Senior Technical Consultant / Product Owner

We4Sea; Rotterdam; Hybrid; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock Ownership Program

Flexible remote work

Office in Rotterdam near Central Train

Job summary

We4Sea, Rotterdam, is seeking a Senior Technical Consultant / Product Owner to own key client relationships and the product roadmap for our cloud-based maritime platform. You will translate client needs into actionable requirements, lead quarterly reviews, and drive advisory projects to improve fleet performance and fuel efficiency.

You will review colleagues' work for quality, identify growth opportunities, and collaborate with development, data, and commercial teams.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in the maritime sector (vessel performance, ship ops, chartering, class, consultancy or maritime software)
• MSc or BSc in Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering or Maritime Technology
• Real affinity with data; read Python and query MongoDB; can discern modelling artefact from fouling trends; not required to be a developer
• Proven client-facing track record in commercial settings
• Understanding of charter party performance terms, speed and consumption warranties, and ability to own it within months
• Good social skills, judgment, and a focus on quality
• Able to communicate in English (Dutch is a plus, not required)
• Entitled to work in the Netherlands — EU citizens qualify automatically

Responsibilities

• Own the relationship with a portfolio of the largest clients; lead quarterly reviews and present findings to management; translate analysis into decisions
• Own product roadmap by translating client needs into clear requirements for the development team; write requirements, prioritize backlog
• Run advisory assessments: speed loss, charter party performance, hull/prop fouling, wind-assisted propulsion, retrofit business cases; distinguish weather-related speed loss from underperformance
• Provide technical authority by reviewing and signing off colleagues' assessments before client delivery
• Identify opportunities for account growth and support new business with technical credibility

Skills

Client-facing

Python

MongoDB

Data analysis

Maritime domain knowledge

English communication

Education

MSc or BSc in Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering or Maritime Technology

Tools

Python

MongoDB

Job description

Senior Technical Consultant / Product Owner

We4Sea makes the shipping industry more fuel and cost-efficient. Our cloud-based platform lets shipowners and charterers monitor their fleet, pinpointing technical, logistical and economic issues across hundreds of vessels. Our in-house Digital Twin model monitors any ship without hardware onboard.

Our clients are among the largest dry-bulk charterers in the world. The difference between a vessel performing to charter party terms and quietly losing half a knot runs into millions per fleet per year. That is the problem we solve, with evidence.

We work from a small office in the heart of Rotterdam, right next to Central Station.

What will you do?

You own the relationship with a portfolio of our largest clients, and you own the product that serves them. Concretely:

• Client ownership. You are the trusted advisor for chartering desks, fleet performance managers and technical superintendents. You run the quarterly reviews, present findings to management level, and turn analysis into decisions they make.
• Product ownership. You translate what clients need into a roadmap our development team can build. You write the requirements, prioritise the backlog, and decide what gets built and what waits.
• Advisory projects. You run assessments yourself: speed loss and charter party performance, hull and propeller fouling, wind-assisted propulsion, and retrofit business cases. You separate weather-related speed loss from underperformance, judge which fuel reporting source to trust, decide which stoppages belong in the analysis, and defend everyone of those calls when the owner disputes the finding.
• Technical authority. You are also the last pair of eyes on your colleagues' work: you review and sign off their assessments before they reach the client.
• Commercial contribution. You spot where existing accounts can grow, and you support new business with technical credibility.

What do you bring?

• 6+ years in the maritime sector, in vessel performance, ship operations, chartering, class, consultancy or maritime software
• MSc or BSc in Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering or Maritime Technology
• Real affinity with data — you read Python and can query MongoDB, you know your way around a dataset, and you can tell a modelling artefact from a real fouling trend. You do not need to be a developer.
• Proven client-facing track record: you are comfortable being the only technical person in a commercial room
• Understanding of charter party performance terms, speed and consumption warranties, and how performance claims are argued — or the appetite to own it within months
• Good social skills, good judgment, and a focus on quality
• Able to communicate in English, written and spoken. Dutch is an advantage, not a requirement.
• Entitled to work in the Netherlands — EU citizens qualify automatically. Living here, or willing to move at your own initiative.

Who do you work with?

You report to the CEO and work directly with our development, data and commercial colleagues. You will have significant autonomy — this is a role for someone who wants to shape a product, not administer one.

What do you get?

• Full-time (40 hours), competitive salary
• Participation in our Employee Stock Ownership Program — you own part of what you build
• A seat at the table where product and company decisions are made
• Direct contact with the biggest names in dry-bulk shipping
• A public transport card for work-related travel
• Maximum flexibility on where and when you work; (partial) working from home or elsewhere is possible
• A pretty cool office in the heart of Rotterdam, right next to Central Station