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System Lead

Optics11

Amsterdam
Full-time
5-10 years experience
On-site

Key Skills

Systems engineering
System architecture
Technical leadership
Embedded systems
Software integration
Data processing
Fiber-optic sensors
Edge computing
Networking
AI-driven algorithms
Root-cause analysis
Requirements traceability
Configuration management
Technical risk assessment
Verification planning
Python

Job Description

As a System Lead Energy at Optics11, you are responsible for the system architecture, technical integrity, and integration of our Energy monitoring products throughout their lifecycle.

You translate product objectives and customer needs into system requirements, architecture, interfaces, and technical decisions, ensuring that hardware, software, sensing technologies, and algorithms work together to deliver reliable system performance.

Our systems combine fiber-optic sensors, interrogator hardware and firmware, Edge computing, networking, cloud applications, data processing, and AI-driven algorithms. Your role is therefore focused on maintaining the complete system overview, managing technical dependencies, and ensuring that all components function together as one integrated solution.

You work closely with Product, Systems Engineering, Software, Embedded, Hardware, Algorithms, Operations, Manufacturing, and other IVVQ engineers.

This is a senior hands-on individual contributor role, combining system-level thinking, test design, technical investigation, and practical validation.

Key Responsibilities

  • Define and maintain system requirements, architecture, interfaces and technical acceptance criteria,

  • allocating requirements to subsystems and maintaining traceability to product and customer needs.

  • Lead technical decisions and design reviews across disciplines, balancing performance, reliability,

  • security, maintainability, manufacturability and cost.

  • Define how components exchange and interpret data, including requirements for data quality, timing,

  • synchronisation and compatibility.

  • Identify system risks, failure modes and operating limits early, using analysis, prototypes and targeted

  • experiments to guide design decisions.

  • Drive system integration with component owners, assessing the impact of changes and resolving

  • technical dependencies across hardware, software, AI and data processing.

  • Represent Energy requirements in the shared OptimAE platform and maintain compatibility across

  • supported system configurations.

  • Lead complex system investigations and root-cause analysis, turning integration, test and field

  • findings into sustainable product improvements.

  • Work with IVVQ on testability, verification approaches and release readiness, ensuring that systemlevel

  • functionality, performance and reliability are supported by evidence.

  • Guide improvements in deployment, diagnostics, recovery and serviceability, maintaining clear system

  • documentation and sharing knowledge across teams.


Qualifications

  • A degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Computer Science or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.

  • At least 7 years of relevant engineering experience, including technical leadership of multidisciplinary products combining hardware and software.

  • Demonstrated ownership of system requirements, architecture and interfaces through development, integration and release.

  • Strong practical depth in embedded or software systems, with the ability to reason across electronics, sensing, networking, algorithms and data processing.

  • Experience defining and assessing data flows and processing chains, including how data quality, timing and algorithm limitations affect system performance.

  • Hands-on integration and troubleshooting skills, using measurements, logs, analysis and experiments to understand system behaviour.

  • Experience with requirements traceability, configuration management, technical risk assessment and verification planning.

  • Clear communication in English, independent ownership and the ability to guide engineers through complex technical decisions. Occasional customer or field visits may be required.

Nice to have

  • Experience with optical or acoustic sensing, industrial monitoring or energy infrastructure.

  • Python experience is strongly preferred.

  • Familiarity with embedded Linux, Docker, signal processing, AI/ML enabled products, cybersecurity or environmental qualification is valuable.

Why Join Us?

  • Join one of Europe’s most promising deep-tech scale-ups.

  • Work on complex multidisciplinary products combining photonics, hardware, software, cloud, and algorithms.

  • Shape how system-level validation is done within a growing R&D organization.

  • Competitive salary and benefits package.

  • Regular team activities, company events, and fresh team lunches.

Core Responsibilities

You will define and maintain system architecture, requirements, and technical interfaces while ensuring the integration of hardware, software, and sensing technologies. Additionally, you will lead technical investigations, manage system risks, and drive product improvements through cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Requirements

The role requires a degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Computer Science, or a related field. Candidates must have at least 7 years of relevant engineering experience with a strong background in multidisciplinary product development and system-level integration.

Benefits

  • Competitive salary
  • Team activities
  • Company events
  • Fresh team lunches

About Optics11

Industry: Measuring and Control Instrument Manufacturing

Company size: 51-200 employees

Optics11, founded in 2011 and headquartered in Amsterdam, develops advanced fiber-optic sensing systems for the world’s harshest environments. With a diverse team of ~100 experts and a strong patent portfolio, the company delivers ultra-sensitive, reliable, and low-power solutions that give operators earlier warnings and more time to act.

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