Senior Engineer, R&D
Did you know that Toyota has major technical and R&D departments in Brussels? If you are looking for an engineering job in the automotive sector in Belgium, then this is the place. Senior Engineer in R&D Yann agrees. “My current position touches on every aspect of vehicle development, which has been very educational”, he says.
I’m a kind of project lead for vehicle development. I take care of the Yaris and Yaris Cross. My day typically starts with meetings with Japan, where we align on the open topics related to the vehicles we are working on. During the day, I work on the overall planning of our future models and have meetings with other divisions and engineering teams. About 70% of my job involves desk work, but I also go to the factory to see how production is done, discuss issues with production leads and workers and attend marketing events to present vehicles. It’s a mix of desk and fieldwork.
Yes, I think it’s important that, as engineers, we actually go to the vehicles and see things for ourselves. I believe that seeing the process with my own eyes is the best way to get to know them inside out and improve them. I actually like going to the workplace very much.
After finishing university, I was hesitating between doing a PhD or finding a job. I got both opportunities and chose to join Toyota because it still involved research. I started in research until 2016, then moved into vehicle development. I was a graduate engineer for two years, then became an engineer and shifted to vehicle development. In 2018, I had the opportunity to go to Japan for two years and was promoted to senior engineer. I’ve been a senior engineer in R&D since 2019. At the end of 2021, I requested to move to a different function for broader opportunities, and within two weeks, I was given a new role, which I started quickly. I’ve been in this role since, and it has been great for my growth.
Fair,
Thriving,
Cool
