R&D Systems Engineering Lead

Digital Ag Innovation Lab; Ames (IA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

The Digital Ag Innovation Lab seeks an R&D Systems Engineering Lead to grow technical capability and lead projects spanning hardware, software, and field validation with industry partners.

You will mentor engineers, manage multi-technology programs, and align technical work with sponsor objectives while driving delivery across embedded systems, sensing, robotics, and data systems.

Qualifications

• Strong systems thinking and technical depth across hardware and software.
• Experience leading engineering work from concept to deployment or field validation.
• Experience mentoring engineers and technical staff.
• Ability to balance priorities across people, projects, resources, and objectives.
• Strong communication and relationship-building with teams and partners.
• Hands-on leadership style with coaching and accountability.

Responsibilities

• Mentor and develop engineers, technicians, and students with clear performance feedback.
• Establish engineering standards and best practices across digital and embedded systems.
• Provide hands-on leadership for integrated digital agriculture systems.
• Support concurrent projects with planning, reviews, risk management, and resource coordination.
• Build relationships with sponsors and partners, aligning work to customer goals and roadmaps.
• Assess workload and staffing; improve quality, collaboration, and scalability.

Skills

Systems thinking

Engineering leadership

Mentoring engineers

Communication skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Job Description:

Build the Future of Agriculture

If you want your engineering work to move beyond the lab—onto real machines and into real farm fields—this is the role for you.

Who We Are

The Digital Ag Innovation Lab partners with leading agricultural companies to imagine, design, and deploy next-generation technologies for agriculture. Our team works at the intersection of applied engineering, industry collaboration, and the land-grant mission, moving ideas from concept to prototype to field deployment and ultimately into industry adoption.

Our vision is bold: to be the premier thought leader and partner in ag innovation.

Our mission guides everything we do: Innovate. Educate. Outreach.

We operate with four core values: Passion. Innovation. Collaboration. Excellence.

The Opportunity

We are seeking an R&D Systems Engineering Lead to develop people, grow technical capability, and lead projects focused on the development, integration, and field validation of advanced digital agriculture systems with industry partners.

As Digital Ag continues to grow, this hands-on engineering leadership role will strengthen both team capability and project execution. You will lead and develop engineers, technicians, and students, manage team capacity and resource planning, and advance technical quality while remaining actively engaged in engineering and technical decision-making. You will also lead selected projects from planning through delivery, managing schedules, resources, sponsor communication, technical decisions, and project outcomes across multiple technologies, equipment platforms, and industry sponsored programs.

What You'll Do

• Manage, coach, mentor, and develop engineers, technicians, graduate students, and student employees through clear expectations, feedback, performance management, and professional development.
• Build technical capability by establishing engineering standards, best practices, knowledge sharing, and workforce development across digital systems, embedded computing, sensing, automation, robotics, connectivity, and data systems.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership for integrated digital agriculture systems spanning embedded systems, sensing, robotics, connectivity, computing, and agricultural equipment.
• Support delivery across multiple concurrent engineering efforts through project planning, estimation, technical reviews, risk management, and resource coordination.
• Build trusted relationships with sponsors, OEMs, technology partners, and research collaborators by aligning technical work to customer objectives and supporting reviews, roadmap planning, and future opportunities.
• Assess workload, capability, and staffing needs while improving technical quality, collaboration, accountability, and the processes needed to scale the organization.

What You Bring

• Strong systems thinking and technical depth across integrated hardware and software systems
• Experience leading complex engineering work from concept through deployment or field validation
• Experience managing, developing, and mentoring engineers and technical staff
• Ability to balance competing priorities across people, projects, resources, and technical objectives
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills with technical teams, customers, and industry partners
• A hands-on leadership style centered on coaching, collaboration, ownership, and continuous improvement with the ability to balance technical work and project delivery

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing and integrating complex digital, embedded, automation, or connected systems
• Experience with agricultural, off-highway, automotive, robotics, or other complex equipment platforms
• Experience working with OEMs or industry partners on product development, applied research, or technology validation
• Experience leading customer-driven or externally funded engineering projects and working directly with external sponsors or customers

Candidate will be hired as an R&D Engineer IV.

Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. on an ongoing basis without sponsorship. Immigration sponsorship is not available for this position.

Iowa State Employees enjoy comprehensive health and work-life benefits, including medical and dental, as well:

• Retirement benefits including defined benefit and defined contribution plans
• Generous vacation, holiday, and sick time and leave plans
• Life insurance and long-term disability
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Various voluntary benefits and discounts