Mechanical Engineer - Cleaning Systems

At Lely, we continuously improve our products to help dairy farmers work more sustainably, efficiently and with greater peace of mind. One of the most important aspects of our milking robots is hygiene. Effective cleaning is essential for milk quality, animal welfare and the reliable operation of our systems.

As a Product Engineer Cleaning, you play a key role in developing the next generation of cleaning solutions for the Lely Astronaut, our automated milking system with more than 55,000 installations worldwide. You combine mechanical engineering, process technology and experimentation to understand how cleaning processes perform under real-life conditions and how they can be improved.

This is an investigative and hands-on engineering role. You spend time designing experiments, building and validating test setups, analyzing data and translating your findings into practical product improvements. Whether you are working in the laboratory, the workshop or visiting a dairy farm, you are always looking for opportunities to make our products smarter, more sustainable and more reliable.

Your main responsibilities include:

• Designing, developing and validating cleaning processes for new and existing products.
• Translating technical challenges into experiments, test methods and practical engineering solutions.
• Analyzing data from laboratory, workshop and field tests to optimize cleaning performance, water consumption and energy efficiency.
• Collaborating with mechanical, software and systems engineers, suppliers and sustainability specialists throughout the product development process.
• Evaluating sensors, materials and process performance to improve product quality, reliability and sustainability.
• Contributing to the successful introduction of new technologies from concept through validation and implementation.

What is your experience?

You enjoy understanding how complex systems work and are naturally curious about improving them. Rather than accepting that something works, you want to understand why it works and how it can perform even better. You combine analytical thinking with a practical mindset and feel comfortable moving between theory and hands-on testing.

In addition, you bring:

• A Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Process Engineering or a comparable technical discipline.
• Experience with product development, process engineering, testing or validation within a technical environment.
• Affinity with fluid dynamics, process technology or cleaning systems.
• Experience designing experiments, analyzing technical data and translating results into product improvements.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate with colleagues from different technical disciplines.
• Good command of English. Dutch is considered an advantage.

Don't meet every requirement, but excited about the role? We'd still love to hear from you. We know that great engineers don't always tick every box.

What you can expect from us

Working at Lely means contributing to sustainable progress within one of the most innovative organizations in the Netherlands. You help make the agricultural sector more futureproof, and we ensure you have the space, resources, and support to do so.

• An international work environment that values collaboration, initiative, and diverse perspectives.
• A culture that encourages learning, experimentation, and ownership of ideas.
• Excellent employment conditions, including up to 8 weeks of vacation per year and a strong pension scheme.
• Full ownership of your own development, with access to a wide range of courses through the Lely Academy.
• Daily access to outstanding sports facilities at the Lely Campus: an indoor gym, outdoor padel courts, basketball and volleyball courts, table tennis, and table football. You can join Hyrox workouts or sign up for personal training and challenge your colleagues during an active break.
• Fresh coffee and tea from our own barista (with milk from our own farm) and a healthy, affordable company restaurant.
• A healthy work-life balance thanks to our hybrid working policy: you work at least three days a week on Campus, with flexible hours and plenty of opportunity to spend additional time onsite (between 06:00 and 20:00).
• A free shuttle bus that takes you to and from the metro station in Maassluis, ensuring your workday starts and ends smoothly.
• And of course: we love to celebrate! Whether it’s an anniversary or the annual Christmas party. At Lely, we know how to do it.

About Lely

Lely is committed to a sustainable, profitable, and enjoyable future in agriculture. Driven by the challenges faced by farmers and the needs of cows, we develop high-quality robots and data systems that improve animal welfare, flexibility, and productivity on dairy farms. Our mission is to support sustainable food production.