Rick - Mechanical Design Engineer

Describe your role in 3 words

''Innovative, challeging and versatile.''

What is important within your position?

''As a Mechanical Engineer, ownership is essential. Insight into system engineering skills is crucial, skills that I have partly by nature and partly developed during my studies. I completed a general design study in mechanical engineering, which gave me a broad foundation to understand an entire process. I believe the biggest challenge in my role is getting to know the people in the organization well and understanding everyone’s strengths. I can now quickly find the right person for a specific issue, someone who can solve it much faster than I could.

I am currently transitioning into a more supervisory role, making these qualities even more important. You need to understand what your team faces from creating the initial design to CE documentation, technical drawing, and the release phase. “You need to be able to use programs, design cleanly, perform calculations, and conduct tolerance analysis: even if you don’t do all of these daily,” Rick explains.''

What do you enjoy about your work?

"As a generalist, I fit in well within VDL ETG T&D. I was aiming for a role with less time behind the computer, and I found it. Currently, I’m designing tooling for the magnetic plate, a project that involves extensive research and practical testing. Thanks to this hands-on approach to testing — gluing with an adhesive, measuring, adjusting settings, and inventing new tests myself — I understand the data thoroughly.

You can tell we are working in an unfamiliar world. For instance, we tried different gluing techniques where we encountered some challenges. We searched for specialists, after consulting about eight professors, we eventually found someone in Delft who knows more about epoxy. The fact that no one really knows how to solve it yet shows that we’re pioneering in a technical field.

Additionally, I feel the freedom to take on activities alongside my role, such as teaching courses in technical drawing and organizing digital knowledge-sharing sessions."

What has been the highlight of your career? 

"One of the highlights of my career was delivering specific tooling during the first six weeks at VDL ETG. This tooling is now in use, and I see it regularly. It is amazing to see the realisation of your projects and celebrate an endpoint we can be proud of, even if the result is not physically tangible. But honestly, whenever I see something with the VDL logo, I already feel proud. I truly feel the sense of unity in what we are doing."

What advice would you give someone planning to apply for a job at VDL ETG?

"Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed! Many things are said and asked, it’s important to filter out what is truly relevant. Listen carefully and extract the key information that actually delivers results. This way, you learn to distinguish what really matters. Technical insight and intuition are crucial. Follow your gut, but make sure you can substantiate your statement.

The freedom to take leave is valuable. You have enough days off at VDL ETG to take when needed, which is a big benefit for me. For instance, I became a father a year ago, this freedom contributes to a good work-life balance.."