Innovation Expert – Mobility

imec EDiT

As a high-tech research centre that is partially publicly funded, imec carries a responsibility to ensure local impact of the digital technologies it helps to develop. The EDiT (“Enabling Digital Transformations”) department plays a leading role in realizing imec’s local impact by conducting demand-driven research & development, in collaboration with several authorities, imec departments, academic & other research institutes, companies, and citizen’s organizations. Our mission is to tackle so-called “wicked problems” in 3 main domains, or “clusters”: (smart) cities, mobility & logistics, and public health. The activities of EDiT are guided by our “Open for Impact” vision, which puts an emphasis on open knowledge, open source, and open data. Examples of our research programmes include City of Things, Mobilidata, Maak dat mee, Internet of Water, and a forthcoming public health initiative (tentative).

What you will do

As Innovation Expert Mobility, your role is to generate and follow-up on the strategic direction of the projects related to (smart) mobility. You investigate challenges and opportunities in the domain of mobility and you define smart solutions with the goal to make traffic flows in the Flemish region and cities safer, more resilient, more inclusive and more sustainable. As a (to be) thought leader in this area you help articulate imec EDiT's vision on smart and connected mobility in a Flemish and European context.

As a domain expert you will also join EDiT’s Business & Domain Experts competence centre, where we will provide coaching, arrange training, evaluate and fine-tune your role and responsibilities, and plan your path within EDiT/imec together. Additionally, through our EDiT Communities of Practice initiative you will regularly interact with other developers, architects, designers, and user researchers across EDiT.

What we do for you

EDiT is based at the imec offices in the centres of Ghent and Antwerp. You can choose from which of these two cities you prefer to work, and we have always been open to homework, as most of the team communication takes place online. 
In exchange for your talent, passion, and expertise, you will join a multicultural and high-tech company, with challenges there for the taking. Our flexible and informal working environment offers you a range of possibilities to take initiative and show responsibility. This is your opportunity to contribute to the technology that will determine the society of tomorrow. imec supports and guides you in this process, not only with words but with concrete actions. Through imec.academy, 'our corporate university', we are actively investing in the further development of all our employees to assure their technical and personal growth. Your valuable contribution and that of your colleagues make imec a top player in its field. Your energy and commitment are therefore appreciated by means of an attractive and competitive salary with many fringe benefits.

Who you are

We are looking for an Innovation Expert Mobility.

“Must-haves” (essential skills):

• In-depth knowledge of challenges and opportunities in the domain of mobility ion a local, regional and (inter)national level combined with a strong understanding and vision of how digital innovation can transform these challenges and opportunities into smart solutions. Proven track record with innovative, technological solution development and implementations in a mobility context (C-ITS, CCAM, MaaS …)
• Knowledge of policy and regulations in the domain of (smart) mobility on local, regional and European level. 
• A solid network in the domain of (smart) mobility - governments, public stakeholders, market parties, other research organizations – in Flanders and the ability to further strengthen that network with new partners and stakeholders.
• Excellent (public) speaking and presentation skills in order to translate, visualize and make comprehensible complex, ‘wicked’ problems
• Perfect written & oral skills in Dutch & English (professional proficiency).

“Should-haves” (a great candidate is familiar with most of these):

• Being able to come up with innovative, ‘out-of-the-box' solutions
• Being able to motivate your team members with visionary ideas and solutions
• Visionary and thought leadership skills. Team player accustomed to Scrum or similar Agile process.
• Proposal shaping and writing skills.

“Could-haves” (it is nice to tick a few of these boxes):

• Experience in designing business models in complex ecosystems.
• Affinity with open source.
• Experience with Design Thinking.