Analytics Engineer R&D

Enza Zaden is an independent, family-owned vegetable breeding company with a strong global presence. Our purpose is breeding to feed the world, creating value for sustainable life and living. In Research & Development (R&D), breeders and researchers generate large volumes of complex scientific data that drive innovation. These insights span all levels, from strategic direction and portfolio choices to tactical steering and operational execution, often combining R&D data with relevant business data from across Enza Zaden. This creates a diverse and evolving data landscape, where reliable datasets and clear definitions really matter. To support R&D in working more data-driven, we are building a dedicated R&D data analytics team. As an Analytics Engineer, you build reusable data foundations that enable impactful analytics and reporting for R&D. 

This is why you want to join us as Analytics Engineer R&D at Enza Zaden

• Join a mission-driven company with an international footprint, where passion for the work and long-term thinking are part of the culture 

• Join a newly formed R&D data analytics team and help define ways of working, priorities, and standards from the ground up. 

• Work in a highly innovative R&D environment that is complex, scientific, and constantly evolving. 

• Translate business needs into scalable, reliable solutions by finding the best way to deliver them (based on feasibility, data quality, definitions, and technical approach). 

• Work on analytics use cases across different levels, from strategic questions to operational decision-making. 

• Enjoy a role with lots of stakeholder interaction and visible impact on how R&D works with data. 

• Learn and grow through collaboration in the wider DAR community, supported by a central data platform team and shared guidelines and standards. 

• Be curious about how R&D works and how data is created, so you can build solutions that fit what users really need. 

Make a difference as Analytics Engineer R&D 

In this role, you build and maintain the data foundations that unlock the potential to create data analytics products for R&D, based on reliable and reusable components. 
Because the R&D data analytics team is actively being built, your scope is broad and end-to-end, from understanding the request and locating the right data, to building the models and delivering a usable data product. 
You are responsible for the R&D data foundations, while working closely with analytics colleagues across functions and with a central data platform team to align on standards and keep learning as you go. 

Your responsibilities include: 

• Translate stakeholder needs into data solutions by identifying the right sources, fields and definitions, and determining how the data must be transformed for reliable use. 

• Build and maintain reusable data models and datasets for R&D, including validations and quality checks together with data owners. 

• Choose the best delivery approach by assessing data availability and quality, and by making clear choices on what to deliver first and what to improve later. 

• Standardize and automate solutions so they become part of a scalable R&D data foundation, not one-off work. 

• Improve data products over time (life cycle management, performance, documentation) and monitor usage and costs to ensure long-term value. 

• Collaborate on architecture, security, and design standards with the relevant internal teams, including the central data platform team and the owners of shared guidelines. 

• Especially in the start-up phase of the team, you may deliver the first Power BI dashboards yourself, using shared templates and support from colleagues across DAR. 

You will work directly with the Manager Data, Analytics & Reporting for R&D, while you take the lead in designing the best way to deliver it from a data and solution perspective. 
This is a hybrid role: more days in Enkhuizen during onboarding, then a minimum of two office days per week.  

What you bring as a future colleague 

You are technically strong, communicative, analytical, and comfortable switching between detail-oriented technical work and conversations with the business. 
You enjoy solving data puzzles in an environment where data is not always perfectly organized, and you like bringing clarity through structure, collaboration, and implementation. 

You bring: 

• At least 2 to 5 years of relevant experience in analytics engineering, data engineering, data modelling, or data transformation. 

• Minimum working and thinking level - Higher professional level (HBO, Bachelor, College 

• Strong SQL skills and experience building models that are reusable, tested, and maintainable. 

• Experience working with data platforms or BI environments, including best practices such as version control, testing, and CI/CD. 

• A proactive mindset: you enjoy improving “how we deliver” and like working iteratively with stakeholders and data owners to get to the right solution. 

• A collaborative approach and motivation to learn from analytics colleagues across domains and from shared standards and best practices. 

• Strong communication skills in English. 

• Residency in the Netherlands and availability to work in the Enkhuizen office at least two days a week. 

• Familiarity with R&D, breeding, or research data is a plus, but not required.  

• Curiosity and willingness to learn the R&D domain is essential. 

Technologies you will work with:

• Azure 

• SQL 

• dbt 

• Databricks 

• Power BI 

• Git 

In this role, you will have a real impact on how R&D uses data to innovate and improve, enabling trusted datasets for reporting and decision-making.