Consultant Data & Digitalisation

Vds Automation; Leeuwarden; Hybrid; EUR 50,000 - 61,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

€ 4,500 – € 5,500 gross per month

Hybrid work & 32–40 hours/week

25 holiday days

Laptop and phone

Udemy certifications

One-year contract with view to perman

Job summary

VDS Automation in Leeuwarden is looking for a Consultant Data & Digitalisation to build data platforms, dashboards and automations used by shop-floor and office teams.

You will model production data in Fabric, create Power BI dashboards, and develop real-time analytics and apps in collaboration with our AI & Machine Learning Engineer.

Qualifications

• Requires at least two years of hands-on data solution development.
• Dutch HBO/WO degree or equivalent in a technical/process field.
• Able to program; SQL and Python are base skills.

Responsibilities

• Own customers and projects from first contact to working solution.
• Model data sources from production processes.
• Build dashboards in Power BI that production managers use.
• Analyze machine data in real time to monitor lines.
• Develop apps to replace manual processes and enable automation.
• Work with Power BI, Fabric, SQL and Python for data solutions.
• Explain built solutions to non-data stakeholders.

Skills

Data modelling

Communication

Factory understanding

Problem solving

Education

HBO/WO degree in technical/process-oriented field

Tools

Microsoft Fabric

Power BI

SQL

Python

React

Job description

In a factory there is data everywhere: in machines, in planning, in quality control, in the ERP. Rarely in a place where someone can take a decision with it in the morning. That is what we solve, and what you are going to build.

Leeuwarden · Hybrid 32–40 hours At least 2 years of experience € 4,500 – € 5,500 gross per month

Long-term partner Our own IoT hardware & software Technical and business insight

At VDS Automation we help companies in the manufacturing industry work smarter with data and technology. As Consultant Data & Digitalisation you build those solutions. Data platforms and dashboards, but just as much apps and automations that people on the shop floor or in the office use every day. You come in at the customer, you talk to the people who work there and you see straight away what your work delivers.

What will you be doing?

You are responsible for your own customers and projects, from first conversation to working solution. Think of:

• Working out how a production process runs and what data comes out of it.
• Unlocking and modelling data sources in Microsoft Fabric.
• Building dashboards in Power BI that a production manager actually steers on.
• Analysing machine data in real time: seeing what a line is doing right now, not what it did last week.
• Building applications that replace a manual process. A registration form on the shop floor, a tool for quality control, a planning aid.
• Smart automation: reports, integrations and recurring manual work that from now on runs by itself.
• Working with tools including Power BI, Microsoft Fabric, SQL and Python.
• Taking customers along in what is possible. Not with a sales talk, but by showing something that works.

How we build: AI-first

We build AI-first. AI writes the first version, you decide whether it is good enough. You read the code, test it and adjust it. AI is a tool, not a colleague you take at their word.

That means you build real solutions here faster than you are used to. And what you have built counts for more than your job title.

You are not on your own. Experienced colleagues review your work and there are technical guidelines to fall back on.

New tools follow one another quickly. You have to enjoy that pace. You also get the room to propose yourself what we try next.

What a week looks like

No two weeks are the same, but you will recognise this rhythm. Most customers are in the north and east of the Netherlands, so travel time is manageable.

Monday

Build day. Setting up a data model in Fabric, working out a report in Power BI, having a colleague look it over before it goes to the customer.

Thursday

Demo and implementation support: explaining, adjusting and making sure the people who work with it actually use it.

Friday

Room to learn: a Udemy course, working on a Microsoft certification or trying something new. Rounding off with drinks.

Projects you work on

Examples from the work we do for companies in the manufacturing and process industries. You usually run two to four projects at once, in different phases.

Making downtime visible on a packaging line

Reading machine data in real time, recording downtime reasons and making OEE per shift visible. The gain rarely lies in the technology, but in the conversation about what counts as a breakdown and who records it.

Energy consumption per machine and per shift

Setting up submetering, linking consumption to production orders and mapping peak load. Directly usable for the Dutch energy-saving obligation and conversations about grid congestion.

Replacing paper records with an app

An app with which the floor records checks, rejects or batch data, linked to the existing system landscape. Designed for gloves and haste.

Using AI where it really helps

A customer question that AI might solve. You find out whether it helps, test it with standard AI tools and measure what it delivers. If a custom model or LLM pipeline is needed, you build it together with our AI & Machine Learning Engineer.

What do you bring?

You have at least two years of experience in a role in which you built data solutions yourself. For example as data analyst, BI developer, data engineer or a consultant who was hands‑on. What you cannot do yet, you learn here.

• A Dutch hbo or wo degree with a technical or process‑oriented side. Industrial Engineering & Management, Technology & Operations Management, Supply Chain Management or something comparable.
• You can program. SQL and Python are the basis, because we build apps and automations in code.
• You have already built something people use: a dashboard, app, script or data model.
• You want to understand how a factory works. What happens when a line stops, and what data would make that visible. Technology is the means, not the goal.
• You want to make visible what happens in a process, so that the customer takes better decisions themselves. It is their factory, you supply the insight.
• You can explain what you have built to someone with no data background.
• You take responsibility for your own job and raise the alarm when something gets stuck.
• You speak and write Dutch well. You read English without difficulty.

Our stack

The tools you work with day to day, depending on the customer question. We do data and reporting in the Microsoft stack, where we are strong as a Microsoft Solutions Partner. We build apps and automations code‑first.

Data & reporting

• Microsoft Fabric
• Power BI
• SQL
• Python
• React

“On my first project I got to decide with the customer myself what had to go in the dashboard. Exciting, but there is always someone beside you who has done it before. That way you learn more in six months than in two years at a large consultancy.”

Keimpe Veenstra Consultant · your future colleague

Why VDS Automation?

We are a growing company in Leeuwarden and combine data, automation and hardware. Our centre of gravity is the manufacturing industry, so you end up in factories where it really happens. It is not exclusive: through our existing customer base and through referrals we also work for companies outside industry. That keeps the work varied, because a production line and a service provider call for a very different conversation.

We are also data partner of SC Cambuur. So before long you may well be sitting in the business seats at a match.

What do we offer you?

€ 4,500 – € 5,500 gross per month Depending on what you bring, for full‑time.

32 to 40 hours a week Four or five days, arranged together.

25 holiday days Plenty of time to really rest.

Laptop and phone From the company, also for private use.

One‑year contract with a view to permanent If it suits both sides, we carry on.

Hybrid and flexible Office, customer or home. You plan your week.

Udemy Business and certifications With time during working hours to obtain them.

Your own customers and projects And room to shape your role further.

Our office in the heart of Leeuwarden. This is where the week starts and ends.

Your future colleagues

This is the whole team. Small enough that you know everyone, big enough that there is always someone who knows how something works.

Johannes Wibbens Head of Operations

Esther Bentveld Marketer

You This vacancy

Frequently asked questions

Do I need experience in manufacturing?

No. It helps if you have seen the inside of a factory, but it is not a requirement. What matters more is that you get to grips with processes quickly and feel at ease among people on the floor.

How much do I travel in this role?

On average one to two days a week on site at customers, mostly in the north and east of the Netherlands. The rest of the week you work at the office in Leeuwarden or from home.

Is this an advisory role or a build role?

Mainly a build role. You decide together with the customer what is needed and you build it. Which decisions the customer takes afterwards is up to the customer. If you mainly want to advise on how a company should change, this is not the place for you.

Do I need to master all the technology mentioned?

Not all of it, but some of it. You have demonstrable experience with several of these tools, for example Power BI, SQL, Microsoft Fabric or Python. What you do not know yet, you learn here: you get Udemy Business, room for certifications and colleagues who look over your work with you.

I have a machine learning or software background. Does this role fit?

Maybe. If you mainly want to build machine learning models and LLM applications, take a look at the job opening AI & Machine Learning Engineer . This role is about data platforms, dashboards and apps at the customer.

What if I have just too little experience?

For this job opening VDS Automation works exclusively with JPD Personeelsdiensten. They guide the procedure; you will hear from us within 24 hours on working days.

Questions? Feel free to send a WhatsApp message to 06-45661736 .