Senior R&D Engineer- Power Quality

Hitachi Energy; Chennai District; On-site; INR 500,000 - 700,000; Full time

Job summary

Hitachi Energy is seeking R&D engineers at its India Development Centre in Chennai. The position focuses on developing and validating control functionalities for FACTS technologies.

Successful candidates will work on innovative solutions in the power quality domain and contribute to ensuring compliance with internal regulations. A strong background in power systems is essential, along with skills in tools like MATLAB and PSCAD.

Qualifications

• 0-3 years of experience in Power Systems or Power Electronics.
• Experience with modeling voltage-sourced converters and simulation tools.

Responsibilities

• Research and develop control philosophy for technologies.
• Implement and validate control logic in MACH control system.
• Perform simulations and verify control logic using MATLAB.

Skills

Understanding of power system concepts

Knowledge of voltage-sourced converters

Familiarity with simulation tools such as MATLAB

Education

ME Power Systems

ME Power Electronics

Tools

MATLAB

PSCAD

Job description

The Opportunity

Hitachi Energy India Development Centre (IDC) is a research and development facility with around 500 R&D engineers, specialists, and experts, who focus on creating and sustaining digital solutions, new products and technology. This includes product integration, testing, cybersecurity, and certification. The India Development Centre is situated in Chennai and Bangalore. IDC collaborates with the R&D and Research centres of Hitachi Energy, which are spread across more than 15 locations throughout 12 countries. In the past 20 years, IDC has secured more than 200 international papers and 150+ patents.

Hitachi Energy is the world leader in Power Quality Solutions (PQS). Hitachi Energy was the first to introduce Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) technology to the power industry and has delivered solutions for more than 50 years. Hitachi Energy has several solutions that enhance the security, capacity, and flexibility of power transmission systems. These solutions enable power grid owners to increase existing transmission network capacity while maintaining or improving the operating margins necessary for grid stability. Hitachi Energy has the full FACTS portfolio and in-house manufacturing of key components. Our PQS R&D group in Chennai is focusing on developing and evaluating functionalities for STATCOM, STATICVAR Compensator (SVC), Series Compensator and Synchronous Condensers for utilities and industries. Hitachi Energy uses a very high‑end system for its control, protection and monitoring of FACTS solution called MACH (Modular Advanced Control for HVDC and FACTS). This is a system of computers built with state‑of‑the‑art electronics, microprocessors and digital signal processors.

How You'll Make an Impact

• Research and develop the control philosophy for new and evolving technologies, or improve the control performance of existing technologies in the power quality domain.
• Implement, verify, and validate the developed control and protection logic in the MACH control system, thereby creating a rigorously tested, stable baseline solution that can later be tailored to meet specific customers’ requirements.
• Perform simulation of control logic and verification on control logic in software‑in‑the‑loop environment using tools including MATLAB scripts, MATLAB Simulink, and PSCAD.
• Validate testing of the whole FACTS system in a hardware‑in‑the‑loop environment with a real‑time digital simulator (e.g., RTDS interfaced with MACH system).
• Travel to sites to support various R&D activities or troubleshoot ongoing FACTS projects.
• Be responsible for deliverables in terms of quality, on‑time delivery, and proactive communication of progress to the R&D project management, work‑stream lead, and other stakeholders.
• Ensure compliance with applicable external and internal regulations, procedures, and guidelines.
• Live with Hitachi Energy’s core values of safety and integrity, which means taking responsibility for your own actions while caring for colleagues and the business.

Your Background

• Required: ME Power Systems / ME Power Electronics with 0–3 years of experience.
• Experience or expertise in understanding / modelling of voltage‑sourced converters (VSC) for HVDC, FACTS, or simulation tools such as EMTDC/PSCAD, PSS/E, RTDS, and MATLAB is an advantage.
• Strong understanding of various power system concepts, including knowledge of performing power system studies such as load flow, short circuit, transient stability, and switching transients for utility/industrial systems.
• Good understanding of control design concepts of various controllers and power electronics application in power system (HV/EHV levels).
• Good knowledge of power systems equipment and their purpose, e.g., power transformers, capacitors, reactors, instrument transformers, measuring equipment, circuit breakers, disconnectors, and surge arrestors.