements, Dutch or NATO-country nationality and security clearance eligibility are mandatory. Candidates outside will not be considered.

## Description

You will report to the Program Lead, and together you will be the core management team of the project. Not just be managing a team of engineers; you will be the responsible to make the vehicle a reality. In the subsea domain, physics is unforgiving. You will dictate the compromises between payload, speed, and endurance, ruthlessly managing the margins that define mission success in the North Sea.

The Mission

 * Architecture Ownership: Serve as the focal point for the vehicle's physical design, bridging mechanicalhydrodynamic, and systems engineering disciplines.
 * Own System Budgets: Own the vehicle's physical performance margins with absolute authority. Own Navigation, Power, Communications, Drag, Mass, Buoyancy budgets and lead the system level analyses.
 * Complex Systems Integration: Lead a multidisciplinary team through a highly complex engineering environment. Ensure the seamless integration of high-voltage battery architectures, operational control loops, and sensor payloads into a tightly constrained physical envelope.
 * Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) Validation: Drive the transition from digital models to physical reality, overseeing rigorous HITL testing and qualification logic before the platform ever touches the saltwater.
 * Plan Test Campaigns and Operations and Future upgrades: This is a hands on system engineering role.

Who You Are

You are a systems-level thinker who understands that a vehicle is not just a collection of parts, but a tightly coupled physical system where every ounce and every contour matters. You have battle scars from pushing complex hardware from the whiteboard to production.