Magnet.me  -  The smart network where hbo and wo students find their internship and first job.

The smart network where hbo and wo students find their internship and first job.

This opportunity has expired. It is therefore no longer possible to like or apply.

See similar opportunities instead

Solar Energy Simulation Engineer

Posted 27 Mar 2024
Work experience
3 to 5 years
Full-time / part-time
Full-time
Job function
Degree level
Required language
English (Fluent)

Your career starts on Magnet.me

Create a profile and receive smart job recommendations based on your liked jobs.

Solar Energy Simulation Engineer

Helmond

Fulltime

Are you passionate about solar/ (Vi)PV and looking for an exciting challenge? Do you want to contribute to improving the efficiency of our vehicles by developing the most advanced model for ViPV energy yield prediction? Join us on our mission!

Working at Lightyear is a unique experience. You get the opportunity to work for a company with a pure and meaningful mission. A mission that will make a positive and lasting impact on future generations.

What will you do as Solar Energy Simulation Engineer?

Your mission:

By developing the most advanced model for ViPV (Vehicle-Integrated Photovoltaics) energy yield prediction you will contribute to improve the efficiency of our vehicles and to quantify the environmental (CO2 reduction) and financial benefit (independence from the grid, energy savings) of ViPV.

Your job will consist of but is not limited to:

  • Optimizing, validating and maintaining a comprehensive software package for energy yield simulation of solar modules integrated in terrestrial vehicles (Vehicle Integrated Photovoltaics - ViPV).
  • Implementing advanced optical/electrical/thermal/environmental models.
  • Analyzing and interpret energy yield data collected from test vehicles.
  • Integrating energy yield data into a vehicle performance model able to ultimately translate module Watts-peak (Wp) into solar Kms.
  • Contributing to the development of advanced module topologies and energy management strategies in order to improve the overall vehicle efficiency.

A day as a Solar Energy Simulation Engineer at Lightyear

Let's start by saying Lightyear is very flexible in terms of your working hours, we offer near-full remote working with any office equipment we need to work ergonomically (and a work-at-home budget to upgrade your internet). If needed, or desired, you can spend your working time at our modern office at the Automotive Campus close to Helmond (travel allowance included). Here you can enjoy a good cup of coffee, thee or hot chocolate, fresh fruit and experience the buzz of the office and the labs/workshops.

So, let's assume this day you chose to come to our office and the first thing you do is grab your favourite wake-up drink before rolling into the first stand-up of the week to align with your project manager. Some other colleagues you might see in this stand-up are other PV engineers, domain expert(s), power engineers and/or testing engineers. At the end of the stand-up, you have a laugh with a few colleagues about what happened during the Friday afternoon drinks of last week. Afterwards, you decide to have a quick one-on-one with your project manager to specify something that has been said during the stand-up that wasn't clear to you. Then you decide to sit at a desk and try to improve the model for solar energy estimation. Let's not go too much into detail already, but you can do this by implementing advanced (physical) models and validating them for real life data, obtained through our very own test vehicles.

It's lunch time! You decided to go for a walk together with a few colleagues, because the weather is perfect today (well, the sun is ALWAYS shining in Helmond of course!). During this walk it's not (at) all about work, you also talk about when you are going for a mountain bike ride together (again) or about what you did in the long weekend you all had. After lunch, it's time to present the outcomes of the data analysis you did, retrieved from the test vehicle, to your circle lead and some other colleagues. Here you also discuss what kind of research to take in to improve energy yield of our solar panels. The rest of the afternoon, you're doing a lot of simulations. No really, a lot! And you like it.

At Lightyear, the work is organized by project managers and we work Agile. With 2 week sprints you will have stand-ups (about 3 times per week) with your multidisciplinary project team to align on the timeline (for example). There is 1 sprint for every main (solar) project. As a flat organization you will have many opportunities to influence the design and direction of our products. Putting people first is one of our values, and we try to live up to it by giving you plenty of opportunity to grow and develop. So your day might include one-on-one meetings with your group lead or you might use your training budget to take an interesting course.

At the end of the work week enjoy your well deserved (virtual) Friday afternoon drink or one of the fun activities our happiness team comes up with!

What do we expect from a Solar Energy Simulation Engineer at Lightyear?

In order to succeed in the dynamic world of Lightyear pro-activity, professionalism, communication and adaptability are crucial. We are looking for people with an ambitious attitude who learn from the past (tried and tested) and who strive to set new standards when needed. You can work within the team or independently and you plan your budget and time well. You are flexible and can work under pressure. Furthermore, we are looking for someone with:

  • Master's degree or PhD in Physics/ Engineering or any other relevant field
  • At least 3+ years of full time relevant experience in a similar role
  • Previous experience in PV energy yield modeling is the main discriminating factor
  • Lots of PV knowledge in general, more specifically: physical, optical, thermal models
  • Familiar with Photovoltaics and in particular with module technology
  • Software skills in Matlab and familiar with at least one of the main programming languages (Python, C, C+, etc.). Able to learn advanced software tools on the spot.
  • Ability to work in dynamical multidisciplinary teams
  • Knowledge of the Agile Methodology is a plus
  • Fluent in English is mandatory
  • Availability for 40 hours per week

On a personal level you can relate to the following characteristics. You:

  • are able to focus and dive deeply into a topic even under a lot of external inputs and a fast-evolving environment;
  • are able to autonomously steer and direct the technical developments in the field;
  • desire to “learn” but also to “teach”;
  • have a problem solving attitude (no problem creation);
  • are a team-player.

What can you expect from Lightyear?

In addition to a challenging role we also offer:

  • A high degree of freedom and independence in your role
  • A role within a multidisciplinary team consisting of highly motivated, inquisitive and talented people with a broad diversity of experience
  • A role at one of the fastest growing technical companies in the Netherlands with tremendous potential
  • 40 vacation days per year
  • An interesting and balanced pension through Zwitserleven that is in line with the mission of Lightyear
  • The ability to participate via shares and to be involved in the growth and success of Lightyear
  • In addition to a dynamic working environment, there is time for relaxation during our already epic Friday afternoon drinks

At Lightyear we are building an electric car that charges itself. From our experience at Solar Team Eindhoven, we know this is only possible starting from scratch. At Lightyear we bring together a multidisciplinary team of highly motivated engineers, designers, and visionaries to challenge the status quo. Write the story with us!

Automotive
Helmond
Active in 10 countries
200 employees
70% men - 30% women
Average age is 35 years

What employees are saying

Manuel Ribeiro

Software Engineer

Manuel Ribeiro

"Lightyear is an exceptional team that puts together people from all over the world with the same goal of creating a meaningful positive impact in our society. I felt welcome from the very first day and working with such motivated engineers gives me the energy I need to do my best every day."

Sapfo Tsoutsou

Group Lead - Thermal Engineering

Sapfo Tsoutsou

"Lightyear is een geweldig bedrijf om voor te werken. Het voelt voor mij meer als familie dan een werkgever. Klinkt misschien een beetje heftig, maar het is zo. Je maakt makkelijk vrienden op werk: iedereen is vriendelijk, behulpzaam en zo gemotiveerd om echt een verschil te maken in de wereld.”