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Job Description

The senior motor control design engineer will be required to take control, responsibility, and management of various projects from concept right through to full production. They will use their experience and knowledge of motor control design methodologies to support the work of existing staff members and assist with new developments both on a project by project basis but also in support of the internal R&D programme.

Duties

• Use experience to support existing staff members and deepen the knowledge of the design team.
• Assist with internal R&D programme through developing best practice, working with team to develop appropriate quality management processes and develop a culture of constant, consistent, measurable improvement.
• Take charge of custom projects from start to finish including developing detailed project plans, FMEA analysis, risk management and other functional specification and design verification documents as required.
• Log details of all developments, issues, risks and other related details on the company server to assist with fault finding and constant improvement.
• Support internal R&D programme, assisting as required.
• Programme microcontrollers starting from proof of concepts, selecting the required controllers straight through to full production versions in a controlled manner using high levels of project management to complete projects on time.
• Fault finding, debugging of both hardware and software, and working closely with peers to minimise delays
• Where required, train less experienced members of staff.
• Write and update firmware documentation, from development to debugging.
• Identify, track, correct and record all issues/bugs within electronic systems.

Required Knowledge and Skills

• Minimum of 5-10 years of motor control design and programming experience.
• Knowledge and experience of implementing FOC and sinusoidal algorithms directly from C.
• Experience with Microchip microcontrollers.
• Experience with ST microcontrollers.
• Proven track record of delivering projects on spec, on time and on budget.
• Project management experience.
• Understanding and experience of quality management systems with ISO-9001 as a minimum.
• Knowledge and experience of at least 3 of the following – CANbus, Modbus, EtherCAT, UART over RS485, RF communications.
• Experience of developing IPC approved hardware.
• The ability to read electronic schematics and recommend suitable microcontroller hardware with various peripherals for application-specific requirements.
• In-depth knowledge of programming platforms and languages including C/C++
• Experience working with either PIC, Atmel AVR or ARM microcontrollers
• Advanced understanding or various communication protocols both field and board based (SPI, I2C, UART, RS485, RS232, USB)
• Good verbal and communication skills to work closely with peers.

Desirable Skills

• Wireless communications (Bluetooth, Wifi) and App development.
• Experience of developing motor control solutions for low inductance applications.
• Knowledge of SQL database.
• Experience with FPGA programming using Verilog/VHDL.

Applying

Please provide a cover letter and up to date CV with applications, explaining why you think you are right for the job and what you could bring to Zikodrive.

Email us at [email protected] 

Job Description

As a result of continuing growth, Zikodrive are looking to recruit two experienced electronic design / embedded programming engineers to help with ongoing projects and to support further anticipated growth in 2021. The candidates will be working closely with the Head of Design to fulfil the electronics element of various projects and will work predominantly on major projects but will also be required to carry out day to day tasks as well as occasional training support.

It is anticipated that the roles will be 90% programming, 10% hardware. However, a good working knowledge of hardware design and its functionality is considered a key pre-requisite.

Job Role

The job will involve the following;

• Electronic design and programming project work. You will be responsible for taking a project from prototype through to final completion including liaising with customers, production or management staff and other potential stakeholders.
• Monitoring the quality of one’s own work and compliance with requirements of our quality management system.
• Use your in depth knowledge of microcontrollers to select the right components for the right job and then programme them accordingly.
• Use your experience of writing in C to carry out a range of programming tasks – some from scratch and some using pre-existing libraries.
• Reading and understanding relevant datasheets.
• Optimising controllers for a wide range of motors.
• Working with a wide range of (potentially conflicting) specification inputs such as power output, size restrictions, communications protocols required, to work out the best way to take a project forward. You must be able to work with customers to explain these issues and highlight the best route forward.
• Some of the work will be carried out independently. However, for larger projects you will be required to work in a team. The ability to perform well in either situation is key.
• Ability to monitor time taken to do tasks and to accurately predict how long new tasks will take.
• Working under pressure on occasions, including overtime and weekends if required to meet key deadlines.

Responsible to;

Engineering Manager and Managing Director

Person Specification

• Electronic or software qualification – degree or technical qualifications preferred.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience with working on electronics projects and evidence of success in completing these.
• The right candidate will either have strong embedded experience or wider electronic hardware design experience. Specialism in either area is acceptable for this role as we are recruiting more than one.
• Understanding / experience of motor control – especially brushless DC / sensorless BLDC motor control.
• Track record of programming micro-controllers with C.
• Be able to read through datasheets in detail, write, implement, and test code in hardware.
• Proven track record of delivering projects on time and on budget and a solid knowledge of how to plan out and develop plans to support this.
• Understanding of various communication protocols (UART, I2C, SPI)
• Experience of micro controller peripherals such as PWM’s, timers, interrupts, and ADC’s and how to integrate them into projects successfully.
• Knowledge of both analogue and digital systems.
• A good understanding of electronics hardware and an ability to read and interpret schematics.
• Fault finding, debugging and working closely with peers to minimise delays.
• Be able to run through code and write thorough and detailed user manuals
• Proven track record of problem solving and troubleshooting.
• Ability to work alone or in part of a team.
• Commitment to learning and personal development.
• Excellent communication skills including ability to take detailed engineering concepts and explain in terms that can be understood by non-technical staff / customers.
• Customer facing experience – role will require liaising directly with customers during specific project work.

Desirable

• PCB layout from schematic capture.
• Understanding of various motors and control techniques.
• Rework, PCB assembly experience.

The Recruitment Process

• Application / CV assessments.
• Screening calls for candidates to clarify details.
• Phone / Zoom interview.
• Technical assessment.
• Selection

Applying

Please provide a cover letter and up to date CV with applications, explaining why you think you are right for the job and what you could bring to Zikodrive.

Email us at [email protected]