Job Specification

• Role: Sensor Technologies Engineer
• Location: Glasgow, UK
• Salary: Competitive based on experience
• Contract: Permanent appointment

About Synaptec
We are a highly innovative company based in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 2015, our goal is to reduce outages and the operational cost of modern, clean power networks by providing advanced monitoring and control systems based on our patented core technologies. Grid operators and clean power generators use our systems across a range of diverse environments on- and off-shore to instantly know the health and performance of their assets over unprecedented distances. To achieve our goals, we recruit the most talented individuals and develop their abilities to the full.
We are a signatory of the Scottish Business Pledge (https://scottishbusinesspledge.scot/) and are committed to boosting productivity and competitiveness through fairness, equality, and sustainable employment. We aim to take full advantage of diversity of experience and thought and to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, age, disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation or identification, marital status, or race. We are proud to be an accredited Living Wage Employer and member of the Living Wage Foundation.
We conduct ourselves according to four core values:

• Technical excellence: We are committed to recruiting the most outstanding engineers, physicists and seasoned industry specialists, and investing in their continuous development.
• Openness: We work hard to sustain a culture of openness that underpins honesty, respect, and directness with each other and all stakeholders.
• Responsiveness: We thrive on challenge and seek to deeply understand customers’ problems and drivers and respond with creative, robust solutions.
• Continuous improvement: We constantly evaluate how we can improve, and we firmly believe that only by continuously adapting and improving can we remain at the frontline of our discipline.

Overview of Role
The Sensor Technologies Engineer will be part of a growing specialist team within Synaptec’s technology division, and will contribute to significant parts of the development cycle of Synaptec’s novel sensing technologies; from design, simulation and prototyping of new hardware and readout algorithms to developing calibration and testing protocols for deployment of commercial systems.
The role is focussed on development of instrumentation for the power industry, utilising both electronic and photonic technologies. Prior experience and confidence in an electronics or photonics laboratory or development environment will be important. It is expected that the Engineer will gain valuable interdisciplinary experience, and will both take and propose opportunities to develop new skills and input at a growing level to Synaptec’s success.
The Engineer should be flexible and capable of contributing to and performing a wide range of activities, including core sensor R&D, product development, qualification and industrialisation, contributing to the commercial deployment of sensor systems, and interacting with clients and partners. The ideal candidate will be capable both of independent research and close teamworking, with a drive to solve problems with workable, high-quality solutions.
The post will report on a day-to-day basis to the company’s Lead Sensor Technologies Engineer, and will be expected to provide mentorship and leadership to junior team members, updates to the wider team on progress, and detailed reporting on work or investigations undertaken.
This is a full-time post based at the Company’s facilities in central Glasgow. Site visits or short-term working at client or supplier sites are likely to be required.
Essential criteria
The candidate will be able to demonstrate or rapidly develop:

• An excellent postgraduate qualification in an engineering or physics discipline
• 2+ years postgraduate experience in an industrial or research laboratory environment
• Excellent experimental design, execution, and evaluation skills
• Experience of design and testing of electronic or photonic systems, or systems of similar complexity
• Matlab, C, and/or Python fluency for simulation, algorithm development and data analysis
• Fibre optics and optoelectronic system knowledge
• Practical working knowledge of optical componentry and test equipment, e.g., fibre optic splicers, optical spectrum analysers, light sources, spectrometers, amplifiers, etc.
• Excellent verbal communication skills, with an ability to discuss technical information in clear and simple terms with colleagues and customers
• Self-motivation, proactive attitude, and an ability to work autonomously, including the ability to manage own time and workload effectively
• Proactive and ambitious in growing own technical and professional expertise
• Confidence with both independent research and time management, and collaborative team-working, in a high-technology environment
• Ability to prepare concise, accurate, high-quality documents and presentations, with excellent attention to detail

Differentiating criteria

• Ph.D. in a highly relevant field
• Prior experience as the technical lead on critical R&D projects, coordinating the efforts of other engineers or researchers
• Working knowledge of fibre Bragg grating (FBG) sensors
• Working knowledge of piezoelectric actuators and their intrinsic material effects
• Experience with electronic prototyping, covering both analogue and digital electronics
• Familiarity with high voltage or power engineering
• Familiarity with development of sensors or instrumentation in a relevant field
• A constructive, positive attitude that will contribute to success of the whole team

Benefits

• Ethical private healthcare
• Invention bonus scheme
• Flexible and hybrid working
• Cycle-to-work scheme and secure bicycle parking
• Discounted gym membership

About our location

• Glasgow city centre location with excellent public transport links.
• Glasgow has a famously vibrant arts and culture scene and holds UNESCO Creative City of Music status.
• We are an hour's train ride from the east and west coasts of Scotland, home to some of the most beautiful islands in the world.
• To the north, we're an hour from Loch Lomond and access to the Scottish mountains.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: £32,000.00-£42,000.00 per year
Benefits:

• Casual dress
• Company pension
• Cycle to work scheme
• Transport links

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday
• No weekends

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Glasgow: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Education:

• Master's (required)

Experience:

• industrial or research laboratory: 2 years (required)

Work authorisation:

• United Kingdom (required)

Work Location: In person
Reference ID: Sensor Technologies Engineer Sept 2024