Senior Electrical Machines Engineer

Senior Electrical Machines Engineer

CGEN Engineering Ltd

Location: Edinburgh, hybrid working

Working pattern: Full-time, with flexibility to consider a four-day working week

Salary: £65,000–£75,000 depending on experience

Pension: Company contribution from 4% up to 9%

Contract: Permanent

Start date: As soon as possible

Probation: Six months, with an interim review after three months

Reporting to: Managing Director

Share options: Available, subject to company scheme and eligibility

Closing date: 14th August

About CGEN

CGEN Engineering is a University of Edinburgh spin-out developing new high-torque, low-speed generator and motor technologies. Our initial commercial focus is the wind industry, with a beachhead in life extension and repowering projects for existing direct-drive turbines.

Our core modular permanent magnet generator technology is intended to improve how large electrical machines are designed, manufactured, transported, maintained and repaired. Beyond this core product, CGEN aims to develop a wider portfolio of generator and motor topologies for applications where efficiency, maintainability, scalability and low-speed operation are critical.

CGEN is a small, growing start-up with an ambitious technical roadmap, active commercial and grant-funded projects, and plans to raise further investment as we move towards larger-scale manufacturing and field-trial activity.

Our primary market is wind energy, supported by work across hydro, wave and tidal energy. We are also investigating the suitability of our technologies for marine propulsion and other emerging high-torque, low-speed applications.

Training, mentoring and career development are core parts of CGEN’s approach. As the company grows, team members will have opportunities to build specialist expertise, lead major workstreams and help shape the products, engineering processes and culture of the business.

The role

CGEN Engineering Ltd is seeking a Senior Electrical Machines Engineer to support the development of its high-torque, low-speed generator and motor technologies.

The role will focus on electromagnetic design, modelling, machine performance and validation. The successful candidate will take ownership of defined technical work packages while working closely with CGEN’s Technical Director, wider engineering team and external partners.

The immediate work will include supporting current commercial and grant-funded projects, reviewing new machine designs, developing generators within existing nacelle constraints for wind turbine life extension, improving CGEN’s standardised design process and aligning machine designs with manufacture, certification, testing and future field trials.

This is a senior, hands-on engineering role. The successful candidate will be expected to contribute directly to technical delivery, make well-supported design decisions, communicate clearly with customers and partners, and help develop less experienced engineers as CGEN expands.

Responsibilities

The Senior Electrical Machines Engineer will support CGEN across electromagnetic design, technical delivery, customer projects and the continued development of its electrical-machine design capability.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Leading and supporting the electromagnetic design and optimisation of modular permanent magnet generators and motors.
• Developing analytical and numerical models for low-speed, high-torque electrical machines.
• Using FEMM, Opera, Ansys Maxwell or equivalent tools for electromagnetic simulation, optimisation and design assessment.
• Developing winding configurations, phase arrangements, conductor sizing and wider electrical-machine architectures.
• Assessing generator and motor performance, including voltage, current, efficiency, losses, electromagnetic loading and thermal inputs.
• Comparing model predictions with test data and improving CGEN’s analytical and numerical design methods.
• Supporting the standardisation, automation and formalisation of CGEN’s electrical-machine design process.
• Developing generator designs within existing turbine, nacelle, structural and system constraints for life-extension and repowering projects.
• Supporting current projects, including new machine design reviews, customer feasibility studies and technical design work.
• Preparing clear calculations, design reports, specifications, technical presentations and design-review material.
• Working with mechanical, thermal, controls and manufacturing colleagues to develop practical and manufacturable machine designs.
• Contributing to certification, compliance, design assurance, technical risk assessment and internal engineering standards.
• Aligning machine designs with manufacturing, assembly, testing, commissioning and future multi-MW field-trial requirements.
• Supporting manufacture, assembly, testing and commissioning where electrical-machine input is required.
• Taking ownership of agreed technical work packages and communicating progress, decisions, assumptions and risks clearly.
• Providing technical review, guidance and mentoring to less experienced engineers where appropriate.

Requirements

We are looking for an experienced electrical-machines engineer who combines strong electromagnetic design capability with the practical judgement required to develop machines that can be manufactured, tested and deployed.

Essential experience and skills:

• Degree or equivalent higher-level qualification in electrical engineering, electrical machines, power engineering or a closely related discipline.
• At least five years’ relevant industrial experience in electrical-machine design, modelling, development or performance analysis.
• Demonstrable experience with permanent magnet machines, generators, motors or comparable electromagnetic systems.
• Experience using finite-element and analytical modelling tools for electrical machines.
• Strong understanding of windings, magnetic circuits, electromagnetic loading, machine losses and electrical-machine performance.
• Ability to develop and assess winding configurations, conductor sizing and electrical architectures.
• Experience preparing clear calculations, technical reports, specifications and design-review documentation.
• Ability to take ownership of technical work packages and make well-supported engineering decisions.
• Ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary engineering team.
• Confidence communicating technical work with colleagues, customers, suppliers and project partners.
• Ability to balance technical performance with manufacturability, cost, schedule and wider project constraints.
• Existing right to work in the UK.

Useful but not essential:

• Experience with axial-flux or air-cored permanent magnet machines.
• Experience with low-speed, high-torque generators or motors.
• Experience in wind, hydro, wave, tidal, marine, automotive or industrial power systems.
• Experience designing generators within existing turbine, nacelle or drivetrain constraints.
• Experience with Python, MATLAB or other engineering automation tools.
• Experience developing optimisation methods or automated electrical-machine design workflows.
• Experience validating analytical or numerical models against test data.
• Knowledge of thermal, mechanical, power-electronics or control-system interfaces.
• Experience supporting manufacture, assembly, laboratory testing or field commissioning.
• Experience contributing to certification, compliance or formal design-assurance activity.
• Experience mentoring, supervising or technically reviewing the work of less experienced engineers.
• Chartered Engineer status, active progress towards professional registration, or a relevant postgraduate qualification.

Power electronics and controls experience would be useful but is not a prerequisite for the role.

Personal qualities

The right person is likely to be:

• Technically rigorous, curious and willing to challenge assumptions.
• Practical and comfortable contributing across modelling, detailed design, testing and delivery.