Control Systems Engineer

Description

The company is building its own gearbox almost from the ground up, a rare chance that few teams get, and its facility is being built with the long term in mind.

The Controls team is hiring a control systems engineer for the systems behind the gearbox and clutch.

At first the work centres on the dyno, where you build and develop a control system that reproduces what the car experiences on track. As the transmission programme advances, you will take on gearbox and clutch controls, including calibration, development, control simulation and the related tooling. The goal is gear shifts and clutch responses that are dependable in every situation.

You will be one of around 5 people on the team and will work closely with Vehicle Dynamics, Powertrain, Systems Simulation and Electronics.

The company was founded in 1977 and has competed in Formula 1 for almost 50 years. It is one of the three most successful outfits the sport has seen, with 16 Formula 1 World Championship titles, nine Constructors' Championships and seven Drivers' Championships.

Responsibilities

• Tune calibrations and control logic for the gearbox and clutch, aiming for shifts and clutch engagement that are reliable and repeatable.
• Study dyno and in-car data to identify the underlying causes of shift and reliability faults, then turn those findings into calibration and control changes.
• Operate and extend the dyno control system, including bringing in vehicle models so the rig mirrors real track behaviour.
• Create control simulations and supporting tools, primarily in MATLAB, Simulink and Python.
• Work inside the standard ECU code and toolchain to select the best shift for each scenario.
• Help diagnose problems on the dyno and in the car quickly, and collaborate with colleagues across the business to resolve them.
• Write up designs, test procedures and results clearly and accurately so they can be traced.

Requirements

• You write and understand code yourself rather than only modifying other people's work. You know code that drives physical hardware must be correct first time, and you approach safety-critical tasks proactively.
• You are detail-oriented, pick things up fast, and are comfortable joining a programme that is still taking shape.
• A degree in electrical, control systems, automotive, mechanical, software or a closely related engineering field.
• At least 5 years of controls engineering experience, ideally in motorsport or high-performance automotive. Formula E, WEC and F1 backgrounds all count.
• Strong MATLAB and Simulink skills, with solid programming and controls ability of your own.
• A good grasp of embedded, real-time code written for an ECU.
• Able to read and follow control code and state flows to locate where gains and risks lie.
• Strongly preferred: transmission controls experience.
• A close second: dyno knowledge.
• Nice to have: dSpace or SpeedGoat, Python, the standard ECU toolchain (SECU, Atlas, SystemMonitor) and AVL Puma.

Conditions

The company is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity and inclusion, and reasonable adjustments to the job are available on request.