DESOTEC is an international environmental services company helping to protect the planet with sustainable mobile filtration solutions for liquids and gases.
We have approximately 450 employees, united in Generation D, who are all committed to protecting the planet by promoting positive ecological changes across all sectors. Since 2026, DESOTEC has been part of EQT, an international Swedish investment group.
R&D Project Lead
BE, Roeselare - HQ
Full-time
Permanent employee
Who is DESOTEC?
Your tasks & responsibilities?
As an R&D Project Lead, you will play a key role in innovative projects that have a direct impact on our products, internal processes, customers, and strategy. Thanks to the wide variety of projects, you will have the opportunity to turn ideas into practical applications with a tangible environmental impact.
- You develop and improve products
You work on the development and validation of sustainable, high-performance solutions for a wide range of environmental challenges. This includes applications such as biogas purification, PFAS and VOC removal, odor control, soil remediation, and wastewater treatment. - You translate ideas into R&D strategies
Together with your colleagues, you transform innovative ideas into tangible R&D projects that contribute to DESOTEC’s growth and sustainability ambitions. - You manage and coordinate impactful R&D projects
You take ownership of R&D projects from concept to implementation. You create clear project plans, monitor priorities, deadlines, and milestones, and proactively identify technical risks, dependencies, and bottlenecks. As the central point of contact, you collaborate with the R&D team, colleagues from other departments, and external partners to successfully deliver projects that support DESOTEC’s objectives. - You connect R&D with the wider organization
You ensure that research projects are aligned with the broader business strategy and communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders. You translate complex technical insights into clear, relevant information tailored to your audience. Rather than waiting for input, you proactively engage stakeholders and bring the right people together to drive projects forward. - You represent DESOTEC as a subject matter expert
You help showcase DESOTEC’s expertise through presentations, customer visits, webinars, and technical information sheets. Together with your team, you share knowledge, inspire stakeholders, and contribute to building strong relationships with customers and partners. - You stay up to date with technological trends
You are curious about emerging and competing technologies and continuously assess their relevance and potential applications for our business.
Who are you?
You are a driven professional with a passion for innovation and environmental technology. You combine strong analytical skills with a structured approach and enjoy taking ownership of your work. Through clear communication and natural leadership, you are able to engage colleagues, stakeholders, and partners in complex projects and innovative ideas.
- You hold a Master’s degree in a scientific or technical field and have at least 3–5 years of relevant experience in R&D, innovation projects, or environmental technology.
- Experience in environmental technology, water or air treatment, adsorption technology, analytical chemistry, or a related technical field is considered a strong asset.
- You are fluent in Dutch and English; additional languages are a plus.
- You combine a hands-on mentality with a strong eagerness to learn and a natural curiosity.
- You take initiative, bring structure to your work, and are comfortable taking responsibility.
- You thrive in a coordinating role and collaborate effectively with colleagues, stakeholders, and external partners.
- You have strong analytical skills while keeping the practical, operational, and economic impact of your decisions in mind.
- You are highly data-driven and comfortable working with data. You can extract valuable insights from research results and datasets and translate them into well-founded recommendations. Strong proficiency in Excel is essential.
- You are willing to travel occasionally within Europe (approximately once every 2–3 months) for conferences, customer visits, and meetings with research and technology partners.
What's in it for you?
It goes without saying that you get a lot in return in exchange for your unbridled dedication and enthusiasm:
A competitive salary – We guarantee you a competitive base salary, depending on your experience.
Fringe benefits – To optimize your salary package, you can count on a smartphone with a mobile subscription, a generous net expense reimbursement, meal vouchers, group and hospitalization insurance (AG Insurance), a non-recurrent CAO90 bonus, two annual gross bonuses.
Flex Income Plan – You can convert part of your end-of-year bonus into benefits that suit your lifestyle, such as extra leave, multimedia, or a lease bike. This gives you the freedom to take control of your reward package and personalize it in a way that truly works for you, all within the applicable legal framework.
Work-life-balance / hybrid working – You work during flexible hours.
Time off to schedule freely – At DESOTEC there is no collective closure. You enjoy 29 paid vacation days and have the freedom to take 10 unpaid vacation days on top of that. This way you can increase your number of vacation days to 39 days!
Personal & professional growth – You will have every opportunity to immerse yourself in your new role, but also to grow personally and professionally through an extensive range of training courses.
Stay active & social – As an employee with a permanent contract, you can enjoy one free group sport lesson/activity per week at the Vision 21 gym in Roeselare, including activities like boxing, pilates, spinning, padel and more.
Discounts through partnerships – Through Benefits at Work you get discounts at Center Parcs, Zalando, bol.com, Krëfel, Decathlon and many more.
Fun and relaxation – You will regularly be invited to one of the many afterworks and other fun activities. Each team also gets a team building budget – it's up to you how you spend it!
Structured onboarding – We prepare a tailored onboarding plan for every new starter, ensuring a smooth integration into your team, tools, and DESOTEC’s mission from day one.
About us
Our purpose and mission?
At DESOTEC, we are committed to building a cleaner, greener world for all. We strive to helping protect the planet by driving positive ecological change across all industries. Witness our mission with your own eyes in the DESOTEC purpose movie.Curious to find out more about your potential future employer? Check out www.desotec.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram via @desotec.
Get to Know Us!
Curious about who we are and what it's like to work with us?
Watch our company video to discover our culture, meet the team, and see what makes our workplace unique.