RAM System Engineer

Location: Hengelo, Netherlands

At the headquarters in Hengelo, the System Engineering department is responsible for the design of new products and for directing further development by, among others, software and hardware engineers. Within the System Engineering department, the Specialty Engineering team (which consists of about 20 engineers in total) handles the specification, analysis, and design of system aspects. To this end, the Specialty Engineering team is composed of four areas of expertise: reliability/availability/maintainability (RAM), human factors (HF), diagnostics, data analytics & maintenance intelligence (MINT), and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC).

For the RAM team (which will consist of 5 engineers after this vacancy is filled) within Specialty Engineering, Thales is looking for an experienced/senior reliability engineer. As a reliability engineer, you contribute significantly to the operational availability of the advanced radar and combat management systems developed at Thales. You play a key role in the design process concerning reliability, availability, and maintainability, where high availability requirements apply. During the design phase of the systems, you model the solution approach, analyze design alternatives, and assess them for their reliability and maintainability. Where appropriate, you provide advice on alternative solutions that could offer a better contribution. In doing so, you are able to make a well-balanced consideration between effort, risks, other interests, and the final result.

You will frequently consult with other system engineers as well as engineers from other disciplines such as design, testing, logistics, and component teams. You will deepen your understanding of the theoretical and practical failure behavior of the systems at the level where the system components are integrated. Reliability analyses of the system components developed by Thales Netherlands are performed at the printed circuit board level through reliability prediction. You will contribute to this and provide insights to the involved engineers. In addition, you will take note of practical knowledge gained regarding reliability and maintainability and incorporate this into future analyses and recommendations. As an expert, you are expected to keep up with developments in the field and to broaden and share your experience with software tools and knowledge about modeling techniques.

About you
As a RAM engineer, you have a strong affinity with reliability engineering principles, including failure modes (FMEA), reliability block diagrams, fault tree analysis, and reliability prediction methods. You need to understand how to assess and improve maintainability and availability and model system performance. Proficiency with excel and coding languages like MATLAB/python are important, experience with specific RAM tools like Windchill Risk and Reliability and ReliaSoft/Weibull++ are a pre. Familiarity with systems engineering processes and lifecycle management is required. The ability to produce clear technical documentation such as reliability plans and RAM reports is essential. 
You should have a degree (HBO or WO) in a technical study with affinity for the RAM expertise. You have to be eager to learn, you will learn to understand the operational context of the defense sector, along with knowledge of project lifecycles from development to support. You should grasp how component and system architecture impacts overall reliability. Additionally, experience or interest in root cause analysis and reliability predictions for printed circuit boards is a valuable plus.

As RAM engineer, you will act as a central link between architects, design engineers, project managers, and service teams. Essential traits include assertiveness, organizational persuasion from a technical perspective, and the courage to address risks, enabling effective stakeholder management internally and with external customers. You will serve as technical experts in supplier interactions. Strong analytical thinking is crucial for failure diagnosis and system improvement, alongside excellent communication skills to convey complex technical information to diverse teams. Problem-solving ability, teamwork, and attention to detail in analyzing and documenting reliability data are also key. Proficiency in English—both spoken and written—is required, while knowledge of Dutch is a plus.

What’s in it for you

• You are part of a great team in a high-tech, innovative, international environment.

• Virtually unlimited opportunities to grow within the organisation, for example in technical, management, commercial, or international areas.

• Plenty of room for personal development and taking initiative through talent programs, training and opportunities to build and share knowledge.

• A pleasant workplace with attention to good work-life balance and flexibility.

• 40 days off per year (PTO).

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