Finite Element Analysis Engineer

Some job ads promise you’ll “change the world” and then sit you in front of a spreadsheet.

This isn’t one of those jobs.

Our client has a pipeline of seriously challenging projects in power transmission and distribution — the kind where the difference between “that works beautifully” and “that melted a hole in the system” is about 0.2 degrees and a few microns.
That’s why they need someone who actually gets a kick out of modelling reality in all its messy, multi-physics glory.
What you’ll be doing
Most of your time will be spent modelling high voltage cable systems in FEA tools. Not glamorous, but vital. You’ll be looking at the electrical, thermal, and mechanical behaviours of these systems, spotting problems before they cost a fortune in prototypes or downtime.
Some days you’ll be knee-deep in stress, strain, vibration, or fatigue analysis. Other days, you’ll be wrestling with boundary conditions and material properties that refuse to behave the way you expected. If that sounds like your kind of puzzle, keep reading.
You won’t be doing this in a vacuum (unless we decide vacuum breakdown fields are worth modelling that day). You’ll be part of a multidisciplinary team — chemists, physicists, materials scientists, test engineers. All people who’ve been at this game long enough to know that no one has all the answers.
What we’re looking for
A PhD in Electrical Engineering, ideally with a focus on high voltage systems and FEA.
Solid experience with ANSYS, Abaqus, COMSOL (or similar).
Strong grounding in materials science and high voltage electrical systems.
The ability to explain your work clearly — in English, not just simulation-software-speak.
Confidence to make good decisions when the data is incomplete — and to explain why you made them. Why bother applying? Because if you’re the kind of person who enjoys turning a complicated mess of physics into a set of actionable insights, this is one of the few jobs where you’ll be appreciated for it. You’ll also get the satisfaction of working on projects that directly impact the future of the UK’s power infrastructure.
You’ll learn from colleagues with decades of experience (and possibly a few scars), and they’ll learn from you too. We don’t expect you to know everything on day one. But we do expect curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to adapt