Project Engineer - Product & System Innovation

The position of Project Engineer is located within Etex Innovation & Technology Centre (Etex ITC), the central R&D department of Etex. All your tasks will contribute to Etex ITC's main mission: 1) The development of new building materials, 2) The development of new and/or optimization of existing building systems and 3) The technical support of the Etex companies/factories.

You will work as a project engineer within the 'Product and System Development and Testing - Fibre Cement' team. You will contribute to innovative fibre cement product/system developments. Think of (1) Special fixation methods for fiber cement slates (brandname: Cedral), (2) Special textures for fiber cement cladding panels (brandname: Equitone), (3) Use of fiber cement for terrace plank application. To achieve this, your role will be twofold.
From one side, you will manage the innovation side of projects and collaborate closely with the product managers of the strategic marketing to make sure that our innovative ideas are fit for use in the target market.

From the other side, you will work as test engineer and supervise lab testing to investigate the performance of the innovative products and systems developed in your own but also colleague’s projects.  

What You'll Do:

• Manage day-to-day R&D tasks in the field of fibre cement product and system development: Façade cladding, roofing and lightweight constructions.
• Contribute and eventually manage innovation projects related to fiber cement product development: drawing up a problem definition, defining a scope, appointing a team, division of tasks of the team, following up on tasks, project planning and managing the budget, participating in project review meetings with senior management.
• Provide technical/scientific assistance to the Etex companies/factories. This includes analysing building systems, supervision of the lab tests and formulating advice.
• Design and follow up internal lab tests (executed by lab personnel) in the context of new developments and assistance to factories. Coordinate the outsourcing of certain tests to universities or external laboratories.
• Follow up on new market developments as well as competitors. Collaborate with various product managers.
• Generate innovative ideas and be able to tailor new developments to the needs of the market.

What You'll Bring:

• Technical engineering degree, for example civil engineer, elektromechanical engineer, architect, etc.
• Experience in project management and/or product development is a plus but not a requirement.
• Planning and organizing skills, which allows you to work simultaneously on different projects in combination with providing technical assistance to the production sites.
• Combination of analytical reasoning with a hand-on mentality to develop new products as well as test methodologies together with the team.
• Ability to work independently within the context of a multidisciplinary team.
• Strong interest in the field of applied and experimental research. Experience with software packages for technical drawing (autoCAD, Solidworks), and data analysis (Matlab/Python) are plus points. 
• Fluency in Dutch and English.
• Ability to work majority of your time at the office next to the test lab in Kapelle-op-den-Bos, Belgium.

Why Join Us?

• This job allows you to contribute to new product developments, tailored to specific markets in EU, but also in the rest of the world. It involves collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team. This way, the job has a lot of variation in tasks. The variation is further enlarged by combining the project management with being able to design and supervise the testing of the products in our own test lab.
• We are named the world's #1 most trustworthy company in the construction sector by Newsweek and Statista in 2023! And one of the top companies to grow your career in Belgium in 2023 according to LinkedIn!
• Our culture – we connect & care about those around us. We nurture teamwork, communities, partnerships and new ways of working, placing the highest importance on the safety and working environment of our people.
• Our ‘Road to Sustainability 2030’ is our plan to help build a better, sustainable future. We work towards this vision by caring about our social and environmental impacts and developing innovative solutions
• We have a strong conviction that diversity of thinking helps us to deliver a strong and sustainable performance. It is also essential for us that everyone feels part of the team. In this spirit, we are committed to equal opportunities and zero tolerance towards discrimination
• Flexibility: For us, hybrid and flexible working is all about trust, and we want you to be able to do your best work.