Power Electronic Engineer

Company Description

Do you relish the challenge of being part of a growing business, a team, an industry, and seeing the energy you help generate? Are you at your best when contributing to a range of projects and collaborating across teams to help inform, direct and support those around you in solving the problems of the future?

Within CSA Catapult, we look beyond the status quo. We seek to employ people based on ability and attitude; we measure what you deliver and how you do it. We encourage collaboration in everything we do as we value the diversity of thought that we each bring to every challenge.

Who are we? The next wave of emerging technologies will have an enormous impact on our lives. 5G communications will enable a host of new and exciting applications such as connected autonomous vehicles and multimedia services. The challenge of net-zero to have clean, renewable energy and move from the internal combustion engine to electric cars. Compound semiconductor (CS) technologies will underpin many of these developments.

We are a Not for Profit organisation; here to help the UK economy grow, and we work across the UK with a range of industry sectors from automotive to medical, and from digital communications to aerospace. Through employing leading minds and investing in technology, we help turn ideas into reality, bridging the gap between concept and implementation.

CSA Catapult is committed to supporting and upholding diversity, equality, and inclusion in everything we do. A commitment to embrace and advocate for inclusion is an essential part of all roles.

Position

CSA Catapult requires a Power Electronic Engineer to design and test power electronic components/systems and work on technical activities on internal and external projects and research programmes.

The Power Electronic Engineer is expected to have a broad knowledge of engineering, science and technology with proven experience around Power Electronics. They will be expected to provide design expertise on projects and work on test and validation activities in the labs at Catapult’s Innovation Centre.

You will:

• Design, model, simulate, assemble and test power electronic systems
• Evaluate circuit topologies that optimise converter power efficiency and power density to demonstrate the benefits of using SiC and GaN devices
• Evaluate candidate power conversion topologies using circuit modelling and simulation
• Create PCB designs to optimise electromagnetic and thermal performance
• Support the activities of the power electronics team as well as collaborate with the other engineering functions of Advanced Packaging, RF/Microwave and Photonics to deliver cross functional projects
• Undertake technical reporting to project team and wider audience to demonstrate regular progress

The Candidate

About you; you will have:

• Ideally a Master’s degree/ PhD level qualification within power electronics or equivalent experience
• Power electronics design experience
• Experience in multi-discipline engineering activities including package / PCB / mechanical and software design
• Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent team working skills with the ability to work collaboratively and cooperatively with colleagues

Desirable experience:

• Automotive and/or aerospace power electronics design experience
• Systems engineering approach to projects
• 8D problem solving methodology
• Embedded systems control
• Familiar with engineering lifecycle management
• History of translating research output into working prototypes
• Skilled in EDA / PCB design/ embedded programming

Behaviours and attributes:

• Enthusiasm, drive, and commitment
• Able to translate technical jargon and processes into something accessible
• A team player, understanding that the value you bring is more than the sum of a job description
• Tenacious and versatile; you’re excited at the idea of multiple projects
• Collaborating with external stakeholders will mean getting out of the office from time to time, though overnighting is likely very minimal

Other information

Benefits:

• Up to £58,203 salary (FTE)
• A non-contractual bonus scheme to allow everyone to share in our success
• Life Assurance – 4 times your annual salary
• Scottish Widows pension scheme – you put in 5% and we’ll put in 10%
• 28 days leave in addition to 8 bank holidays
• 37.5 hour full-time working week
• A generous private medical insurance scheme for you and your family (enrolment once a year)
• A cashback scheme for your eye tests and dental treatment
• Payment for a professional membership each year
• Holiday purchase scheme
• Flexible working – we operate core hours of 10-4. The balance of your hours can be worked around what works for you
• Electric Vehicle and Cycle to work schemes