Principal Systems Engineer

£70-85K - Full-time - London/Hybrid

IONATE is a deep technology start-up building the technology backbone for smart grids. Our team is looking for a Principal Systems Engineer who will be responsible for all systems related activities such as requirements management, technical risk assessments, cross discipline system integration, stakeholder management and product delivery to build our cutting-edge Hybrid Intelligent Transformers.

Reporting to the Head of Product and requiring experience working with systems design, integration and testing, you will play a key role in developing and implementing new designs and taking concepts through to commercial product for customers.

You will need an innovative approach to engineering with well-grounded reasoning and experience, collaborating with an international multi-disciplinary team to deliver IONATE's HIT technology.

What You Will Do:

Systems Engineering & Technical Leadership

• Plan and lead systems engineering activities, including technical investigations, requirements management, system integration, testing, stakeholder management, and the implementation of technical roadmaps.
• Act as a key technical leader, providing hands-on expertise across all projects while building and leading a future team of systems engineers as the business grows.
• Lead and engage in in-depth technical discussions, collaborating closely with transformer, power electronics, electrical, embedded, control, and software engineers to deliver a cohesive, tightly integrated product.
• Promote knowledge sharing and best practices across engineering teams.

Design, Integration & Product Enhancement

• Design and integrate new functionalities into existing systems.
• Enhance the capabilities and performance of in-service systems.
• Develop innovative solutions to complex problems that meet technical requirements while staying within budget and schedule constraints.
• Conduct cost and functional performance trade-offs to evaluate proposed solutions.
• Ensure compliance with safety and quality standards such as UKCA, CE, UL, IEC and IEEE certifications.

Testing, Validation & Problem Solving

• Plan, design, and conduct testing and trials to validate equipment functionality and performance.
• Perform root-cause analysis of anomalies observed during integration and evaluation activities.
• Apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to make informed decisions, even with limited information or guidance.

Process Improvement & Risk Management

• Develop new processes and procedures to enable efficient and effective engineering workflows.
• Assess, manage, and mitigate technical risks throughout the entire product lifecycle.
• Drive continuous improvements in product reliability, manufacturability, maintenance, and cost efficiency, aligning with the technical product roadmap.

Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement

• Work closely with key suppliers and partners to ensure high standards of materials and manufacturing are maintained in a cost-effective manner.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders and customers to successfully deliver projects and large-scale orders to the highest standards.

Requirements

What You Will Need:

• Master's Degree in engineering, ideally within Power Electronics, Electrical Engineering, Controls or a related field.
• Extensive experience in grid-connected inverters is required.
• Solid background in a highly technical environment, progressing from concept design to prototyping and mass production; Full product lifecycle experience is essential.

Systems Engineering & Technical Expertise

• Comprehensive knowledge of the systems engineering lifecycle, including systems architecture, environmental factors, systems modelling and analysis, integration, verification, and validation.
• Experience with EMI/EMC design and demonstrated evidence of compliance.
• Proficiency in developing capabilities within hardware and software constraints.
• Ability to model system performance and identify limitations.

Testing & Compliance

• Experience in planning and conducting factory and site acceptance tests.
• The ability to evaluate electrical drawings, logic diagrams, and mechanical schematics.
• Proficiency with tools such as Confluence, Jira, and Miro is desirable.

Project Management & Documentation

• Strong project management skills, ensuring timely delivery within budget constraints.
• Ability to create and maintain essential documentation.

Collaboration & Communication

• Excellent communication skills to effectively present and collaborate across all project phases.
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills to secure the right outcomes with internal and external stakeholders.

Work Approach & Mindset

• Hands-on approach to design and problem-solving.
• Self-motivated, proactive, and capable of working independently with a strong problem-solving mindset.
• Ability to travel nationally and internationally as required.

Useful to have:

• Experience with transformers or involvement in substation design and commissioning.
• Knowledge or experience implementing systems design and analysis tools.

Benefits

• Flexible working schedules: You will be based in our modern West London offices but will have the flexibility for hybrid work-from-home arrangements.
• Employee Option Plan: You get equity in IONATE, so as we succeed so do you.
• Company pension: a competitive, flexible, and sustainable pension product to help you plan for your future.
• Career Development: It's important to us that you have the opportunity for ongoing professional development and career growth.
• Cycle to Work Scheme: Low carbon travel is important for everyone, so we have in place a cycle scheme to help you purchase a bicycle.
• Slow travel: We believe in a low carbon future, so if you wish to travel by a lower carbon method - but it takes much longer than flying - we will give you an extra 2 days per year.

About IONATE

Driven by first-principles engineering, IONATE is transforming power systems for the energy transition. Our hardware is the Hybrid Intelligent Transformer (HIT): a new building block for the power grid and everything connecting. It integrates into the network like a transformer but solves key power quality issues through all-in-one power flow control.

While deployed to remove constraints and prevent issues, HITs effectively light up real-time control nodes for the very first time. Once placed in strategic points of the network, IONATE's AI platform can coordinate them to form a true smart system, coupling top-down grid orchestration with instantaneous bottom-up control in the physics.

3 reasons why you should apply:

• You'll work on something that matters. The most rewarding aspect of our job is seeing what we build in the lab get used in the real world.
• The thinking you'll do here is not your average exercises on repeat. Building a brand-new class of tech requires cutting-edge ideas.
• The rocket ship is taking off. Our innovation has been proven and demand is immense.

IONATE has a friendly team that collaborates and supports one-another. If you don't fit all the description above, but you are passionate about the work we are doing and could add value to our team, please get in touch.