Data & AI Engineer
First seen by Alion on Nov 6, 2026.
As Data & AI Engineer, you join the Value Assurance team within Tendering & Engineering.
Your main responsibility is turning complex engineering and tendering challenges into practical, production-ready data and AI solutions. As the most technical person in T&E, you are the bridge to our central Data & Analytics (D&A) team: building on our existing Databricks platform and guidelines, you design and build the AI applications and integrations that our estimators and engineers rely on. Working at the intersection of engineering, software development and AI, you understand both the technology and the engineering problem behind it. You take solutions from first idea to production-ready, working with IT and D&A to bring them live and keep them running reliably. Together with estimators, engineers and D&A, you decide where data and AI add the most value to how we make decisions and deliver projects.
- Rotterdam
- 40 hours per week
THE POSITION
YOUR IMPACT
Tenders and engineering designs at Van Oord draw on large amounts of data, documents and expert judgement. Your work helps teams find the right information faster, automate repetitive analysis and base decisions on reliable data. That directly improves the quality and speed of our tenders and the solutions we deliver to clients. Because engineers rely on your solutions, they need to hold up to engineering scrutiny, not just pass technical tests. To make this happen, you will:
- Work with estimators, engineers and D&A to translate tendering and engineering processes into clear technical scopes, automation and decision support
- Design and build production-ready AI solutions and the data flows behind them within our existing platform guidelines, such as extracting structured data from tender documents.
- Develop applications using large language models, including RAG solutions built on embeddings, hybrid search and reranking.
- Build integrations between AI applications, engineering systems and business data sources, including MCP servers that give AI agents safe access to production data.
- Evaluate and monitor the quality, reliability and performance of AI solutions, and help shape our AI and data tooling landscape.
You work with Python, SQL, Databricks (including MLflow) and Azure, alongside large language models. You report to the portfolio manager of information systems within Tendering & Engineering, and you act as backup for the technical lead, providing continuity and technical support when needed.
Your work environment
You are based at our head office in Rotterdam. The team works closely with estimators, engineers and project specialists, so you see your solutions used in real tenders and projects rather than in isolation. You get the room to work independently and to propose new ideas, with short lines to the people who use what you build. Colleagues are open, practical and quick to share knowledge, and engineering expertise is valued at every level. Van Oord is a leading international marine contractor. We work on dredging, offshore wind, offshore infrastructure and coastal protection projects around the world, with our own fleet and a strong focus on sustainable solutions. Innovation in engineering, data and technology is central to how we work.
ABOUT YOU
You are curious, analytical and pragmatic, and you enjoy turning vague engineering and business questions into clear technical scopes. You prefer the simplest solution that works, take ownership of it and document it in a structured, maintainable way. You explain technical choices clearly to estimators, engineers and senior non-technical stakeholders. You are comfortable with deeply technical subjects: when an engineer talks about pump capacities, flow rates or installation sequences, you can follow the reasoning and check whether a number makes sense.
You also bring:
- A BSc or MSc in Mechanical, Civil, Electrical or Aerospace Engineering, or a related discipline, or a technical degree combined with proven experience in engineering, construction or energy projects.
- At least 4 years of professional experience in data, AI or software engineering, including strong Python and SQL skills and solutions running in production.
- Experience with Databricks and Azure is a plus.
- Professional hands-on experience developing RAG applications, with a good understanding of how chunking, embeddings, hybrid search and reranking affect answer quality. Experience with agents, tool calling and MCP is a plus.
- Experience evaluating AI quality, reliability and performance, ideally with knowledge of deep learning.
- Fluency in English. Dutch is a plus.
WE OFFER
This is your opportunity to make a visible contribution to projects that support the energy transition while developing your career in an international environment. What do we offer you:
- A salary that matches your responsibilities and experience.
- Attractive travel allowance (€0.31 per km) and home working allowance (€2.45 per day).
- 32 holidays, of which a maximum of 7 are collective.
- Variable bonus, partly dependent on company results.
- Attractive pension scheme.
- Option for collective health insurance (Van Oord pays for your supplementary package).
- Extensive development opportunities, including a comprehensive online academy via GoodHabitz.
- Communities to join, such as Young Van Oord, Van Oord Women and the Van Oord staff association.
- Various events and sports activities, such as skiing, sailing weekends, cycling and motorcycling.
‘You come up with something at your desk and then see it actually working on a ship. That’s incredibly rewarding.’
Thomasz Engineer Production Automation