Systems Engineer

surge marine; Valkenburg; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Surge Marine is seeking a Systems Engineer to own the technical development, integration and validation of advanced marine systems. The role spans system architecture, requirements, modelling and hands-on testing across mechanical, electrical, software and controls disciplines.

Ideal candidates bring experience with complex vehicle or system development, strong analytical modelling capabilities, and a pragmatic, real-world engineering mindset. English fluency is required.

Qualifications

• Master's degree or PhD in Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Naval Architecture or related field.
• Several years of experience on complex engineering systems or vehicles.
• Ability to move between conceptual design, analytical modelling, simulation and physical testing.

Responsibilities

• Translate high-level mission objectives into system requirements, specifications and performance targets.
• Define and develop system architectures, interfaces and subsystem requirements.
• Lead technical analysis of complex vehicle/system behaviour across operating conditions.
• Develop and use engineering models and simulations to predict system performance.
• Perform mission and system-level trade-off studies and validation activities.
• Coordinate disciplines across mechanical, electrical, software and controls.
• Define and support system integration and verification & validation (V&V).
• Develop test plans and acceptance criteria; support ground and vehicle tests.
• Analyse test data to identify deviations and root causes.
• Support sensor and instrumentation systems development, data acquisition and fusion.

Skills

Systems engineering

System architecture

Requirements management

Performance analysis

Mathematical modelling

Dynamic system modelling

CFD / physics-based simulation

Aerodynamics / hydrodynamics

Thermal management

Sensors & data acquisition

Sensor fusion

Experimental testing

Data analysis

MATLAB/Simulink

Python

Education

Master's degree or PhD in Systems/Mechanical/Aerospace Naval Architecture

Tools

MATLAB/Simulink

Python

CFD software

Job description

Systems Engineer – Advanced Marine Systems

About the Role

We are looking for a Systems Engineer to join Surge Marine and take ownership of the technical development, integration and validation of complex marine systems.

This is a hands-on, multidisciplinary engineering role for someone who enjoys working across the full system rather than being limited to one engineering discipline. The ideal candidate combines strong analytical and modelling capabilities with practical engineering experience and the ability to translate high-level requirements into functional system architectures, technical specifications and validated solutions.

The role is particularly suited to an engineer with experience in advanced vehicles, aerospace, marine, automotive, robotics or other complex engineering systems, where performance, integration, simulation and testing are closely interconnected.

Key Responsibilities

• Translate high-level mission and customer objectives into system requirements, technical specifications and performance targets.
• Define and develop system architectures, interfaces and subsystem requirements.
• Lead technical analysis of complex vehicle/system behaviour across different operating conditions.
• Develop and use engineering models and simulations to predict system and vehicle performance.
• Perform mission analysis, performance analysis and system-level trade-off studies.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary engineering activities across mechanical, electrical, software, controls and other relevant disciplines.
• Define and support system integration and verification & validation (V&V) activities.
• Develop test plans, test requirements and acceptance criteria and support the execution and analysis of ground, laboratory and vehicle tests.
• Analyse test and operational data to identify performance deviations, root causes and opportunities for improvement.
• Support the development and validation of sensor and instrumentation systems, including data acquisition and sensor fusion where relevant.
• Perform modelling and simulation of system dynamics and physical behaviour.
• Support the definition and exploitation of test facilities and test setups.
• Maintain traceability between requirements, design decisions, analyses, tests and final system performance.
• Identify technical risks and drive mitigation activities throughout the development lifecycle.
• Communicate complex technical findings clearly to engineering teams, management and external partners.

Technical Profile

We are looking for someone with a strong analytical engineering background and experience in complex vehicle or system development.

Ideally, you will have experience with several of the following:

• Systems engineering and system architecture
• Requirements definition and management
• Vehicle/system performance analysis
• Mathematical modelling and simulation
• Dynamic system modelling
• Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) or other physics-based simulation
• Aerodynamics / hydrodynamics
• Thermal management or thermal protection
• Sensors, instrumentation and data acquisition
• Sensor fusion and estimation techniques
• Experimental testing and validation
• Post-test / post-flight data analysis
• Statistical analysis and uncertainty quantification
• MATLAB/Simulink, Python or comparable engineering tools
• Development of technical databases/models from simulation and experimental data

What We Are Looking For

• Master's degree or PhD in Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Naval Architecture, Physics or a related technical discipline.
• Several years of experience working on complex engineering systems or vehicles.
• Demonstrated ability to move between conceptual design, analytical modelling, simulation and physical testing.
• Strong understanding of multidisciplinary engineering and system-level interactions.
• Ability to independently structure and solve technically challenging problems.
• Strong technical communication skills and the ability to work with engineers from different disciplines.
• A practical mindset: comfortable both with detailed technical analysis and with understanding how the system behaves in the real world.
• Fluent English.

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is not simply a requirements engineer or project coordinator. We are looking for a technically strong engineer who can understand the physics and engineering behind the system, build models to investigate its behaviour, work with specialists across disciplines, and then help prove the resulting design through testing.

A particularly strong candidate may come from aerospace, advanced marine systems, automotive, defence, robotics, space or other high-performance vehicle industries.

Experience with highly complex vehicles and environments is especially valuable—for example, candidates who have worked on vehicle concept design, mission/performance analysis, simulation, instrumentation, testing and system validation. The reference profile demonstrates this combination through vehicle design and simulation, mission analysis, aerodynamics, thermal systems, test-facility development and sensor-fusion work.

Nice to Have

• Experience with autonomous or remotely operated vehicles
• Experience with high-performance marine or aerospace vehicles
• Experience developing new technology from concept through testing
• Experience working with research institutions, universities or external engineering partners
• Publications, patents or demonstrated technical contributions to advanced engineering projects
• Experience leading technical work packages or acting as a technical lead