Senior Charging Systems Engineer

Company Description

Allye Energy is revolutionising the energy storage sector with our cutting-edge Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) built using repurposed EV batteries. As part of our innovative approach to sustainable energy solutions, we are expanding our capabilities to integrate DC fast charging technology with our battery energy storage systems, creating a comprehensive energy ecosystem for the future of clean mobility and energy storage.

Job Description

We are seeking an engineer to lead the systems engineering, software integration and technical delivery of DC fast charging capability across Allye's energy storage products. Its central challenge is the delivery of a product that performs safely and predictably across a large population of electric vehicles and off highway machinery. Interoperability, validation and disciplined systems thinking is required, supported by substantial hands on software capability and sufficient depth in high voltage hardware to specify, direct and challenge suppliers.

Responsibilities

Systems architecture and requirements

• Own the architecture of the charging system, from the DC bus and power conversion interface through to the vehicle coupler, including the control and communications architecture across it.
• Define the requirements and interface specifications that internal engineering teams and external suppliers work to.
• Define and document the operating envelope of the product, including supported vehicle populations, power levels, operating sequences and handled failure modes.
• Lead build, buy and partner decisions on charge controllers, protocol stacks and test equipment, and hold suppliers to the specification.

Software and communications integration

• Lead software integration for charging, working hands on and in conjunction with the embedded controls and application software teams.
• Implement, integrate and debug the charging communication stack, including the digital communication protocols governing DC charging sessions and the legacy protocols still present in the vehicle population.
• Own the control layer that maps a charging session onto the battery management and energy management systems, including power ramping, derating, thermal limits and state of charge policy.
• Implement remote management and monitoring interfaces to industry protocol, and the supporting communication interfaces for session management and diagnostics.
• Develop tooling and automation for test execution, log capture and fault analysis.

Interoperability, test and validation

• Own the interoperability strategy for the product, including the definition and maintenance of the supported vehicle matrix and the evidence base behind it.
• Specify, procure and operate the charging test and validation capability, including vehicle and charger simulation and hardware in the loop testing.
• Plan and lead structured interoperability campaigns, including participation in recognised industry test events, and convert the results into a managed defect and improvement backlog.
• Diagnose faults at protocol and physical layer, including communication link establishment, insulation and cable verification, precharge and contactor sequencing, timeout and retry behaviour, and manufacturer specific deviations from standard.
• Own the field return and failure investigation process for charging, including on site diagnosis, reproduction, resolution and verification.

High voltage interface and safety

• Specify the physical charging interface, including couplers, cables, cooling strategy, cable management, ingress and impact protection, locking and temperature monitoring.
• Define the DC side protection and isolation strategy, including switching and protective devices, insulation and residual current monitoring, earthing and protective conductor continuity, and touch safety.
• Own the safety case for DC charging, including hazard analysis, failure mode and effects analysis, and shutdown and emergency stop behaviour.
• Work with mechanical engineering on physical integration, cable routing, thermal management and enclosure design.

Standards, compliance and certification

• Ensure the product conforms to the relevant international and national standards for DC charging, electrical safety, electromagnetic compatibility and functional safety applicable in the UK and European markets.
• Support product conformity assessment and marking, and manage the technical relationship with test houses, certification bodies and notified bodies.
• Maintain a current view of the evolution of the charging standards and of emerging requirements such as automated authorisation and bidirectional operation, and advise on their implications for the product roadmap.

Collaboration and technical leadership

• Act as Allye's technical authority on charging, providing direction and guidance to engineering colleagues and to external partners, suppliers and customers.
• Produce and maintain the technical documentation set, including specifications, integration guidance, test evidence and service and troubleshooting material.
• Support commercial, product and field teams with technical input to customer requirements, deployment and after sales.

Qualifications

Essential knowledge and experience

• Degree in electrical, electronic, control, software or systems engineering, or equivalent professional experience.
• Five to eight years of relevant engineering experience, including a period of demonstrable technical ownership.
• Direct experience of DC charging systems, on either the vehicle or the charging equipment side, taken through to production and operated with third party equipment.
• Demonstrable experience of resolving interoperability faults between independently developed systems, personally and at the level of the protocol.
• Practical competence in the design, integration and safe operation of high voltage DC systems.

Essential technical skills

• Working knowledge of the DC charging standards and the associated communication protocols, and of the coupler and connector standards.
• Proficiency in embedded software development in C or C++, and in a scripting language such as Python for tooling, automation and analysis.
• Competence with industrial and automotive communication protocols and with IP networking, and with the associated diagnostic and analysis tooling.
• Structured approach to requirements, verification and test, with the ability to produce evidence rather than assertion.
• Version control, code review and collaborative software development practice.

Essential behaviours

• Systems thinking. The ability to hold electrical, software, mechanical and regulatory considerations in view simultaneously and to make defensible trade offs between them.
• Technical authority combined with accessibility. The capacity to be the organisation's expert in a specialist domain and to explain it clearly to colleagues who are not.
• Autonomy and ownership. Comfortable operating with limited precedent and taking responsibility for outcomes rather than activity.
• Rigour and candour. Accurate about what the product does and does not yet do, and prepared to say so.
• Practical disposition. Willing to work hands on with hardware and vehicles, at our facility and at customer sites.

Desirable

• Experience of remote management protocols for charging equipment.
• Experience of off highway, heavy vehicle or industrial electrification, where implementation of standards is less uniform than in passenger vehicles.
• Background in battery management, energy storage or energy management systems.
• Experience of bidirectional charging or vehicle to grid applications.
• Experience of product conformity and certification for electrical equipment.
• Knowledge of cyber security and certificate management for connected charging equipment.
• Participation in industry standards or interoperability bodies.
• Experience of an early stage or scaling engineering organisation.

Additional Information

Please note that at this time we are unable to provide UK visa sponsorship

Strictly No Agencies