Concept Engineer / Innovation Specialist R&D 

In this role as Concept Engineer / Innovation Specialist R&D, you bring together technical expertise, market and customer insights, and creative thinking to shape early-stage concepts with real-world relevance. You thrive in multidisciplinary environments, facilitate workshops, and help research teams move from ideas to validated innovation paths.

Who we are 

The System Engineering team, part of the ISSA expertise center (Innovative Systems, Software and Applications) of imec, designs, develops and delivers innovative systems with imec technology inside. By combining AI, HW/SW engineering and application research, we build real‑world applications for all sectors such as automotive, health, a broad variety of industrial companies and space. At the System Engineering team, we focus on the translation of application needs into system requirements and the integration of different technologies into a single deliverable. 

What you will do

• You analyze complex problems and workflows to define the scope of (prototype) development projects. 
• You identify the stakeholders to gather and elicit their needs using interviews and workshops. 
• You decompose stakeholder needs into high level system requirements and define the system architecture, in collaboration with technical experts. 
• You explore the market and technology landscape to identify trends, disruptive technologies, and new opportunities, helping build development roadmaps. 
• You conduct Voice of the Customer (VoC) activities, facilitate workshops, and synthesize information from various sources to support concept selection. 
• You provide training and coaching to colleagues, fostering knowledge sharing and technical development within the team, and you are an ambassador towards other teams. 

What we do for you

We offer you the opportunity to join one of the world’s premier research centers in nanotechnology at its headquarters in Leuven, Belgium. With your talent, passion and expertise, you’ll become part of a team that makes the impossible possible. Together, we shape the technology that will determine the society of tomorrow.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and proud of our open, multicultural, and informal working environment with ample possibilities to take initiative and show responsibility. We commit to supporting and guiding you in this process; not only with words but also with tangible actions. Through imec.academy, 'our corporate university', we actively invest in your development to further your technical and personal growth. 

We are aware that your valuable contribution makes imec a top player in its field. Your energy and commitment are therefore appreciated by means of a market appropriate salary with many fringe benefits. 

Who you are

• You have a background that combines (product) innovation with technology or engineering, with a relevant master degree and at least 3 years of experience in product or innovation. 
• You collaborate effectively with technical experts, and rapidly acquire new domain knowledge, acting as a translator and synthesizer of cross-disciplinary information. 
• You demonstrate abstract thinking and maintain diligent documentation to support innovation and knowledge transfer. 
• You have an application and customer mindset and apply this in an early R&D environment. 
• You are comfortable facilitating and steering workshops with research teams and technical experts, guiding groups from ideation to early-stage concept validation. 
• Ability and willingness to obtain Security Clearance (National, EU, NATO) – a mandatory requirement for this role. 

IMEC and its affiliates will not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from a candidate. IMEC will consider unsolicited referrals and/or resumes submitted by vendors such as search firms, staffing agencies, professional recruiters, fee-based referral services and recruiting agencies (hereafter “Agency”) to have been referred by the Agency free of charge. IMEC will not pay a fee to any Agency that does not have a prior written agreement with IMEC, validated by its HR department, in place regarding a specific job opening and allowing to submit resumes.