Job
In this role, you will develop modern sensor systems for machines, upgrade existing equipment, and assess technical requirements on-site to optimize production processes to current standards.
Job summary
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Your role in the team
- Onodrim is building Europe's largest defence and industrial platform. We acquire specialist manufacturers in critical defence and dual-use supply chains, then invest in their growth with capital, technology and operational expertise.
- Forward Deployed Operators are Onodrim's people on the ground. You'll embed inside the companies we acquire—plants, production lines, warehouses, and the test bays behind them—and own one part of making them grow. For this role, that part is the hardware.
- The manufacturers we buy from operate equipment that is often decades old and still performs its job exceptionally well, with little instrumentation, controls that predate the people operating them, and no reliable data on how the machines and processes actually behave.
- The Forward Deployed Operator for Hardware Engineering changes that. You'll put sensing and monitoring onto lines and machines that have none, bring legacy equipment, controls and test systems up to the current state of the art, and get the resulting data into the hands of the people who run the plant and into Onodrim's platform - shipping something that works within weeks, on top of what is already there, and staying until it is used every day.
- This is not a design-office job. One morning you'll be fitting a vibration sensor to a spindle with the maintenance technician; that afternoon you'll be reverse-engineering a controller nobody has documentation for; the next week you'll be commissioning a retrofit and training the shift that will own it.
- You'll work alongside the Forward Deployed Operators for Software and Production Engineering—they identify where a plant loses value and build the software on top; you'll build the hardware underneath. Where appropriate, you'll also deploy the sensing and compute products developed by Onodrim's own R&D unit.
- What you learn on site flows back into what Onodrim builds next.
- Find the real problem. Walk the plant with maintenance, production and quality; work out which machines, processes and measurements actually matter before deciding what to instrument or upgrade.
- Instrument the line. Specify, install and commission sensing and monitoring on machines and processes that have none - vibration, temperature, current, pressure, acoustic, vision, position - and the edge devices and networks that carry the data.
- Upgrade legacy equipment. Bring ageing controls, drives, instrumentation and test systems up to the current state of the art: retrofit controllers, replace obsolete electronics, add interfaces, and document what nobody has documented.
- Build what's missing. Design and build custom electronics, fixtures, test rigs and interface hardware where off-the-shelf products fall short, and get them made quickly—in-house or with local suppliers.
- Connect it to the data. Get machine and process data out through the right protocols—OPC UA, Modbus, PROFINET, serial, whatever the machine speaks—and into the plant’s systems and Onodrim’s platform, working with the Software Engineering Operators on what happens next.
- Deploy Onodrim's own hardware. Where a site's problem matches a sensing or compute product from our R&D unit, install, adapt and support it, and feed what you learn back to the R&D team.
- Make it safe and compliant. Work in accordance with the plant’s electrical, machine safety, and explosive-atmosphere regulations; ensure every installation is wired, grounded, certified, and documented to the standards required by the site and its customers.
- Make it stick. Train maintenance staff and operators, create the drawings and runbooks, provide support during the first few weeks, and leave the site able to operate and maintain what you built without you.
- Own outcomes. Agree measurable targets with the site—systems in daily use, downtime avoided, data coverage, cycle time or yield unlocked—track them and stay accountable.
- Feed the product. Bring field patterns back to Onodrim's product and R&D teams so what works at one site becomes standard at the next.
Our expectations of you
Education
- A degree in electrical, electronic, mechatronic or mechanical engineering, or a closely related discipline—or an equivalent track record of hardware you have built and commissioned.
Qualifications
- Fluency across the stack: sensors and signal conditioning, analogue and digital electronics, embedded firmware, industrial networks and protocols, and the electrical and mechanical practicalities of installing on a working machine.
- A builder's mindset: you'd rather have a working installation this week and improve it than design the perfect system for next quarter, and you finish what you start.
- Good judgment on build vs. buy vs. retrofit, and the willingness to use an off-the-shelf component when it gets the job done.
- Comfort with data: you can get a clean signal out of a machine, sanity-check it, and work with software engineers on what happens to it next.
- Credibility with non-engineers: you can work alongside a maintenance technician on the night shift and explain what you're doing to a plant director.
- Working knowledge of electrical safety, machine safety and certification requirements in industrial settings.
- Clear, direct communication in English, both written and spoken.
- Willingness to travel extensively and spend extended periods on site at portfolio companies across Europe.
- Right to work in the UK, Switzerland or the EU.
Experience
- At least 3–5 years of hands-on experience as a hardware engineer, including substantial time spent in industrial environments: commissioning, retrofitting, automation, instrumentation, test equipment, or field service.
- Experience with industrial controls and automation—PLCs, drives, HMIs, SCADA—and with upgrading or integrating legacy equipment rather than only specifying new equipment.
Topics you will work on
Job locations
About your employer
Onodrim Industries B.V. is an advanced company based in Amsterdam that specializes in creating a platform for the European defense and industrial sector. The company provides support for critical businesses and supply chains through capital, technology, and operational and sales expertise. Onodrim Industries focuses on mission-critical solutions in defense manufacturing and industrial production.
- Startup
- Onsite
- Industry, Production
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