Electrical Machines and Systems Technician at UCL

Ref Number B04-04992

Professional Expertise Laboratory Technical and Lab Support

Department UCL BEAMS (B04)

Location London

Working Pattern Full time

Contract Type Permanent

Available For Secondment No

Closing Date 09-Jun-2024

About us

In our single biggest development since we were founded, UCL is expanding to East London. Located on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, UCL East will be dedicated to disruptive thinking and discovery across disciplines and beyond academic walls, to find solutions to the biggest challenges for future living. We are located in Newham, East London - one of the most socially diverse parts of the UK – and we would like our staff recruitment to reflect this. With its first two buildings opening in 2022 and 2023, UCL East will be a place for creating solutions that change the world. By breaking down barriers and creating new practices in sustainable spaces and best-in-class facilities, we will be giving our staff and students the tools to take their learning and discoveries further. More than just a conventional campus, UCL East represents a future focused mindset. We will deliver new research, technology and innovation, and more than 50 undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes for up to 4,000 students. We are pleased to bring to market a newly created technical post for an Applications Engineer in electrical machines systems to join the Advanced Propulsion Lab (APL). The successful post-holder will sit in the Marshgate Building of the UCL East campus which houses our world-class collaborative research laboratories.

The APL is a cross-faculty hub, bringing together researchers from the UCL departments of Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, with the Department of Mechanical Engineering as the lead partner for this APL recruitment. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Sciences UCL Mechanical Engineering has been pioneering the development of engineering education, having taught the core discipline for over 170 years. In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014), over 90% of the Department’s research was judged “world-leading” or “internationally excellent”. At UCL Mechanical Engineering, we develop and apply core competencies to produce world-class research into a wider range of engineering challenges than most would imagine. Research in the APL will focus on the critical challenge of decarbonizing the transport sector, including land, sea and air applications, as well as the generation of electrofuels to service these sectors. The APL will have a truly molecules-to-systems reach and this is reflected in the breadth of experience this round of recruitment will target. The recruitment of new technical staff is of critical importance to the development of UCL East, and the APL in particular and represents an exciting opportunity to enhance our critical mass in these areas and to establish new, multidisciplinary research activities in a modern, state-of-the-art environment.

About the role

UCL Mechanical Engineering are delighted to offer an exciting opportunity for a specialist in the field of electrical machines to join the Advanced Propulsion Lab (APL) at out newly established UCL East campus.

We are looking to appoint an application engineer in electrical machine systems to provide and manage technical support to researchers, academic staff, students and others to help the APL achieve its strategic research and teaching objectives. Titled internally as an Electrical Machines & Systems Technician, the role-holder will engage in a broad diet of work, ranging from developing research projects, modelling, simulation and developing, analysing and validating electrical machine design solutions.

You will also have be tasked with managing other technical staff involved in supporting APL research and teaching, and in assisting in the maintenance and management of equipment, instruments and laboratory facilities.

This is a pivotal role that will require the post-holder to be sufficiently skilled and comfortable delivering electrical machines projects in a timely manner and under minimal supervision. As we are a diverse group of academics and students, it is essential therefore that you are approachable, able to work within a team and open to offer advice and direction when requested.

Applications from candidates from either a Higher Education/research background or industry are most welcome.

For more insight into the details of this position kindly refer to the attached Job Description & Person Specification

About you

We welcome applications from candidates with experience or advanced knowledge of the following:

Development and characterisation of electrical machines such as dyno testing, thermal characterisation of electrical machines

Integration of electric propulsion systems.

Electrical engineering software packages

Electrical power system integration

Integration and operation of electrical systems (such as electrical motors, power converters, electrical loads, batteries, and fuel cells) and automation

One and three phase systems, electrical machines, and electrical equipment.

Working independently and taking responsibility for meeting service standards and agreeing targets and workloads.

Implementing and adhering to safety protocols within a workshop or laboratory environment

Well-developed or excellent practical skills to convert designs into products and to commission them, using in-house and external manufacture facilities and modern surface mount technologies.

Circuit design and layout, electrical test procedures and electronic fault finding

In the absence of direct experience in some of the essential elements described above, training will be provided to fill any skills gaps if you are able to demonstrate advanced knowledge of these areas as well as a passion for ongoing learning and professional development.

Additional desirable attributes that will enhance your application is qualification to Masters or PhD degree level/equivalent and experience of operational management of workshops or laboratories, purchasing and budget management, and supervision of junior staff or students.

Further Details

Salary range: £42,099 to £50,585 per annum

If you have any queries about the role, please contact t.darko@ucl.ac.uk .

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:

41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)

Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme

Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)

Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan

Relocation scheme for certain posts

On-site gym

Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay

Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service

Discounted medical insurance

Visit to find out more.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.

We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.