UX Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Designer Company: Lely Location: Maassluis, South Holland, Netherlands Job Type: Full-time Category: Design & User Experience Operations

Date Posted: November 7, 2025 Experience Level: Mid-Level (2-5 years) Remote Status: Hybrid (60-100% in-office)

🚀 Role Summary

• This role is pivotal in shaping the user experience of Lely's robotic systems, focusing on creating intuitive and engaging interactions for farmers.
• The UX Designer will collaborate with global, multidisciplinary teams to ensure a cohesive and user-friendly experience across all touchpoints, from mobile applications to on-robot displays.
• Beyond screen design, the position requires a forward-thinking approach to conceptualize how humans, robots, and data integrate seamlessly within the farming ecosystem.
• The core objective is to design not just interfaces, but the overall interaction and user journey, contributing to the next generation of farmer-robot collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is categorized under Design & User Experience Operations due to its focus on designing and optimizing user workflows and interactions within a technology-driven operational environment. The emphasis on farmer-robot collaboration and data integration highlights its operational impact in the agricultural technology sector.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design and develop intuitive, user-centered interfaces for Lely's robotic systems, ensuring a consistent and positive user experience for farmers worldwide.
• Collaborate closely with a global UX team, including researchers, designers, and developers, to translate user needs and business objectives into tangible design solutions.
• Conceptualize and prototype new interaction models that enhance the synergy between farmers, robots, and data within agricultural operations.
• Drive the design process from initial concept and strategy through to detailed visual design and interactive prototypes, ensuring high-quality execution.
• Present design concepts, research findings, and strategic recommendations persuasively to cross-functional teams and key stakeholders, fostering buy-in and alignment.
• Contribute to the evolution of Lely's design systems and service design principles, promoting consistency and scalability across product offerings.
• Actively participate in Agile development cycles, providing design expertise and support throughout the sprint process.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a blend of creative design execution and strategic thinking, aligning with the operational needs of a technology company focused on optimizing user workflows and product adoption in a demanding industry.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or a related field is typically expected for a role of this nature. Experience: Minimum of 2-5 years of professional experience in UX, UI, or Product Design, with a proven track record of delivering successful digital products.

Required Skills:

• Demonstrated experience in UX/UI design, with a strong portfolio showcasing a conceptual and creative design approach.
• Ability to translate complex ideas into clear, actionable design strategies and detailed deliverables.
• Proven experience presenting design concepts and rationale effectively to diverse audiences, including technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience working within multidisciplinary teams and familiarity with Agile development methodologies.
• Strong user-centric mindset, with the ability to empathize with end-users and advocate for their needs.
• Proficiency in translating user needs and business requirements into compelling design solutions.

Preferred Skills:

• Affinity or experience with data analysis, robotics, or the agricultural industry.
• Experience with established design systems and a strong understanding of their principles and application.
• Expertise in service design methodologies and their application to complex user journeys.
• Strong visualization skills, capable of creating compelling sketches, wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Pre's" section in the original listing directly translates to preferred skills, highlighting areas that would make a candidate stand out. The emphasis on conceptual thinking and presentation skills is crucial for operations roles that require influence and strategic alignment.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a range of UX/UI design projects that demonstrate a conceptual and creative mindset.
• Include case studies that illustrate your ability to transition between strategic thinking, concept development, and detailed execution.
• Provide examples of how you've translated user needs and business objectives into tangible design solutions, effectively communicating the problem, your process, and the outcome.
• Demonstrate experience with prototyping tools and the ability to create interactive prototypes.
• Highlight projects where you've collaborated effectively within multidisciplinary teams and Agile environments.

Process Documentation:

• Be prepared to discuss your design process, from user research and ideation to wireframing, prototyping, and user testing.
• Articulate how you approach understanding complex user workflows and identifying opportunities for improvement within operational contexts.
• Explain how you leverage user feedback and data to iterate on designs and drive product enhancements.

📝 Enhancement Note: For operations-focused roles, a portfolio should not just display finished work but also the strategic thinking and process behind it. Lely's emphasis on farmer-robot interaction and data suggests a need to see how candidates approach system design and user adoption in a technical environment.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: A starting salary of at least €4,800 gross per month is offered, with the final amount dependent on knowledge and experience. Based on typical Dutch salary benchmarks for mid-level UX Designers in the tech/robotics sector and considering the stated starting salary, the estimated annual salary range would be approximately €60,000 - €75,000.

Benefits:

• Good working conditions.
• 27 vacation days and 13 ADV (Arbeidsduurverkorting - reduction of working hours) days.
• Training budget available for professional development.
• Ample growth opportunities within the company.
• Access to Lely Campus facilities: Padel, fitness classes, gym, and a barista.

Working Hours: 32-40 hours per week. The role requires 60-100% presence at the office, with no possibility for fully remote work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on the provided starting point and general market data for similar roles in the Netherlands. The benefits package reflects a comprehensive offering common in European tech companies, with specific perks related to employee well-being and professional growth.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Agritech and Robotics. Lely is a global leader in automated systems for dairy farmers, combining advanced robotics, data analytics, and agricultural expertise to promote sustainable and profitable farming. Company Size: Over 2,500 employees globally. This large size indicates a mature organization with established processes, a significant global reach, and opportunities for cross-departmental collaboration. Founded: 75 years ago. This long history suggests stability, deep industry knowledge, and a strong foundation for innovation.

Team Structure:

• The UX team at Lely comprises approximately 15 designers and researchers, indicating a dedicated and substantial design function.
• The UX Designer will work within this team, collaborating with peers and stakeholders across various departments, including engineering, product management, and potentially field operations.
• Reporting structure is likely to be within a product or engineering division, with a direct manager overseeing the UX team.

Methodology:

• Lely emphasizes combining robotics, engineering, and farming knowledge to drive agricultural revolutions.
• The company operates with a focus on sustainability, aiming to make dairy farming more efficient and appealing for future generations.
• The UX team actively uses Agile methodologies, working with developers to create user-friendly experiences.

Company Website: https://www.lely.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Lely's long history and commitment to innovation in a critical sector like agriculture provide a unique context for a UX Designer. The company culture appears to value forward-thinking, sustainability, and a blend of technological advancement with practical farming needs.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned at a mid-level, requiring 2-5 years of experience. It offers a significant opportunity to influence product design and user experience within a specialized, high-impact industry. The role is not just about executing designs but also about contributing to strategy and conceptualization. Reporting Structure: The UX Designer will report to a manager within the UX team, which is part of a larger product or engineering organization. This structure allows for mentorship from senior designers and exposure to broader product development initiatives. Operations Impact: The UX Designer's work directly impacts the operational efficiency and profitability of dairy farms by making complex robotic systems easier to use and manage. By improving the farmer's interaction with technology, this role contributes to Lely's mission of sustainable food production and farmer well-being.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Advancement: Deepen expertise in UX/UI design, service design, and interaction design, potentially specializing in areas like data visualization or robot interaction.
• Leadership Potential: Progress to senior designer or team lead roles within the UX team, mentoring junior designers and leading design initiatives.
• Industry Specialization: Develop deep knowledge of the agritech and robotics sectors, becoming a subject matter expert in farmer-robot interaction.
• Cross-functional Mobility: Opportunities to move into product management, research, or strategy roles leveraging design thinking and user understanding.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth trajectory for a UX Designer at Lely involves not only advancing design skills but also gaining specialized industry knowledge, which can lead to unique career paths within agritech.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is based at the Lely Campus in Maassluis, Netherlands, described as a highly sustainable building. The work environment is expected to be modern, collaborative, and technologically advanced. Office Location(s): The primary location is the Lely Campus at Cornelis van der Lelylaan 1, 3147 PB Maassluis, Netherlands. This is the company's headquarters.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The UX team, with 15 members, fosters a collaborative atmosphere. The hybrid work model (60-100% in-office) ensures ample opportunity for in-person teamwork, brainstorming, and knowledge sharing.
• Tools & Technology: Access to modern design tools is implied, supporting the creation of concepts, visuals, and prototypes. The company's focus on robotics and data suggests a tech-forward environment.
• Team Interaction: Regular interaction with designers, researchers, developers, and potentially product managers is a key aspect of the workspace, facilitating a shared understanding and iterative design process.

Work Schedule: The standard work week is 32-40 hours. The hybrid model offers some flexibility in how days are structured, but requires significant in-office presence, allowing for structured work on user research, design sprints, and team collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on office presence (60-100%) indicates a preference for in-person collaboration, which is common for roles requiring intensive teamwork and creative ideation. The sustainable campus environment is also a notable aspect.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: HR or recruiter will likely conduct an initial call to assess basic qualifications, interest, and cultural fit.
• Portfolio Presentation: A key stage will involve presenting your design portfolio to the hiring manager and/or senior members of the UX team. Be prepared to walk through 2-3 relevant projects, detailing your process, challenges, and impact.
• Technical/Conceptual Interview: Expect discussions on UX principles, design thinking, interaction design, and how you approach specific design challenges relevant to Lely's products (e.g., farmer-robot interfaces, data visualization).
• Team/Cross-functional Interviews: You may meet with other designers, researchers, or developers to assess collaboration style and technical understanding.
• Final Interview: Potentially with a director or senior leader to discuss overall fit, career aspirations, and strategic alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select projects that best showcase your conceptual thinking, problem-solving skills, and ability to handle complex interactions, especially in technical or operational contexts.
• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your design process, the rationale behind your decisions, and the measurable outcomes or impact.
• Highlight Process Over Polish: While visual quality is important, emphasize your iterative process, user research integration, and how you adapted to challenges.
• Showcase Hybrid Skills: Include examples that demonstrate your ability to bridge the gap between strategy, concept, and detailed execution, as well as your comfort with data and technical systems.
• Tailor to Lely: If possible, subtly weave in how your skills could benefit Lely's specific mission in agritech.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Exercise: You might be given a short design challenge to complete within a timeframe, focusing on a specific aspect of farmer-robot interaction or data management.
• Problem-Solving Scenarios: Prepare to discuss how you would approach designing for users who may have varying levels of technical proficiency or specific operational constraints.
• Stakeholder Communication: Practice articulating design decisions and trade-offs clearly and concisely, as you'll need to influence various stakeholders.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will heavily weigh your ability to demonstrate a robust design process and conceptual thinking, crucial for operations roles that require solving complex, real-world problems.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• UX/UI Design Software: Proficiency in industry-standard tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, or similar for wireframing, prototyping, and visual design.
• Prototyping Tools: Experience with tools like InVision, Axure, or built-in prototyping features in design software to create interactive mockups.
• Collaboration Tools: Familiarity with platforms like Jira, Confluence, Slack, or Microsoft Teams for project management and team communication.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not a primary analytics role, an understanding of how user data and analytics inform design decisions is beneficial. Experience with tools that track user behavior within applications could be an asset.

CRM & Automation:

• Experience with CRM systems is not directly mentioned but understanding how user interactions feed into broader customer relationship management can be advantageous. Automation tools relevant to design workflows (e.g., for design system management) may also be relevant.

📝 Enhancement Note: Lely's focus on robotics and data suggests that candidates with experience in designing for complex systems, potentially involving IoT devices or data-driven interfaces, will be highly valued. Familiarity with design systems is explicitly mentioned as a preference.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Innovation: A strong drive to develop new agricultural revolutions through robotics and data.
• Sustainability: Commitment to making dairy farming more efficient and appealing for future generations.
• User-Centricity: A focus on making the farmer's life easier, more enjoyable, and sustainable through design.
• Collaboration: Working together across global teams and disciplines to achieve common goals.
• Impact: Desire to make a tangible difference in the agricultural industry and global food production.

Collaboration Style:

• Global & Multidisciplinary: The UX team works with colleagues worldwide, requiring strong communication and cross-cultural awareness.
• Agile & Iterative: The team operates within Agile frameworks, emphasizing continuous feedback, iteration, and adaptation.
• Open & Creative: The description suggests an environment where new ideas are welcomed, and designers are encouraged to think beyond traditional screen design to shape overall interaction and experience.

📝 Enhancement Note: Lely's values are deeply intertwined with its mission. For operations professionals, understanding these values helps in aligning personal work ethic with the company's goals, particularly concerning innovation and sustainability in a critical industry.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Bridging Human-Robot-Data Gaps: Designing intuitive interfaces and interactions for complex robotic systems that integrate seamlessly with data streams for farmers with diverse technical backgrounds.
• Global Consistency: Ensuring a unified and user-friendly experience across different regions and cultural contexts for Lely's international customer base.
• Balancing Innovation with Usability: Pushing the boundaries of agritech while maintaining ease of use and operational efficiency for daily farming tasks.
• Data Integration & Visualization: Effectively designing how complex agricultural data is presented and actionable for farmers.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Design Skills: Opportunities to hone skills in interaction design, service design, and potentially immersive technologies as they relate to agriculture.
• Industry Expertise: Gain deep knowledge of the agritech sector, robotics, and sustainable farming practices.
• Cross-functional Exposure: Learn from engineers, researchers, and product managers, understanding the full product development lifecycle.
• Leadership Development: Potential to grow into senior or lead design roles, influencing product strategy and mentoring junior team members.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical for roles at the intersection of technology and specialized industries, offering significant learning opportunities for ambitious operations professionals.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design an interface for a complex system with multiple user types. How did you ensure usability and adoption?" (Focus on your process, user segmentation, and iterative design).
• "How would you approach designing the interaction between a farmer and a robot that performs autonomous tasks? What are the key considerations?" (Emphasize safety, feedback mechanisms, error handling, and farmer control).
• "Lely uses a lot of data in its systems. How would you design a dashboard or reporting feature that makes complex agricultural data easily understandable and actionable for a farmer?" (Discuss data hierarchy, visualization techniques, and user context).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you most about Lely's mission to revolutionize dairy farming?" (Connect your passion for design with their purpose).
• "How do you see your role contributing to a sustainable future in agriculture?" (Link your design impact to Lely's sustainability goals).
• "Describe your experience working in a hybrid environment and collaborating with global teams. What are your strategies for effective remote and in-office collaboration?" (Highlight your communication skills and adaptability).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, follow a clear story: Problem -> Your Role -> Process -> Solution -> Outcome/Impact.
• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use metrics (e.g., "increased user task completion by X%", "reduced error rates by Y%") to demonstrate the effectiveness of your designs.
• Showcase Process: Detail your research methods, ideation techniques, prototyping stages, and how user feedback informed your decisions.
• Highlight Collaboration: Mention how you worked with developers, product managers, and other stakeholders, showcasing your ability to integrate into multidisciplinary teams.
• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about specific design choices, trade-offs you made, and alternative solutions you considered.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparing answers that blend your design expertise with an understanding of Lely's specific industry and operational context will be key to a successful interview.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on SmartRecruiters.
• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight keywords from the job description such as "UX Design," "UI Design," "Product Design," "Agile," "multidisciplinary teams," and any experience with robotics, data, or agriculture. Quantify your achievements with metrics where possible.
• Prepare Your Portfolio: Ensure your portfolio is up-to-date, showcases your best work relevant to the role, and clearly articulates your design process and impact. Be ready to present specific case studies during the interview process.
• Research Lely: Familiarize yourself with Lely's products, mission, and values. Understand their impact on the agricultural industry and their commitment to sustainability and innovation.
• Practice Your Storytelling: Rehearse presenting your portfolio projects, focusing on clear communication, strategic thinking, and demonstrating how your skills align with Lely's operational needs and goals.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.