The Role
Lead end-to-end system architecture for a greenfield UPS product: choose topologies, define hardware/software boundaries, own technical roadmap, drive validation (SIL/HIL), certification, system-level testing, risk/FMEA, and serve as the senior technical contact for customers and cross-functional teams through to manufacturing release.
Summary Generated by Built In
Our Client is building a new UPS product from the ground up. The software, hardware and control engineers are already in place. What is missing is the person who decides how the system is architected - someone with the authority and experience to make topology choices, define hardware/software boundaries, own the technical roadmap, and be accountable for the product's technical integrity from first concept to manufacturing release.
This is not a coordination role dressed up as engineering. It is approximately 70% hands-on technical work and 30% cross-functional leadership. The System Architect will be the most senior technical voice on the UPS programme and the primary contact for customers when conversations require engineering depth.
In the longer term, the role expands: the UPS programme is the entry point to a broader power electronics product portfolio that will need the same architectural leadership.
What You Will Own
Technical Architecture & Product Definition
- Own the end-to-end system architecture of the UPS product - topology selection (NPC, back-to-back, AC/DC, DC/DC stages), power stage definition, hardware/software partitioning, and interface specification.
- Translate business and customer requirements into a coherent, certifiable technical specification. When requirements conflict or are ambiguous, you resolve them.
- Lead technology trade-off studies and make architecture decisions with full accountability -including choices that will define the product for its entire lifecycle.
- Define and evolve the technology roadmap, starting with the UPS programme and growing to cover the company's broader inverter product portfolio.
Technical Leadership of the Engineering Team
- Act as the highest technical authority on the programme - the Control System Engineer, Hardware Engineer, and Embedded SW Engineer work alongside you, not above you.
- Define system-level interfaces, integration milestones, and technical review gates. You set the architecture; the team executes within it.
- Drive alignment across disciplines (HW, SW, control, mechanical) and escalate or resolve conflicts at the system level.
- Define the validation and test strategy - SIL/HIL coverage, system-level test plans, and commissioning approach - and own it through to field deployment.
Standards, Certification & Compliance
- Architect the product for compliance with relevant standards from day one - not as an afterthought. Key standards include IEC 62040, CE marking, EN 50091, and power electronics equivalents.
- Lead the certification process: define the compliance strategy, manage documentation, and represent the programme with certification bodies.
- Assess applicability of marine certification (GL, LR, ABS) as the portfolio evolves - this is a future-phase requirement, not a day-one deliverable.
Customer & External Engagement
- Lead independent technical meetings with customers - presenting architecture, resolving technical issues, and translating customer requirements into engineering constraints.
- Support Sales and Marketing as the technical authority in pre-sales conversations, proposals, and demonstrations.
- Represent the company in supplier and component selection discussions where architecture decisions drive procurement.
Risk, Safety & IP
- Drive system-level FMEA (DFMEA, PFMEA), FTA, and functional safety analysis. Own the risk register for technical decisions.
- Ensure all architecture decisions are documented, traceable, and defensible to certification bodies and customers.
- Contribute actively to intellectual property creation - patents, technical disclosures, and know-how documentation.
Requirements
- Minimum 7–8 years of hands-on power electronics product development - with clear evidence of making architecture decisions, not just implementing them.
- Proven track record of taking a power electronics product from concept through to manufacturing launch. If you have never delivered a complete product to market, this role is not the right fit.
- Solid command of power converter topologies: NPC, ANPC, back-to-back, AC/DC, DC/DC, multi-level converters. You can discuss trade-offs between topologies without preparation.
- System-level understanding of power converter control - current loops, voltage control, DC-link management, grid behaviour. You do not need to write the control code, but you must understand what the Control System Engineer is building and why.
- Ability and appetite to operate as the sole technical authority on a greenfield programme - making decisions, living with their consequences, and iterating quickly.
- English B2/C1 (customer-facing role) and Polish (required for internal collaboration).
Technical Depth Expected
- Knowledge of power electronics certification processes (IEC 62040, CE, EN 50091, or equivalent product class) - you have been through at least one product certification cycle.
- Experience with system-level FMEA/DFMEA, functional safety analysis (IEC 61508 or equivalent), and risk management in a power electronics context.
- Familiarity with embedded control platforms used in power converters (TI C2000, STM32, DSP-based controllers) - enough to specify requirements and review implementations.
- Knowledge of industrial communication protocols (CAN, EtherCAT, Modbus, SPI, UART) at the level needed to define system interfaces.
- Experience defining validation strategies - SIL, HIL, system-level testing - and building test infrastructure from scratch where necessary.
Strong Advantage
Direct experience with UPS systems (architecture, topologies, operating modes, grid interaction, IEC 62040 / EN 50091). Candidates with UPS background will be prioritised at the shortlist stage.
Nice to Have
- Background in grid-connected converter behaviour and grid code requirements (LVRT/HVRT, fault ride-through, reactive power support).
- MATLAB/Simulink for system-level modelling and simulation.
- FPGA-based control platform experience.
- Marine certification exposure (GL, LR, ABS) - relevant for future portfolio expansion.
Benefits
- Full technical ownership of a greenfield product - your architecture decisions will define this UPS for its entire commercial life. This level of authority is rare.
- A clear growth path: the UPS programme is the entry point; the roadmap includes a broader inverter portfolio that will need the same architectural leadership.
- Work in an international R&D environment on a high-complexity product with real-world industrial and energy applications.
- Stable permanent employment (UoP) in a company with an established global market position.
- Attractive compensation commensurate with experience.
- Hybrid model - 3 days on-site, 2 days remote.
Skills Required
- Minimum 7-8 years hands-on power electronics product development with architecture decision experience
- Proven track record delivering a power-electronics product from concept to manufacturing launch
- Solid command of power converter topologies (NPC, ANPC, back-to-back, AC/DC, DC/DC, multi-level)
- System-level understanding of power converter control (current loops, voltage control, DC-link management, grid behaviour)
- Ability to act as sole technical authority on a greenfield programme and make accountable architecture decisions
- English B2/C1 (customer-facing) and Polish (required for internal collaboration)
- Knowledge/experience with product certification processes (IEC 62040, CE, EN 50091 or equivalent) and having been through at least one certification cycle
- Experience with system-level FMEA/DFMEA, functional safety analysis (IEC 61508 or equivalent), FTA, and risk management
- Familiarity with embedded control platforms used in power converters (TI C2000, STM32, DSP) to specify requirements and review implementations
- Knowledge of industrial communication protocols (CAN, EtherCAT, Modbus, SPI, UART) to define system interfaces
- Experience defining validation strategies (SIL, HIL, system-level testing) and building test infrastructure
- Direct UPS systems experience (architecture, topologies, IEC 62040 / EN 50091)
- MATLAB/Simulink for system-level modelling and simulation
- FPGA-based control platform experience
- Background in grid-connected converter behaviour and grid code requirements (LVRT/HVRT, fault ride-through)
- Marine certification exposure (GL, LR, ABS) for future portfolio expansion
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The Company
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