Data Scientist

In the role of Data Scientist at SAM XL, you will work on cutting-edge innovative robotic manufacturing technologies in development projects where sensor data is used to control the robotics system/process.

Job description
You will transform data collected from manufacturing processes, robot and metrology systems into actionable insights - detecting trends, anomalies, and defects that directly improve quality, throughput, and process stability. You will build, test and deploy data-driven (AI) models for the control of the robotic manufacturing process based on actionable insights.

This role combines applied data science with real industrial sensor data. You will prototype, validate, and harden data processing pipelines and AI models in close collaboration with engineers and researchers. You will have the space to implement existing research as well as develop your own ideas into usable tools that teams can run and iterate on.

You will join a young and ambitious team with a strong drive to introduce world-class industrial data/AI applications into industry.

Job requirements

• BSc (HBO), MSc. (or Ph.D.) in Data Science, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Engineering, Physics, or related fields.
• Strong programming skills in Python.
• 0–3 years of relevant experience.
• Experience building data processing pipelines (ingestion, cleaning, transformation, feature extraction, evaluation).
• Experience applying statistics and Machine/Deep Learning to real-world data.
• Experience working with manufacturing process data, robotics systems and/or metrology data (sensor data, quality data, measurement systems) is a strong plus.
• Familiarity with data tooling for scale and reproducibility (e.g., SQL, Docker, AutoML, cloud infrastructure, CI/CD) is a plus.
• Experience with NonDestructiveTesting/Inspection (NDT/NDI) modalities is a plus; familiarity with vendor tools/workflows is a bonus.
• Knowledge about fiber-reinforced composite materials, and experience with composite manufacturing processes, like automated fiber placement, composite welding technologies are a plus.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work with interdisciplinary teams.
• Ability to work independently and become a problem owner.
• Ability to define and realize your own goals.
• Ability to collaborate with both academia and industry in the context of (EU-)funded research programs.

Key Responsibilities

• Take ownership of designing and implementing end-to-end data processing pipelines for manufacturing and inspection/metrology datasets.
• Set up and maintain the infrastructure needed for handling data at scale (storage, versioning, reproducibility, deployment interfaces).
• Use AI/ML and statistical methods to detect trends, anomalies, and defects in manufacturing and inspection data (primary focus).
• Work closely with domain experts to define ground truth, labeling strategies, acceptance criteria, and validation experiments appropriate for low–medium TRL projects.
• Build dashboards/visualizations and clear reports that communicate model performance, uncertainty, and failure modes.
• Contribute to a robust development workflow: documentation, testing, reproducible experiments, and handover to other engineers.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)
Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

SAM XL
SAM XL is an ambitious and energetic collaborative research centre at the Delft University of Technology (DUT) in the Netherlands with a focus on Industry4.0, cognitive robotics, automated manufacturing and AI. As a 100% subsidiary of DUT, SAM XL aims at enabling advanced manufacturing companies (aerospace, maritime, wind energy) to make optimal use of Industry4.0 technology to improve the quality and sustainability of their products, whilst simultaneously reducing cost.

World-class research from both the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering and the Cognitive Robotics department of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering is combined with challenges from industry. In a dedicated factory space of 2000 m2 SAM XL is building a variety of large-scale, automated manufacturing cells to develop and demonstrate smart manufacturing technology in close collaboration with engineers from the partnering companies and researchers and Europe’s leading Research Institutes. More information about SAM XL can be found on www.samxl.com.

In time, SAM XL is expanding and linking its robotic infrastructure into a prototype “Factory of the Future”, which will function as a Didactic Factory for innovation and education of the next generation engineers and technicians.

Conditions of employment

• Duration of contract is 2 years. Temporarily with a posibility for extension.
• A job of 36-40 hours per week.
• A salary based on Scale 10 of the CAO for Dutch Universities with a salary between €3546 - €5538 gross per month based on a fulltime contract (38 hours), plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.
• An excellent pension scheme via the ABP.
• The possibility to compile an individual employment package every year.
• Discount with health insurers on supplemental packages.
• Flexible working week.
• Every year, 232 leave hours (at 38 hours). You can also sell or buy additional leave hours via the individual choice budget.
• Plenty of opportunities for education, training and courses.
• Partially paid parental leave.
• Attention for working healthy and energetically with the vitality program.

Additional information
For more information about this vacancy, please contact the SAM XL recruitment team on samxl@tudelft.nl.

Application procedure
Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than 7 April 2026 via the application button and upload the following documents:

• CV
• Motivational letter

You can address your application to Hein Koelman.

Please note:

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• As part of knowledge security, TU Delft conducts a risk assessment during the recruitment of personnel. We do this, among other things, to prevent the unwanted transfer of sensitive knowledge and technology. The assessment is based on information provided by the candidates themselves, such as their motivation letter and CV, and takes place at the final stages of the selection process. When the outcome of the assessment is negative, the candidate will be informed. The processing of personal data in the context of the risk assessment is carried out on the legal basis of the GDPR: performing a public task in the public interest. You can find more information about this assessment on our website about knowledge security.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.