Career Head of Product Development

Location: World Food Center Ede

Type: Full-Time Position

Start: Q2 2025

Head of Product Development

At SAIA, we're focused on an ambitious mission: bringing our first automation designs to market and revolutionising high-tech greenhouse growing to make it accessible to everyone, anywhere. As a young, multi-disciplinary company, we're rapidly expanding and heavily investing in our team. We believe that with the right people in the right roles, we can achieve extraordinary things together. By the end of this year, twenty talented colleagues will have joined us on this exciting journey to shape the future of agriculture.

We are at the very exciting stage of introducing our solution to a first set of customers. At our own 1000 square meter greenhouse in Ede, we can all work together at the same spot. Software engineers mingle with their hardware colleagues, who in their turn have their workshop directly neighboring where the plants grow. We are looking for a seasoned guide for our diverse skilled team.

Now is an ideal time to bring someone onto the team who has strong people skills, excels in cross-team collaboration, and brings solid project management experience, along with a background in product development. You'll guide, inspire, and help our teams grow toward success. Will you help us to bring our technology to the world?

We're looking for someone who can naturally energize and guide our teams in the right technical direction, while staying sharp to ensure top quality. Working in a startup with big, game-changing ideas means being creative and flexible, as new challenges come up every week in a constantly changing environment.

You will add great value to our team by being the beacon of objectives, leading decisively and adding focus to what is most important for our shared goal. Because of the multi-disciplinary nature of our holistic solution, alignment between different kinds of expertise and qualities also invites you to apply your soft skills. In our team, we value transparency and welcome open feedback; everybody is happy to grow.

Our impact together will be decisive. Fresh food production needs to be made resilient to climate change and therefore move indoors to protect the crops and allow for a year-round steady supply. We see that greenhouses are the prime solution, however are restrained in the availability of people and that can help with the harvest. Furthermore, the specialized expertise needed to operate such farms is drying up. Our vision is that automation can help with both these bottlenecks, making it possible to successfully operate high-tech greenhouses anywhere.

As Head of Product Development, you'll be at the heart of our innovation journey, driving the creation of cutting-edge robotic systems that are shaping the future. Here's what you'll do:

Bring ideas to life: Lead the entire product development process, from initial concept to full-scale production, ensuring each step brings us closer to groundbreaking results.
Team up for success: Work hand-in-hand with talented teams across engineering, design, agronomy, software development, and manufacturing, ensuring a fun, smooth collaboration that drives projects forward.
Set inspiring goals: Define Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) that align project goals with business objectives and customer needs, keeping everyone motivated and focused on what matters.
Stay ahead of the game: Build and maintain dynamic project plans, timelines, and budgets, ensuring products are delivered on time, without compromising on quality.
Maintain partnerships: Work closely with external partners, suppliers, and stakeholders, ensuring seamless integration of new technologies and a shared commitment to success.
Celebrate milestones: Guide your team through key product milestones like prototyping, testing, and quality control, ensuring every achievement is a step toward excellence.
Share the journey: Keep senior leadership and stakeholders in the loop with transparent updates that align with our big-picture strategy and key results.
Foster a culture of innovation: Lead a collaborative, supportive, and fun team environment, where everyone feels empowered to contribute and grow.
Reflect and grow: Conduct post-project reviews to celebrate successes and identify opportunities for improvement, ensuring we’re always learning and evolving.
Shape the future: Play a key role in recruiting new talent, helping to build a team that’s as passionate and driven as you are.

Hence, we are looking for an experienced product development project manager with the following responsibilities:

Lead the end-to-end product development cycle from concept validation to full-scale production.
Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including engineering, design, agronomy, software development and manufacturing, to ensure smooth project execution.
Define Objectives and Key Results for project scope, deliverables who are aligned with business goals and customer needs.
Develop and maintain detailed project plans, timelines, and budgets, ensuring on-time delivery of products within cost constraints.
Manage project risks and mitigate potential delays or issues, providing proactive solutions.
Coordinate with external partners, suppliers, and stakeholders to ensure successful product development and integration of new technologies.
Monitor project progress and make data-driven decisions to keep the development process on track.
Ensure all product development milestones, including prototyping, testing, and quality control, are achieved.
Report on project status to senior leadership and relevant stakeholders, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and key results.
Foster a collaborative team environment, providing leadership and support to team members.
Conduct post-project reviews to evaluate successes and areas for improvement.
Be actively involved in recruiting new talent to strengthen the team.

We are looking for someone with the following background:

10+ years of experience in project management, specifically in product development within an automation environment, or agricultural engineering and with experience at deployment at customers.
Strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills to manage interdisciplinary teams and engage with stakeholders.
Strong technical understanding of robotics, automation, and/or mechatronics.
Proven track record of delivering complex products, particularly in hardware-software integrated systems.
Expertise in project management methodologies.
Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to handle technical challenges in a fast-paced weekly changing environment.
Ability to manage multiple objectives concurrently with a keen eye for detail and quality.

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package and a dynamic, innovative work environment at the forefront of robotics and horticulture technology. The team is highly geared towards our common goal, whilst having enough room for fun along the way. We have flexible work arrangements and a supportive team culture.