Laboratory Technician IEPG Group

Delft; Delft; Remote; EUR 41,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

ABP pension scheme

Health insurance discounts

Holiday allowance 8%

End-of-year bonus 8.3%

Education/training opportunities

Flexible leave hours budget

Job summary

Delft University of Technology's ESP Lab seeks a Laboratory Technician to help build and operate the UTOPYS real-time power system simulation platform and maintain the laboratory infrastructure. You will support researchers in developing models and experiments for future energy systems.

You will collaborate with researchers, PhD candidates, students, and industry partners in a multidisciplinary environment, contributing to intelligent electrical grids, grid automation, and safe lab operations

Qualifications

• MBO/HBO degree in Electrical Engineering, Energy Technology, Power Systems, or related field
• Hands-on experience with electrical power systems, substations, or transmission and distribution networks
• Understanding of protection, control, and automation principles
• Experience with real-time simulation platforms or SCADA/RTDS/OPAL-RT is a plus
• Familiarity with IEC 61850 and digital substation concepts is desirable
• Able to work in a multidisciplinary research environment and communicate in English

Responsibilities

• Deploy and operate the real-time simulation platform
• Configure, validate, and run real-time power system simulations
• Support substation equipment modeling and grid automation for validation
• Build hardware-in-the-loop setups connecting simulators to physical equipment
• Provide technical support for researchers and students
• Ensure safe laboratory operations

Skills

Power systems experience

Troubleshooting

Multidisciplinary work

English communication

Education

Electrical Eng degree

Tools

SCADA systems

RTDS

OPAL-RT

IEC 61850

Job description

Join the IEPG group and help build the next generation power system research infrastructure

UTOPYS (Understanding Large, Complex Power Systems) is a ten-year programme to build a new theory of large, complex power systems, enabled by the a state-of-the-art real-time power system simulator. As Laboratory Technician, you will help build, operate, and maintain this large-scale real-time simulation environment and its laboratory in.

The technician will contribute to the deployment and operation of a large-scale real-time simulation environment for future power systems, supporting researchers in developing, validating, and operating simulation models and associated laboratory infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities:

• UTOPYS Research Infrastructure

Support the installation, operation, maintenance, and expansion of the UTOPYS simulation platform and associated laboratory infrastructure.

• Power System Models and Simulation

Support researchers in configuring, validating, and operating real-time power system simulations and experimental environments.

• Substation and Grid Technologies

Contribute practical expertise on power system operation, substation equipment (relays, IEDs, merging units), protection schemes, and grid automation to support realistic modelling and experimental validation.

• Simulation Platform Integration

Build and configure hardware-in-the-loop setups, connecting simulators to physical equipment through I/O interfaces, cables, communication networks, measurement systems, and other related software and hardware components.

• Technical Support for Research Teams

Assist researchers, PhD candidates, students, and industrial partners in preparing and operating experimental setups and simulation studies.

• Laboratory Operations and Safety

Ensure safe operation of laboratory facilities and compliance with laboratory procedures.

You will become a member of the ESP Lab team, headed by Lab Manager Sandra Dordevic. The ESP Lab team is responsible for the operation, maintenance, and development of the department’s research infrastructure and experimental facilities supporting research and education activities. Your work will primarily focus on supporting the Intelligent Electrical Power Grids (IEPG) section, headed by Professor Peter Palensky, with a particular emphasis on the UTOPYS programme. This position offers an excellent opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary environment together with researchers, students, utilities, manufacturers, and industrial partners, contributing to the development of future sustainable and resilient power systems.

About the Department

The Department of Electrical Sustainable Energy addresses the technical, scientific, and societal challenges of the energy transition through research in:

• DC Systems, Energy Conversion and Storage (DCE&S)
• Photovoltaic Materials and Devices (PVMD)
• High Voltage Technologies (HVT)

The department provides expertise across the entire electrical energy system chain, from generation and conversion to transmission, distribution, and end-use applications. The department operates the Electrical Sustainable Power (ESP) Lab, one of Europe's largest academic power systems laboratories. The ESP Lab hosts advanced facilities for high-voltage testing, DC grids research, power electronics, protection and control, digital substations, and real-time power system simulation, supporting research and education in future energy systems. The Intelligent Electrical Power Grids (IEPG) section conducts research on the operation, control, digitalisation, and resilience of future power systems, with a strong focus on real-time simulation, digital twins, cyber-physical energy systems, protection and control, and grid automation. UTOPYS is one of its initiatives, providing a unique large-scale platform for power system simulation and experimentation.

Job requirements

• MBO/HBO degree in Electrical Engineering, Energy Technology, Power Systems, or a related field.
• Practical experience with electrical power systems, substations, or transmission and distribution networks.
• Understanding of power system protection, control, and automation principles.
• Experience with power system simulation platforms, SCADA systems, RTDS, OPAL-RT, or similar technologies is an advantage.
• Familiarity with communication protocols and digital substation concepts (e.g. IEC 61850) is desirable.
• Hands-on, analytical, and solution-oriented, with strong troubleshooting skills.
• Comfortable working in a multidisciplinary research environment with researchers, students, and industrial partners.
• Good communication skills in English, both written and spoken.

Conditions of employment

• Duration of contract is 5 years. Temporary 2.2A.
• A job of 38-40 hours per week.
• A salary based on Scale 10 of the CAO for Dutch Universities with a salary between €3706 - €5760 gross per month based on a fulltime contract (38 hours), plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.
• An excellent pension scheme via the ABP.
• The possibility to compile an individual employment package every year.
• Discount with health insurers on supplemental packages.
• Every year, 232 leave hours (at 38 hours). You can also sell or buy additional leave hours via the individual choice budget.
• Plenty of opportunities for education, training and courses.
• Partially paid parental leave
• Attention for working healthy and energetically with the vitality program.

Additional information

If you would like more information about this vacancy or the selection procedure, please contact Prof. Peter Palensky, via [e-mail] .

Faculty/Department: Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics & Computer Science

FTE: 1

Submission is possible until: 16 Nov 2026