Innovation & Discovery Engineer (Front-End Innovation)
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 24, 2026. First seen by Alion on Oct 5, 2026. Wavin scores A on the Alion truth index.
Join us at Orbia Building & Infrastructure (Wavin): Where purpose comes to life.
You’re purpose driven. Growth minded. Ready to stretch your potential. Welcome to Orbia’s Building & Infrastructure business, Wavin, where our purpose ‘to advance life around the world’ drives our entire global team.
Every day, we are thinking big and working smart to solve some of the toughest challenges impacting the world. Whether it’s facilitating clean drinking water for communities, creating climate resilient cities, or designing more comfortable living spaces, we never settle for “good enough” when there’s an opportunity to make life better.
Where purpose comes to life, it changes lives. This is what we work for. How about you?
At Orbia Building & Infrastructure (Wavin), we advance life around the world by building healthy, sustainable environments. And where is our help most needed? The places we live in: cities where drinking water is leaking away, greenery is disappearing, streets are flooding after heavy rain, and outdated sewer systems are polluting our groundwater. It’s time to join our team and help build more sustainable environments!
We are currently looking for a Discovery Engineer to join us at Dedemsvaart, Netherlands. If you want to make a difference and work for a purpose-led company, please read on.
The role
As a Discovery Engineer, you work at the front end of innovation, where customer needs, technology and business opportunities come together. You identify unmet customer needs and turn them into distinctive products, systems and services that can drive Wavin’s future growth.
Working closely with customers, market segments, business units and Technology & Innovation colleagues, you rapidly explore, build and validate new concepts. Through prototypes, Proofs of Concepts (PoCs) and Proofs of Value (PoVs), you reduce technical and commercial uncertainty before opportunities enter the formal product development process.
What you will do
Gather market insights and uncover customer pains by engaging with contractors, engineering consultancies, municipalities, developers and other value-chain partners.
Translate these insights into innovative product, system and service concepts.
Build and validate prototypes, PoCs and PoVs using a pragmatic Explore, Build, Validate approach.
Assess technical feasibility, customer value and commercial potential through rapid experimentation.
Collaborate across market segments, business units, Product Management and Technology & Innovation, while building external networks with customers, start-ups and knowledge partners.
Your profile
We are not looking for a traditional engineer. We are looking for an innovator with an engineering background: someone who is equally comfortable discussing customer challenges, building a prototype and challenging a business case. You are curious, hands-on, pragmatic and resourceful. You take ownership, learn quickly and are comfortable working with uncertainty. You see opportunities where others see constraints, combine engineering rigour with creativity, and get energy from turning ideas into tangible customer value.
Experience & expertise
A BSc or MSc in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Product Design or a comparable technical discipline.
At least 5-8 years of experience in engineering, product development or innovation, with a proven track record of turning ideas into working solutions.
Strong technical problem-solving skills, hands-on prototyping and validation experience, and sound commercial awareness.
The ability to communicate effectively with customers and stakeholders in an international environment; professional English is required.
What Orbia Building & Infrastructure offers
Do you want to make a difference by working with a purpose? Count on a warm welcome at Orbia Building & Infrastructure (Wavin)! Here we take responsibility for each other and our company. We stay brave in pursuing calculated risks that fuel innovation. And we embrace diversity in perspectives, skills and talents to transform the way we work and the impact we have on the world. Above all we encourage all our employees to develop their talents and to become the best version of themselves. Together, as a strong team, we grow and deliver on our purpose every day. Orbia B&I is the place to be if you truly wish to make an impact. In addition to working with an enthusiastic, professional team in an international environment, we offer a competitive compensation and benefit package.
Your Employment Benefits at Orbia B&I Netherlands
This position is classified in pay grade 5 of the OWASE collective labour agreement (CLA).
A minimum of 37 vacation days based on a full-time employment contract (including 12 ADV/working time reduction days).
Additional benefits such as discounted gym membership, free access to a professional coach through our Employee Assistance Program, and development opportunities via LinkedIn Learning and our GROW Hub.
Free fresh fruit available every day.
An attractive pension plan, with Orbia contributing 23.5% of the pension premium and you contributing 7.5%.
Organization
Orbia’s Building & Infrastructure business, Wavin, is an innovative solutions provider for the global building and infrastructure industry. Backed by more than 60 years of product development experience, we advance life around the world by building healthy, sustainable environments for global citizens. Whether it’s to improve the distribution of clean drinking water, to make sanitation accessible for everyone, to create climate resilient cities, or to design comfortable living spaces, Orbia B&I collaborates with municipal leaders, engineers, contractors, and installers to help future-proof communities, buildings and homes. Orbia B&I has 11,000+ employees and 65 production sites worldwide, serving over 80 countries through a global sales and distribution network. Our key commercial brands are: Wavin, Amanco Wavin, Pavco Wavin, Plastigama Wavin, and Bow Wavin.
Orbia Building & Infrastructure is part of Orbia - a company driven by a shared purpose: to advance life around the world. Orbia operates in several sectors including: Polymer Solutions (Vestolit and Alphagary), Building and Infrastructure (Wavin), Precision Agriculture (Netafim), Connectivity Solutions (Dura-Line) and Fluor and Energy Materials (Koura). These five Orbia business groups have a collective focus on expanding access to health and wellness, reinventing the future of cities and homes, ensuring food and water security, connecting communities to information and accelerating a circular economy with basic and advanced materials, specialty products and innovative solutions. Orbia has a global team of over 24,000 employees, commercial activities in more than 100 countries and operations in over 50, with headquarters in Boston, Mexico City, Amsterdam and Tel Aviv. The company generated $8.2 billion in revenue in 2023.
Contact us
If you have questions or want to know more about the position, please contact Marcel Jager (Manager Discovery / Innovation) via [email protected]. To apply, use the ‘apply’ button.
Recruitment agencies are requested not to respond to this vacancy. Unsolicited applications from third parties in general are also not accepted.
Our Global brands: Dura-Line, Koura Global, Vestolit, Netafim, Alphagary, Wavin.
They offer a broad range of value-added solutions and finished products that contribute to customers’ success and ultimate improve the quality of life for people around the world. Along its commitment to good citizenship, Orbia Advance Corporation delivers Total Value to customers, employees and investors worldwide, every day.