Applications are invited for a temporary post of a Research Engineer within UCD School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Applications are sought for a Researcher Engineer position to support research work on the topics of active distribution system management, distributed energy resources (DER) and control of power electronics devices in the distribution system. The position will be based in the UCD Energy Institute and UCD School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. The UCD Energy Institute is a multi-disciplinary energy institute with a focus on energy research and its translation to policies and impacts that address the challenge of decarbonisation.

The position is to support the research being conducted under two currently funded research projects, ESIPP (Energy Systems Integration Partnership Programme) and ADEPT (Active Distribution System Management Enabled By Distributed Power Electronics).

The Energy Systems Integration Partnership Programme (ESIPP) is an €11m project co-funded by Science Foundation Ireland, industry and philanthropic donation. The collaborative project is located in the UCD Energy Institute and spans a number of disciplines, such as Electrical, Chemical and Mechanical Engineering, Geology, Mathematics, Economics, Finance, Consumer Behaviour and Technology Adoption. The ESIPP programme focuses on Energy Systems Integration (ESI) which is a multidisciplinary area ranging from science, engineering and technology to policy, economics, regulation and human behaviour. ESIPP is led by University College Dublin and partners with Dublin City University (DCU), Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), National University of Galway (NUIG) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD). The research work will be carried out with strong collaborative links to major energy industry players, such as AIB, EirGrid, Ervia, ESB, SSE, Glen Dimplex and other industry collaborators.

The ADEPT project (Active Distribution System Management Enabled By Distributed Power Electronics) is a research project funded by Science Foundation Ireland under its Investigator Awards programme. The project focuses on the integration of distributed energy resources in the distribution system and the ways in which the power electronics converters associated with such resources can be used to ensure stable and secure operation of the distribution network.

The Research Engineer will support the research work of a larger team of Post-Doctoral Researchers and PhD students working on these projects. Successful candidates will be also expected to work in collaboration with industry partners including, ESB (the Irish Distribution system operator), EirGrid (the Irish transmission system operator), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).

The main focus of the work is on the integration of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) into the future power system. We are particularly seeking a research engineer with expertise in the areas of distributed energy resources, power electronics control, real time simulation and hardware in the loop testing. The candidate will support the internal research activities of the projects and help develop collaborative projects with industry partners.
It is important that the candidate be able to work in a multidisciplinary team, and with industry partners to deliver on the overarching scientific goals of the research. Supporting the research activities of postgraduate research students will also be of great importance.

Salary range: €50,000 to €55,500 per annum

Closing date: 17:00hrs (local Irish time) on 2nd October 2020

Applications must be submitted by the closing date and time specified. Any applications which are still in progress at the closing time of 17:00hrs (Local Irish Time) on the specified closing date will be cancelled automatically by the system. UCD are unable to accept late applications.

UCD do not require assistance from Recruitment Agencies. Any CV's submitted by Recruitment Agencies will be returned.