Senior Project Engineer - FurrowMate

LOAM; Orange City Council; Hybrid; AUD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work environment

Personal learning budget

Training & development opportunities

Job summary

Loam seeks a Senior Project Engineer to own FurrowMate across its hardware lifecycle—design, manufacturing, and on-farm installation—collaborating with Product Development, Sales and external partners.

You will lead mechanical design, oversee manufacturing with external fabricators, and drive installation and commissioning on grower equipment, ensuring safe fitment and handover. Travel to sites will be required as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor-level or higher in mechanical, mechatronic, or agricultural engineering or equivalent.
• 5+ years in project engineering or product design in manufacturing/hardware.
• Hands-on experience with agricultural machinery and air seeder ops preferred.
• Proficiency in 3D CAD and design-for-manufacture with production-ready designs.
• Experience managing external fabricators and suppliers from spec to QA.
• Strong safety-in-design knowledge and proven track record.
• Clear technical communication through reports and docs.
• Australian driver's licence and willingness to travel to grower sites.
• Experience with bulk solids, metering, or pneumatic conveying systems.
• Exposure to sensors, instrumentation, or control systems on mobile machinery.
• Trade background (fitting, machining, welding) alongside engineering experience.
• Familiarity with Australian agricultural machinery standards and WHS.
• Support for professional development and a flexible remote-work option.
• Commitment to environmental sustainability and agriculture.

Responsibilities

• Own the mechanical design of FurrowMate units from concept to production readiness.
• Manage unit manufacturing with external fabrication partners to meet specs and timelines.
• Lead installation and commissioning on grower equipment across models and ensure proper handover.
• Apply safety-in-design, hazard identification, risk assessment, guarding, and standards compliance.
• Run product improvement loop by triaging field issues and translating findings into design changes.
• Produce and maintain engineering documentation including requirements, BOMs, drawings, and manuals.
• Support Sales and Customer Operations with pre-sale fitment assessments and post-sale technical support.
• Manage engineering work packages to budget and schedule, including procurement and contractor coordination.
• Other duties as assigned (≤10% of role time).

Skills

3D CAD

DFM

External fabrication management

Safety-in-design

Technical documentation

Communication

Travel willingness

Education

Degree in mechanical, mechatronic, or agricultural engineering

Job description

The Senior Project Engineer owns FurrowMate, Loam's air-injection delivery system for seeding-time microbial application, across its full hardware lifecycle: design, manufacturing, and on-farm installation. The role works closely with Product Development, Sales, external fabrication and installation partners. The role exists because FurrowMate's reliability, unit cost, and ease of installation directly drive CarbonBuilder adoption.

Responsibilities

• Own the mechanical design of FurrowMate units - concept, detailed design, tolerances, materials selection, and design-for-manufacture - so each unit generation is more reliable, manufacturable, and cost-effective than the last.
• Manage unit manufacturing with external fabrication partners, including technical specifications, quotations, quality inspection, and delivery timelines, so units arrive on schedule and to spec.
• Lead installation and commissioning on grower seeding equipment across makes and models, ensuring safe fitment, correct operation, and clean handover to operators.
• Apply safety-in-design across all work: hazard identification, risk assessment, guarding, and compliance with relevant Australian machinery and electrical standards.
• Run the product improvement loop: triage field issues, identify root cause, and translate findings into design revisions and manufacturing changes.
• Produce and maintain engineering documentation - functional requirements, BOMs, assembly drawings, operator manuals, and installation guides - so FurrowMate knowledge is institutional, not personal.
• Support Sales and Customer Operations with pre-sale fitment assessments and post-sale technical support.
• Manage engineering work packages to budget and schedule, including procurement, contractor coordination, and reporting to leadership.
• Other duties as assigned, capped at under 10% of the role's time.

Requirements

• Degree in mechanical, mechatronic, or agricultural engineering - or a mechanical trade qualification with demonstrated design and project delivery experience.
• 5+ years of project engineering or product design experience in a manufacturing or hardware environment.
• Hands-on experience with agricultural machinery; air seeder operations experience strongly preferred.
• Proficiency in 3D CAD and design-for-manufacture, with a portfolio of designs that reached production.
• Demonstrated management of external fabricators and suppliers, from specification through quality acceptance.
• Working command of safety-in-design principles and a genuine safety-first track record.
• Clear technical communication: reports, specifications, and documentation that others can build from.
• Australian driver's licence and willingness to travel to grower sites, including interstate travel.
• Experience with bulk-solids or powder handling, metering, or pneumatic conveying systems.
• Exposure to sensors, instrumentation, or control systems on mobile machinery.
• Trade background (fitting, machining, welding) alongside engineering experience.
• Familiarity with Australian agricultural machinery standards and on-farm work health and safety.
• Personal Learning Budget: Support for professional development and continuous growth.
• Flexible Work Environment: Options for remote work to support work-life balance.
• Impactful Work: Contribute to global efforts in environmental sustainability and agriculture.
• Training and Development: Access to a personal development plan with ongoing training opportunities.

Why You Should Join Us

At Loam, we’re tackling some of the most pressing challenges of our time with a passionate team dedicated to making a real difference. If you’re eager to apply your skills to a mission that truly matters, we’d love to hear from you.

Loam Bio is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, or any other characteristic.