Senior Motor Drives Research Engineer

About us
Dyson is a global technology enterprise. We solve the problems others choose to ignore, with surprising new inventions that defy convention and simply work better. We’re growing fast and our ambition is huge – more categories, more locations and more people.

Dyson offers a unique opportunity for talented individuals to invent, design and develop market leading products for the global market. By working in our world-class research, design and development (RDD) department, these individuals have the opportunity to work alongside leading technical specialists and highly motivated creative people to create products which fulfil our ambition of being truly different and better than our competitors.

Part of Dyson’s Strategy & Research Group, the Motors and Power Systems (M&PS) Research Team is responsible for the research, design and prototyping of the next generation of Dyson Digital Motors powering innovative products in existing and new product categories. The multidisciplinary technical expertise of the team encompasses design, mechanical, thermal, aerodynamic, acoustic, electromagnetic and motor control engineering.

The work often involves design-cycles of 1-2 years targeting specific products, alongside short-term research and scoping studies. Technologies transfer to the downstream development teams once they reach suitable maturity.

About the role:

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Senior Motor Drives Engineer to join the highly successful Motors and Power Systems Research Team. The successful applicant will be working on the electromagnetic and/or motor control design of the next generation of advanced, high performance Dyson Digital Motors (DDMs) for low cost / high volume domestic / commercial applications.

Key Skills

• Understanding and knowledge on both electromagnetic theory of electrical machines and motor control theory (including dynamic system simulation) are desired with sufficient experience in at least one of the two fields.

• Participate in the design process of project specific single- and multi-phase electromagnetic and/or motor control solutions to meet requirements 

• Understand the overall product concept and contribute to the design of the product through the use of advanced knowledge of the latest technologies and methods in the industry

• Design and develop novel high performance, single- and multi-phase electric motor topologies and construction methods and/or motor control solutions that meet target specifications such as cost, size, weight and efficiency

• Use of 2D/3D static and transient electromagnetic Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to model detailed aspects of brushless motor designs

• Use and participate in the development of dynamic power system simulation tools in MATLAB/Simulink environment to:

• Accurately model motor and drive performance

• Develop motor controls and control strategies to meet the target performance

• Optimise the motor and system design to meet product specific requirements, i.e. lowest cost, size and most efficient solution

• Test & verify new motor drive designs

• Participate in generating innovative and novel solutions with strong / high value IP for Dyson products while considering freedom to operate

• Collaborate effectively with other Dyson motor drives, electronics, software, mechanical, thermal and aero-acoustics engineers from Malmesbury and Newcastle to ensure that the product performance, reliability and cost expectations are met, all within the planned timeline of the project

• Communicate clearly and effectively the results and project status to a broad spectrum of associated project members and senior management

• Manage your own time using planning tools such as Microsoft Project 

• Support and help others within the wider team

Education and Experience

•  A minimum of a good first degree in electrical/electronic engineering or equivalent, preferably with a machines and drives bias, together with significant industrial experience (3+ years) in a relevant field. Alternatively, you should have graduated from a relevant post-doctoral degree with a mix of high level of practical as well as theoretical knowledge.

• Essential technical skills

•  Advanced knowledge of electromagnetic machine design theory coupled with extensive experience in the use of 2D/3D static and transient electromagnetic FEA, preferably using Simcenter MAGNET

OR

• Advanced knowledge of the system level dynamic simulation of motor drives (including electronics and software aspects of the drive), preferably using MATLAB/Simulink and its use in the development and optimisation of electromagnetic motor design and the motor controls

• Experience in the design of permanent magnet motors, including knowledge of soft and hard magnetic materials and their use in electrical machines

• Appreciation of various motor control techniques for low and high speed, single-phase and multi-phase permanent magnet and switched reluctance motors

• Extensive experience in testing and verification of electric motors, primarily permanent magnet and switched reluctance type

• Appreciation of mechanical, aero-acoustic and thermal aspects of electrical motor design

• Appreciation of design-for-manufacture mentality and be able to consider the limitations of manufacturability early on in the design process

• Be creative to put advanced knowledge in the field into tangible highly novel end products with strong performance improvements and Intellectual Property (IP) benefits

•  Be able to demonstrate sound theoretical knowledge, reasoning and problem solving skills in engineering

•  Be able to clearly report progress in regular update meetings together with a high standard of documentation

Desirable technical skills

•  Advanced knowledge and experience of the coupled design of full motor-drive systems including electromagnetics, power electronic drives and their control.

•  Ability to switch technical disciplines between electromagnetic analysis of a motor and design of its control system to optimise performance based on project type and stage of development.

• Knowledge of End-of-Line testing and tuning processes

• Knowledge of power electronics and energy storage solutions 

• Knowledge of embedded electronics and SW in relation to motor control applications

• An appreciation of other engineering disciplines such aerodynamics, aero-acoustics and thermodynamics 

• Experience using MathWorks Simscape and Stateflow to model physical systems and control logic

• Experience using Siemens Teamcenter to manage design and documentation workflows

• Understanding of materials science and manufacturing processes

Benefits

Financial:

•  Performance related bonus

• Company paid Life Assurance

• Discounts on Dyson machines

•  Competitive pension scheme

• Purchase additional holidays 

Lifestyle:

• 27 days holiday plus statutory bank holidays

• Free bus travel to and from Malmesbury campus from Bristol, Chippenham and Swindon

• On-site parking

• Endless free coffee and tea, and a free lunch 

• Free on-site hair salon

• On-site lifestyle Assist

• Electric vehicle scheme 

Health:

• Private Medical insurance for all employees

• Employee Assistance Program for employee and dependents

• Digital GP and prescription service

• Fertility treatment support

• On-site gym and sports centre

• On-site wellbeing centre

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Dyson is an equal opportunity employer. We know that great minds don’t think alike, and it takes all kinds of minds to make our technology so unique. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and employment decisions are made without regard to race, colour, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status or other any other dimension of diversity.