The Client
Catalyst is delighted to be once more supporting a key client in the electrification technology sector in their recruitment of a Senior Validation Engineer to be based from their Tyneside HQ. My client is a global leader in their field and is undergoing an exciting period of change.
The Role
Reporting to the Electrical Engineering Lead, the Senior Validation Engineer will be responsible for the offering of engineering support to the NPD process and team. The Senior Validation Engineer will be responsible for the specification, test, validation and qualification of newly developed power electronic devices against their regulatory requirements and ultimately gain their accredited certification.
Main Responsibilities
- This role will involve working closely with the hardware, software, mechanical and system engineering teams, as well as project management and product/quality management.
- You will be responsible for creating and following a New Product Integration Validation and Verification test plan, helping create validation test criteria/procedures, identifying, specifying and creating any necessary test environment, test and troubleshoot electronic assemblies, components and circuits.
- Perform and document a full suite of tests (cross referencing the specification requirements) and independently determining compliance or not. Identifying and managing risks, making sound judgments about quality and feeding into the team's decision to the release of product or a change to an existing product.
- Read, understand, keep updated on all regulatory standards relevant to our product ranges and desired applications. In particular but not exclusively: EMC standards, Electrical safety and Functional safety standards and UL/CSA.
- Extract the key requirements specific for our products and set them out as development requirements to design and test our products against.
- Understand the regulatory test methods/conditions and create test cases (descriptions/procedures, equipment, wiring looms, loads etc.) to be performed on our products.
- Create test plans for when compliance de-risk testing needs performing within the product development cycle and to what level (pre‑compliance or full).
- Organize and pull together all equipment, loads, wiring etc. needed to perform the tests.
- Set up and perform the testing (in house for pre‑compliance work, or at external test house for final full compliance accreditation).
- Willingness to travel is essential and will be required occasionally for final full compliance testing when using an external test house.
- Capture all of the results and create traceability reports, determining pass/fail status.
- Commission, Debug electronic circuits, components and PCB assemblies for new product development and sustaining projects.
- Design, setup and run tests to ensure the design meets specifications.
- Use industry standard development systems to achieve traceability and cross referencing for V&V.
- Troubleshoot circuits from prototypes, development, and customer returns.
- Be the key interface for overall system (HW,SW,ME) for validation and alignment on test plan, priorities and execution.
- Work with Engineering to improve checklist of verification and validation tests and to define criteria for entry into Validation phase. Identify and resolve validation blockers.
- Drive closure of issues/findings.
- Establish a disciplined reporting and communication dashboard of project risks & status with respect to quality and readiness for release.
- Improve the scope and coverage of automated tests.
- Augment the validation lab and life test capability and process.
- Perform change validation before ECN/ECO release.
This is a broad ranging role requiring some desk and IT work (planning, researching, writing test procedures documenting test reports etc.) as well as practical hands‑on engineering, building test bench set ups, adapting and modifying metalwork, cables, electronics, loads, operating test equipment, commissioning, debugging and repairing test units etc.
About you
To be considered for the role, it is essential that you are an experienced electronics test/product validation engineering professional with demonstrable experience and in‑depth knowledge of regulatory standards and test methods for product validation/compliance.
Key Selection Criteria
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent (preferably with bias towards power electronics).
- Demonstrable hands‑on experience in a test and/or QA Validation role at system level (HW/SW) - experience of compliance testing for EMC/Vibration/IP ratings and/or UL would be beneficial.
- Experience of working with power electronic systems (experience with Higher voltage systems 200V to 800V DC preferred but not essential).
- An intuitive and practical disposition.
- Organized, proactive and independent.
- An understanding of Safe practice (H&S).
- Knowledge of switching power converters.
- Knowledge of circuit analysis, and design of experiments.
- Knowledge and experience in QMS ISO 9001, TS 16949, or ISO 26262.
- Knowledge and experience in applicable product regulatory standards such as (EN1175, EN13849, UL 0583, and EN12895).
- Willingness to travel to external test laboratory's occasionally.
- Experience of ESD/EMC principles and practices.
- Effective verbal and written communication skills.
- PC literate with experience in MS Office and databases (good and thorough documentation skills).
This is an excellent opportunity to join a market leader in their specialist field of technology and to work from their highly impressive operation in Tyneside.
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