UX Designer Robotics

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Designer Robotics

Company: Lely

Location: Maassluis, South Holland, Netherlands

Job Type: Full-time

Category: User Experience (UX) Design, Product Design, Robotics Technology

Date Posted: January 28, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Level (2-5 years)

Remote Status: Hybrid (60-100% in office)

🚀 Role Summary

• Design and shape the future of farming through innovative user experiences for farmers interacting with advanced robotics and data systems.

• Collaborate with a global, multidisciplinary UX team to create a unified and intuitive user journey across all Lely robotic applications and interfaces.

• Drive the conceptualization and development of human-robot interaction, focusing on seamless integration of user needs, robotic capabilities, and data insights.

• Translate strategic vision into concrete design concepts, compelling visuals, and interactive prototypes that enhance the farmer's daily operations and overall experience.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role explicitly seeks a candidate who is both a "maker and a thinker," indicating a need for strong conceptual design skills combined with the ability to execute and produce tangible design artifacts. The emphasis on "beyond screens" suggests a holistic approach to user experience, encompassing physical interaction and the broader farm ecosystem.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and refine user interfaces (UI) and user experiences (UX) for Lely's robotic systems, ensuring consistency and usability across all platforms (app, display, etc.).

• Lead the design process from ideation to prototype, translating complex agricultural needs and robotic functionalities into user-friendly solutions.

• Conduct user research and analysis to deeply understand farmer needs, pain points, and workflows, informing design decisions.

• Champion a user-centered design approach within a multidisciplinary and Agile development environment, fostering collaboration between designers, researchers, and engineers.

• Design and visualize interactions and user flows that optimize the collaboration between farmers, robots, and data, contributing to the next generation of farm automation.

• Present design concepts, prototypes, and research findings effectively to internal stakeholders, including management and development teams, to gain buy-in and drive adoption.

• Contribute to the development and maintenance of design systems to ensure brand consistency and efficient design practices across Lely's product portfolio.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities extend beyond traditional UI/UX design to encompass broader product strategy and human-robot interaction design. The role requires active participation in Agile workflows and close collaboration with global teams, emphasizing the need for strong communication and adaptability.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design (UX, UI, Product, Interaction), Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field is highly beneficial. Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Experience: Minimum of 2-5 years of professional experience in UX/UI or Product Design, with a proven track record of delivering user-centered design solutions. Experience in a hybrid work environment is expected.

Required Skills:

• Proven experience in UX/UI design, with a strong portfolio showcasing conceptual thinking and creative problem-solving.

• Ability to transition seamlessly between strategic thinking, concept development, and detailed design execution.

• Excellent presentation and communication skills, with the ability to articulate design rationale and influence stakeholders.

• Experience working effectively within multidisciplinary teams and Agile development methodologies.

• Strong understanding of user-centered design principles and their application in product development.

• Proficiency in design and prototyping tools (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, InVision).

Preferred Skills:

• Affinity with data, robotics, agriculture, or related technological fields.

• Experience with design systems and/or service design methodologies.

• Strong visualization skills, from initial sketching to creating interactive prototypes.

• Experience in human-robot interaction (HRI) design.

• Familiarity with user research methodologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a "conceptual, creative mindset" and the ability to "switch between strategy, concept, and detail" suggests that candidates with a strong design thinking foundation and a broad skillset will be highly valued. The "Pre's" highlight areas where candidates can differentiate themselves, particularly with domain-specific knowledge.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A curated portfolio demonstrating a range of UX/UI design projects, showcasing your process from problem definition to final solution.

• Case studies that highlight your ability to translate complex requirements into intuitive and effective user experiences.

• Examples of how you've incorporated user feedback and data into your design iterations.

• Visualizations and prototypes that clearly articulate your design concepts and interaction flows.

Process Documentation:

• Showcase your design process, including user research, ideation techniques, wireframing, prototyping, and user testing.

• Illustrate how you approach problem-solving and strategic thinking in design challenges.

• Document your experience collaborating with cross-functional teams (developers, product managers, researchers) to bring designs to life.

• Provide examples of how you've measured the success of your designs and iterated based on performance metrics.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role demands more than just aesthetic design; it requires a strategic approach to user experience that can be clearly articulated through a portfolio. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their design process in detail and demonstrate how their work has directly impacted user engagement and business objectives.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: A starting salary of at least €4,800 gross per month, depending on knowledge and experience.

Benefits:

• Good working conditions.

• 27 vacation days per year.

• 13 ADV (Arbeidsduurverkorting - reduction of working hours) days per year.

• Training budget available for professional development.

• Ample growth opportunities within the company.

• Access to on-campus facilities: Padel, sports classes, fitness, and a barista.

Working Hours: 32-40 hours per week. A hybrid work model is in place, requiring 60-100% of working time to be spent at the office. There is no option for 100% remote work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided starting salary of €4,800 gross per month sets a clear benchmark. The inclusion of ADV days is a common benefit in the Netherlands that translates to additional paid time off. The hybrid policy is specific, requiring significant in-office presence. Salary estimates for experienced UX Designers in the Netherlands typically range from €4,000 to €6,500+ per month depending on seniority and specific skills. For Maassluis, this range is competitive.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Agricultural Technology (AgriTech), Robotics, Sustainable Technology, Food Production. Lely is a global leader in automated milking systems and other robotic solutions for dairy farms, focused on combining technology with agricultural knowledge.

Company Size: Approximately 2,500 employees globally, with a significant presence across 40+ countries. The UX team alone comprises 15 designers and researchers.

Founded: 75 years ago, originating from Maassluis, Netherlands. This long history signifies stability and deep expertise in the agricultural sector, while its current innovative drive positions it at the forefront of technological advancement.

Team Structure:

• The UX team is part of a larger innovation and development structure, consisting of approximately 15 designers and researchers.

• This team collaborates closely with product management, engineering, and other cross-functional departments.

Methodology:

• Lely operates with an Agile working methodology, emphasizing iterative development and cross-functional collaboration.

• The company fosters a culture of innovation, encouraging experimentation and the exploration of new ideas in robotics and data integration.

• A strong emphasis is placed on user-centered design, ensuring that technological advancements directly address the needs and workflows of dairy farmers.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Lely's culture is a blend of deep-rooted agricultural expertise and cutting-edge technological innovation. The company's commitment to sustainability and improving the lives of farmers is a key cultural driver. The substantial size of the UX team suggests a mature design practice within the organization.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned at a mid-level (2-5 years of experience), requiring a blend of hands-on design execution and conceptual ideation. It's an opportunity to move beyond purely tactical design execution into more strategic product thinking and interaction design.

Reporting Structure: The UX Designer will likely report to a UX Lead or Manager within the dedicated UX team. This team operates within the broader product development or engineering organization, collaborating extensively with product managers and software engineers.

Operations Impact: The work directly influences the efficiency, profitability, and sustainability of dairy farms worldwide. By designing intuitive interfaces and seamless human-robot interactions, the UX Designer contributes to Lely's mission of making farming easier, more enjoyable, and more sustainable. This role has a tangible impact on the global food supply chain.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in areas like human-robot interaction, service design, or specific agricultural technology applications.

• Leadership: Progress to a Senior UX Designer or Lead UX Designer role, mentoring junior team members and taking ownership of larger design initiatives.

• Cross-functional Mobility: Transition into related roles such as Product Management, UX Research, or even roles focused on agricultural technology strategy.

• Continuous Learning: Access to training budgets and opportunities for professional development, including industry conferences and workshops, to stay at the forefront of UX and robotics design.

📝 Enhancement Note: Lely's commitment to growth is evident through its training budget and emphasis on career development. The scale of the company and its innovation focus provide numerous avenues for career advancement, from deepening technical expertise to moving into leadership or strategic roles.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The job is based at the Lely Campus in Maassluis, Netherlands, described as a highly sustainable building. It's likely a modern, collaborative office space designed to foster innovation and teamwork.

Office Location(s): Cornelis van der Lelylaan 1, 3147 PB Maassluis, South Holland, Netherlands.

Workspace Context:

• The hybrid work model (60-100% in office) implies a focus on in-person collaboration, team meetings, brainstorming sessions, and access to shared resources.

• The campus environment offers amenities like Padel courts, sports classes, fitness, and a barista, suggesting a focus on employee well-being and a vibrant work atmosphere.

• Expect a dynamic environment where interaction with diverse teams (designers, researchers, engineers, product managers) is frequent.

Work Schedule: The standard work week is 32-40 hours. Flexibility in organizing work is mentioned, but the hybrid requirement necessitates consistent presence at the office for a significant portion of the week. This structure is conducive to collaborative design sprints and regular team syncs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The Lely Campus is presented as a state-of-the-art facility promoting both productivity and employee well-being. The hybrid model is designed to balance focused individual work with the benefits of in-person team collaboration, crucial for design-centric roles.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of CV and portfolio to assess qualifications and alignment with the role's requirements.

• First Interview: Typically with HR or a hiring manager to discuss experience, motivation, and cultural fit. You may be asked about your approach to UX design and your understanding of Lely's mission.

• Portfolio Presentation & Design Challenge: A key stage will likely involve presenting your portfolio and walking through selected case studies. You may also be given a design challenge, either pre-interview or during a dedicated session, to assess your problem-solving skills, design process, and ability to think critically within the context of robotics and agriculture.

• Team Interviews: Interviews with members of the UX team and potentially cross-functional colleagues (e.g., product managers, engineers) to evaluate collaboration skills and technical fit.

• Final Interview: May involve senior management to discuss strategic alignment and long-term potential.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 of your strongest projects that best showcase your UX process, problem-solving abilities, and impact, ideally with relevance to technology, complex systems, or user-centric problem-solving.

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process you followed, the challenges you encountered, your solutions, and the quantifiable outcomes or learnings.

• Highlight Process: Detail your steps: user research, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, testing, and iteration. Emphasize why you made specific design decisions.

• Showcase Visuals & Prototypes: Include high-fidelity mockups, interactive prototypes, and any relevant visual assets.

• Address "Beyond Screens": If possible, include projects that demonstrate thinking about the broader user experience, not just digital interfaces, especially if they relate to physical products or complex interactions.

• Be Prepared for Questions: Anticipate deep dives into your design choices, your collaboration style, and how you handle feedback.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Research Lely's products, their target users (dairy farmers), and the challenges in the AgriTech industry. Consider how technology impacts farm operations.

• Focus on Process: For any design challenge, prioritize demonstrating a clear, user-centered design process over delivering a perfect, polished final product.

• Think Holistically: Consider the entire user journey, not just the immediate UI. How does the solution integrate with existing farm workflows and other Lely systems?

• Practice Articulation: Be ready to clearly explain your thought process, assumptions, and design rationale under time pressure.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to assess not only design skills but also strategic thinking, problem-solving capabilities, and the ability to integrate into a collaborative, innovation-driven environment. A strong, well-articulated portfolio is crucial for success.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator), InVision are likely core tools for UI design, wireframing, and prototyping.

• Collaboration & Project Management: Tools like Jira, Confluence, and Slack are common in Agile environments for team communication and task tracking.

• User Research: Tools for surveys (e.g., SurveyMonkey, Typeform), user testing platforms (e.g., UserTesting.com), and potentially specialized tools for qualitative data analysis.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not a primary UX tool, understanding how to interpret data from analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Amplitude) or custom dashboards used by Lely can inform design decisions and demonstrate impact.

CRM & Automation:

• Lely likely uses internal systems for customer management and potentially workflow automation, but direct experience with these is less critical for a UX Designer than proficiency in core design software. Familiarity with how CRM data might inform user needs could be a plus.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in industry-standard design and prototyping tools is essential. The company's commitment to innovation suggests they may also leverage cutting-edge tools for collaboration and user research. Candidates should be comfortable working with a digital toolkit that supports rapid iteration and cross-functional teamwork.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Sustainability: A core value driving Lely's mission to create sustainable and profitable farming solutions for the future.

• Innovation: A continuous drive to develop new technologies and solutions that revolutionize agriculture.

• Collaboration: A strong emphasis on teamwork, both within the UX team and across multidisciplinary departments globally.

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and serving the needs of dairy farmers, making their lives easier and more productive.

• Impact: A desire to make a tangible difference in the world, contributing to global food security and animal welfare through technology.

Collaboration Style:

• Agile & Iterative: Work is conducted in a fast-paced, iterative manner, with regular feedback loops and cross-functional input.

• Open Communication: The environment encourages open dialogue, sharing of ideas, and constructive feedback among team members and stakeholders.

• Global Connectivity: Collaboration extends across international borders, requiring adaptability and effective communication with diverse teams.

• Design Reviews: Regular design critique sessions are likely held to ensure quality, consistency, and alignment with project goals.

📝 Enhancement Note: Lely's values are deeply intertwined with its mission in AgriTech. Candidates who align with these values—particularly sustainability, innovation, and a user-focused approach—will find a strong cultural fit. The collaborative style is essential for success in a global, multidisciplinary organization.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Bridging Physical and Digital: Designing for complex physical robotic systems that interact with dynamic biological environments (cows, farm operations) presents unique UX challenges compared to purely digital products.

• Global Consistency vs. Local Needs: Balancing the need for a unified global user experience with potential regional variations in farming practices or user preferences.

• Rapid Technological Evolution: Keeping pace with advancements in robotics, AI, and data analytics to ensure Lely's solutions remain cutting-edge and user-friendly.

• Communicating Complex Concepts: Effectively translating sophisticated technological capabilities into easily understandable and actionable user interfaces.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Specialized Training: Access to a training budget allows for focused development in areas like advanced prototyping, service design, human-robot interaction, or agricultural technology.

• Industry Exposure: Opportunities to attend relevant conferences, workshops, and potentially engage with agricultural experts to deepen domain knowledge.

• Mentorship: Potential for mentorship from senior designers or leaders within the large UX team, fostering skill development and career guidance.

• Project Diversity: Exposure to a wide range of projects across Lely's product portfolio, offering varied design challenges and learning experiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges inherent in this role offer significant opportunities for professional growth. By tackling complex problems in a rapidly evolving field, designers can develop highly specialized and in-demand skills.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a complex product you've designed. What were the key challenges, and how did you address them from a UX perspective?" (Focus on your process, decision-making, and problem-solving).

• "How would you approach designing an interface for a robot that needs to interact with live animals? What are the unique considerations?" (Tests your ability to think beyond standard UI and consider physical/biological elements).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Lely's mission and our work in AgriTech?" (Show research and genuine interest).

• "How do you see your role contributing to a more sustainable future in agriculture?" (Connects your work to company values).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Select Impactful Projects: Choose 2-3 projects that best demonstrate your UX process, problem-solving, and impact. Prioritize those showing complex system design or innovative solutions.

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, clearly outline the problem, your role, the process, key decisions, challenges, solutions, and outcomes (quantifiable if possible).

• Emphasize Process Over Polish: While visuals are important, focus on explaining why you made certain design choices and how you iterated based on feedback and research.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your design rationale, tool usage, and how you handled specific constraints or feedback.

• Showcase "Beyond Screens": If you have projects that demonstrate holistic experience design, highlight them, as this role emphasizes human-robot interaction beyond just interfaces.

📝 Enhancement Note: Prepare to articulate your design process meticulously and demonstrate how you apply user-centered thinking to solve real-world problems, especially those involving complex technology and physical interactions. Demonstrating an understanding of Lely's mission and the agricultural context will be highly beneficial.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX Designer Robotics position at Lely:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Lely careers portal.

• Customize Your Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight relevant experience in UX/UI design, product design, working with complex systems, Agile methodologies, and any affinity with robotics, data, or agriculture. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare Your Portfolio: Ensure your portfolio is up-to-date, well-organized, and showcases 2-3 strong case studies that exemplify your design process, problem-solving skills, and impact. Be ready to present and discuss these in detail.

• Research Lely: Thoroughly understand Lely's mission, products, and values. Familiarize yourself with their approach to technology and sustainability in agriculture.

• Practice Your Pitch: Rehearse your answers to common interview questions, focusing on demonstrating your conceptual thinking, collaboration skills, and passion for user-centered design within the context of AgriTech.

⚠️ 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.