Principal C# engineer

The challenge

Morphotonics builds industrial nanoimprint lithography machines: the technology behind augmented reality lenses, optical films for advanced consumer electronics, and next-generation AI device infrastructure. With around 50 people, a cleanroom and grey room on-site in Eindhoven, and operations spanning three continents, we're transitioning from scale-up to growth phase.

Our software is what turns precision hardware into a production platform: recipe management that configures runs, real-time dashboards that show operators exactly what every machine is doing, production logging that feeds back into process optimization, and an OPC-UA communication layer that orchestrates it all through PLC controllers.

We're rebuilding our software team and looking for a principal-level C# engineer who still writes code every day but thinks architecturally. Someone who walks over to a business developer's desk to understand what the customer needs, rather than waiting for a specification document to appear. If you've worked in consulting and miss the technical depth, or you're in a product company and want more stakeholder impact, this might be your role.

What you'll build and achieve

* Own the software architecture for our machine control platform. C# / .NET with Blazor-based dashboards served over a local network, communicating with PLCs through OPC-UA, with ACS motion control and EtherCAT driving the hardware.

* Build the production interface that operators and customers use daily: recipe creation and parameter management, real-time machine monitoring, status dashboards, and production result logging.

* Bridge V-model and Agile. Our machines are designed following the V-model (requirements → design → build → test → validate), and you'll bring Scrum practices to the software team while defining how both methodologies coexist in a multidisciplinary engineering environment.

* Drive product direction by proactively engaging with business development, account managers, product managers, and customers, translating their needs into software architecture decisions and effort estimations.

* Shape the future roadmap: remote software updates (cloud/IoT), AI-assisted production optimization, and scaling the platform across three product lines: Portis (proven), Aurora (fully automated, launched last year), and Cypris (next-gen, arriving Q3)

* Set the technical standard. As principal engineer, you'll mentor the team, lead code reviews, and establish engineering practices. This could evolve into a formal technical team lead role as per mutual agreement on this path.

Technical environment

* Primary stack: C# / .NET, Blazor (web-based HMI / dashboards)

* Communication: OPC-UA for machine and PLC interaction

* Motion & control: ACS motion control, EtherCAT

* Hardware context: Industrial nanoimprint lithography systems with PLC controllers, cleanroom assembly, international shipping, and on-site installation

* Methodology: V-model for system-level design, Agile/Scrum for software development

* Quality: Test-driven development, code reviews, architecture ownership

* Team: ~10 engineers total (system, mechanical, software). Software sub-team: currently 2 C# engineers + 1 PLC engineer, growing with this hire.

* Future: Cloud infrastructure for remote device updates, AI/ML exploration for production optimization

What you bring

* Deep C# / .NET expertise. You've architected and shipped production software, not just contributed to it.

* Experience building industrial or embedded-adjacent applications. You understand what happens inside a machine and can interpret the data coming out of it

* OPC-UA, or equivalent experience connecting software to hardware systems through communication protocols

* Blazor for building web-based interactive user interfaces and dashboards

* A proactive, consultancy-style mindset. You seek stakeholders, define requirements yourself, and own the outcome rather than waiting for specifications.

* Comfort working across disciplines with mechanical engineers, system engineers, and PLC programmers in a structured V-model environment

* Understanding of physical processes that happen inside a machine, and working actively with process development engineers to get the system to do what they desire

* Experience planning and estimating software work within multidisciplinary high-tech projects. You can translate scrum planning to actionable commitments.

* Strong understanding of mechatronics systems and how control software interacts with physical hardware

Nice to have

* Direct experience with ACS motion control or EtherCAT implementation

* Background in nanoimprint lithography, semiconductor equipment, additive manufacturing, or precision machinery

* Experience with systems integration: bringing software, hardware, and control systems together into a working whole

* Field service experience. You've supported and debugged systems at customer sites

* Cloud/IoT experience, particularly remote device management and over-the-air updates

* Interest in applying AI/ML to industrial process optimization and to software code generation

Growth and development

This is a greenfield influence opportunity. You're joining instantly where three product lines need software support at different maturity stages: Portis is the proven workhorse, Aurora launched last year, and Cypris is in active co-development. Each brings unique software challenges, and you'll have architectural influence over all three.

The roadmap includes cloud-based remote updates, AI-driven production optimization, and scaling from a handful of field installations to a global fleet. If you want to grow from principal engineer toward software architect or technical team lead, the trajectory is real. This is a scale-up where roles evolve with the people who fill them.

You'll work from a brand-new office in Eindhoven with dedicated collaboration spaces, alongside the machines your software controls.

Practical details

* Location: Eindhoven, Netherlands. Spacious, brand-new office with on-site cleanroom and grey room where you'll see your software drive real machines

* Contract: Permanent opportunity, starting with an initial contract, transitioning based on mutual fit

* Time off: Generous vacation package well above the Dutch standard, plus all national holidays

* Benefits: Competitive pension scheme, commuting compensation (including a cycling program), and phone allowance

* Travel: ~10% international, supporting installations and field systems at customer sites

* Language: Dutch-speaking team, English equally welcome and used daily

* Start: In consultation

Recruitment process:

1. Recruiter screening with Jonathan (recruiter, online)

2. Interview with Ard (Head of Systems Development, onsite)

3. Technical interview with peer (online)

4. Final conversation with Bram (co-founder and Chief Development Officer, onsite)

Why Morphotonics?

Most C# roles are CRUD applications and REST APIs. This one controls machines that print the optical films going into AR glasses and next-gen consumer devices, literally the infrastructure behind the next technology wave. You'll write software that operators rely on every day, that talks to PLCs in real time, and that directly impacts whether a customer's production line runs or stops.

The company operates in a niche with few competitors, strong commercial traction, and a team of long-tenured colleagues who genuinely love what they're building. Walk into the cleanroom and watch your code drive a machine. That's the kind of tangible impact we're talking about.

Interested? Reach out or apply directly. We move fast and respect your time.