Product Specialist

Product Specialist Beaver

The Beaver series is more than a product line. It is the benchmark in standard cutter suction dredgers and one of the most iconic products in the dredging industry. Built on decades of experience, Beaver stands for quality, reliability, innovation and standardisation.

We are looking for an experienced Product Specialist Beaver who will take technical ownership of this unique product line and act as the crucial link between Product Management, Engineering and the shipyard.

This is a hands-on technical engineering role. We are looking for someone with solid experience in the maritime industry, preferably combined with knowledge of dredging, dredging vessels or dredging equipment. You are not someone who only works from drawings, specifications and documentation. You proactively go out to the shipyard, investigate technical issues in practice and translate your findings into structural product improvements.

*A strong background in mechanical, maritime, marine or a comparable engineering discipline is required. An IT or software background does not match the technical scope of this position.
Fluency in Dutch is required.

Your role

As Product Specialist Beaver, you are the technical expert for the Beaver series. You safeguard the technical product definition and drive the controlled development and continuous improvement of the product.

You combine engineering knowledge with a practical understanding of how vessels are built, commissioned, operated and maintained. When technical challenges arise, you proactively investigate what is happening in practice. This means regularly going to the shipyard, talking to engineers and colleagues involved in production, analysing problems and identifying their root causes.

You look beyond individual engineering disciplines and understand how technical decisions affect the complete product, from engineering and production to procurement, services and lifecycle costs.

You will:

• Own and maintain technical product specifications, standard options and product documentation.
• Safeguard the Beaver® standard throughout concept, basic and detail engineering.
• Translate product requirements into clear technical specifications and engineering work packages.
• Act as the technical link between Product Management, Engineering and the shipyard.
• Proactively visit the shipyard to identify, investigate and understand technical issues in practice.
• Analyse recurring technical problems, determine root causes and translate findings into structural product improvements.
• Work closely with Engineering, Production, Operations, Procurement, Supply Chain, Services and Quality to solve technical challenges.
• Manage and prioritise the technical improvement backlog and product logbook.
• Lead technical product modifications from practical problem analysis and engineering through design review and implementation.
• Assess technical changes in terms of safety, performance, quality, manufacturability, maintainability, cost, standardisation and modularity.
• Ensure improvements, practical experience and lessons learned are incorporated into the Beaver® product standard.
• Proactively safeguard, share and further develop company-wide knowledge of the Beaver® series.

Your profile

We are looking for someone with solid engineering experience, strong technical insight and a genuine affinity with ships, shipbuilding and preferably dredging technology.

You understand that not every technical problem can be solved from behind a desk. You are curious, practical and proactive. When something does not work as intended, you want to understand why. You are comfortable going onto the shipyard, speaking with the people involved, inspecting the situation yourself and connecting practical findings back to engineering and product development.

You bring:

• A technical bachelor's degree, preferably in Mechanical Engineering, Maritime Engineering, Marine Engineering or a comparable technical discipline.
• At least 4 years of relevant engineering experience in a technical environment.
• Relevant experience within the maritime industry. This is essential.
• Knowledge of dredging, dredging vessels or dredging equipment is strongly preferred.
• Experience in both basic and detail engineering.
• The ability to oversee multidisciplinary engineering challenges and understand the bigger technical picture.
• A strong understanding of standardisation, product structures and technical documentation.
• A proactive and hands-on mentality: you actively investigate technical issues on the shipyard rather than waiting for problems to come to you.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to translate practical technical issues into structural engineering improvements.
• Strong communication skills and the confidence to challenge technical decisions and bring different disciplines together.
• Fluency in Dutch.

And perhaps most importantly: when someone starts talking about ships, engineering and dredging, your eyes light up.

Why this role?

As Product Specialist Beaver, you work at the intersection of product strategy, engineering and shipbuilding. Rather than focusing on a single component or engineering discipline, you influence how the complete Beaver® platform develops.

You will see first-hand how the product comes together at the shipyard and use those practical insights to improve its design, engineering and standardisation.

Your expertise will directly contribute to keeping one of the world's leading standard cutter suction dredger series reliable, competitive, standardised and ready for the future.

Royal IHC offers you:

• A salary between €5263 and €8565 gross per month, plus 8% holiday allowance.
• Plenty of time off: 40 vacation days for a full-time position, with the option to buy or sell additional leave.
• A profit-sharing scheme that lets you share in Royal IHC’s success.
• Flexible working: A home office allowance of €2.45 per day + a one-time payment of €750 to set up your workspace.
• Travel allowance of €0.21 per kilometer for the days you commute to the office.
• A solid pension plan through PME.
• Room to grow: Numerous internal career opportunities and a training budget + access to our IHC Academy to support your development.
• Health and energy: Unlimited access to our in-house gym (in exchange for the sustainable employability day).
• Royal IHC takes care of things you’d rather not worry about, but that are still important—such as disability insurance, partner pension, and the option to have additional healthcare costs reimbursed through our Social Fund.