Graduation Assignment - Wind Modelling of an SSCV

• A challenging and meaningful assignment aligned with your study goals;
• Guidance from senior engineers and project leads; (and vessel crew?)
• An innovative work environment with access to cutting-edge tools and infrastructure;
• A monthly internship allowance;
• Opportunities for future career steps within our company (internship as a stepping stone).

Are you a final-year student with a passion for offshore engineering and looking for a graduation assignment that makes real impact? Join us and become part of a team that works on complex and large-scale offshore projects within one of our engineering disciplines. Kick-start your career with a graduation project in the heart of Marine and innovation Engineering. As a graduation student, you'll dive into a challenging assignment that contributes directly to our operations, innovation efforts, or future developments. You'll be guided by experienced engineers and exposed to the practical world of offshore engineering, from concept development to project execution.

• Data analysis of available data to find out validity of wind coefficients for vessel and cranes in different configurations.
• Effect of alternative wind sensors
• Effect a dynamic wind model on vessel performance

What's the challenge
For critical offshore operations, such as monopile installation with a Motion Compensated Gripper Frame (MCGF)-the vessel's DP footprint (horizontal position variation while on DP) is a key limiting factor, because excursions must remain within allowable operational margins. Reducing these excursions directly leads to an extended offshore operational window.

Wind is a major contribution to the disturbing forces on a SSCV. Measured wind is directly fed forward into the vessel DP system as a force via a pre determined wind coefficient. This wind coefficient is far from static as the vessel can change draft, has 2 big cranes which can have any orientation and there might be other effects we are not aware of. Your mission is to investigate the validity of these coefficients and wind model and access potential improvements.

• Exposure to real offshore engineering problems where DP behavior matters for safety and operational performance.
• Knowledge of DP performance concepts, filtering/estimation framing, and simulation context (Heerema Simulation Center)
• Experience in how theoretical control theory connects to real world applications.

• Field of study: BSc or MSc (WO/HBO) in Mechanical, Maritime, Aerospace, Electrical/Controls, Data/Systems, or Civil Engineering
• Interest in: offshore operations, vessel motion & control, sustainability/efficiency, marine data analysis
• Technical skills: Python for data analysis; affinity with statistics, signal processing, or controls.
• Language: English required, Dutch is a plus
• Independent, analytical, and curious mindset

Start date: September 2026, flexible upon agreement

Duration: 6-9 months

Location: Leiden office / on-site + optional offshore exposure if relevant/possible

We are looking forward to hearing from you. We are interested in your CV, but we mainly want to find out more about your ambitions, your personality, and what is your motivation to succeed. So be sure to include a brief cover letter explaining why you are the perfect fit for this graduation assignment.

So hit the button, apply, and make the impossible possible with Heerema. We'd love to meet you!

Graduation Assignment - Wind Modelling

Location: Leiden
Weekly standard hours: 40.00
Department: Engineering
Seniority Level: Entry/Junior
Job Requisition ID: 884