We are developing an autonomous fixed-wing aircraft and want to investigate whether the aircraft's propeller and electric motor can be used as a generator during flight to recover energy and recharge the onboard batteries.
We are looking for an engineer with experience in ESCs, BLDC/PMSM motors, embedded systems and power electronics who can help us understand how much energy can be recovered, how the motor and ESC should be controlled in generator mode, and what hardware or firmware changes are required.
This is a hands-on role involving ESC development, motor-control firmware, power electronics, testing, data analysis and aircraft integration.
Working closely with our Embedded, Avionics and flight test teams you will:
ESC Development: Evaluate and modify existing ESC hardware and firmware to support regenerative operation and bidirectional power flow.
Motor Control: Develop control strategies for generator torque, current, RPM and regenerative braking while maintaining safe and stable operation.
Power & Battery Integration: Determine how generated energy can be safely transferred back to the battery while respecting voltage, current, BMS and charging limits.
Testing & Characterization: Build bench tests to measure RPM, torque, voltage, current, power, efficiency and thermal performance.
System Integration: Integrate the regenerative motor system with the aircraft's battery, avionics, telemetry and flight-control systems.
We are particularly interested in experience with:
Motor Control: BLDC/PMSM motors, FOC, six-step commutation, PWM, back-EMF, current control, torque control.
ESC & Power Electronics: MOSFET inverters, gate drivers, current/voltage sensing, DC-link circuits, bidirectional power flow, DC/DC converters.
Embedded Systems: ArduPilot/PX4, Embedded C/C++, STM32, TI C2000, dsPIC or similar MCUs, ADC, PWM, timers, interrupts, CAN, UART, SPI and I2C.
Battery Systems: Li-ion/LiPo batteries, BMS integration, charging limits, voltage/current protection and regenerative charging.
Practical experience with ESCs, motor controllers, BLDC/PMSM motors, embedded firmware, power electronics, electric propulsion, robotics, EV systems, or similar systems.
Direct experience with UAV ESC development, regenerative braking, custom motor controllers, electric propulsion or bidirectional power systems is highly desirable.
