Role Overview
We are looking for a practical, hands-on HIL Engineer to join our growing team in Leamington Spa. Working directly alongside our HIL HIL Specialist, your primary focus will be keeping the BMS HIL and Charging System HIL rigs operational, well-maintained, and ready for use at all times.
You are responsible to ensure the rigs are healthy — hardware is connected and functioning, software tools are configured correctly, interfaces are verified, and any faults or issues are diagnosed and resolved quickly. You will be the backbone of the HIL environment, and supporting the HIL Specialist in development of the HIL rigs.
This role suits someone who is methodical, technically curious, and takes pride in keeping complex equipment running reliably. Prior automotive HIL experience is desirable but not essential — what matters most is a strong practical mindset, a willingness to learn, and the ability to work confidently around electronic hardware and test equipment.
Key Responsibilities
Day-to-Day Rig Maintenance
• Perform regular health checks on the BMS HIL and Charging System HIL rigs, ensuring all hardware, interfaces, and connections are in good working order
• Diagnose and resolve rig faults — including wiring issues, interface errors, hardware failures, and software configuration problems — in a timely manner
• Monitor rig availability and proactively flag any issues that could affect test programme timing to the HIL Specialist
• Carry out scheduled preventative maintenance activities on rig hardware, including power supplies, emulators, I/O units, and real-time targets
• Maintain a clean, organised, and safe rig environment in line with lab and health & safety requirements
Hardware & Interface Support
• Support the physical setup and reconfiguration of HIL rigs when new ECUs, hardware variants, or test configurations are introduced
• Verify that communication interfaces (CAN, Ethernet, SMBus/I2C) are correctly wired, terminated, and functioning ahead of test campaigns
• Assist with integration of battery cell emulators, programmable power supplies, and charge point emulation hardware into the rig environment
• Help manage hardware inventory, cable documentation, and rig configuration records to support traceability
Toolchain & Software Support
* Support the HIL Specialist in maintaining the NI VeriStand software environment — including software updates, licence management, and hardware driver configuration
* Perform basic configuration checks in NI VeriStand and associated NI tools (such as NI LabVIEW or NI TestStand) to confirm the rig is correctly set up prior to test sessions
* Assist with data logging setup and retrieval, ensuring test data is correctly captured and stored
* Help manage version control of rig configuration files, ensuring the correct baseline is in place for each test phase
Team & Programme Support
• Act as the first point of contact for rig availability queries from the validation team, escalating technical issues to the HIL Specialist where needed
• Support triage activities — helping to identify whether issues reported during test campaigns are rig-side faults, ECU behaviour, or configuration problems, and routing them to the right owner
• Assist the HIL Specialist in investigating and categorising defects, providing initial diagnostic information to accelerate root cause analysis
• Support the onboarding of new ECU software releases onto the rigs, carrying out basic connectivity and interface checks under the direction of the HIL Specialist
• Assist with the preparation and teardown of rigs for test phases, client visits, and programme milestones
• Contribute to rig documentation — updating wiring diagrams, configuration logs, and fault records as changes are made
Skills & Experience
Essential
• Practical experience working with electronic test equipment, bench hardware, or embedded systems in an engineering or laboratory environment
• Confident working around complex hardware setups — comfortable reading wiring diagrams, tracing signal paths, and diagnosing hardware faults
• Familiarity with automotive communication protocols such as CAN or Ethernet at a working level — enough to verify interfaces and spot basic configuration issues
• Good organisational skills and attention to detail — able to maintain clear records, manage multiple open faults, and keep the rig environment orderly
• A proactive, problem-solving attitude and the ability to work independently on day-to-day maintenance tasks
Desirable
• Previous exposure to HIL test environments or automotive test rigs (dSPACE, NI VeriStand, or similar platforms)
• Experience with battery emulators, programmable power supplies, or EV charging hardware in a lab or test environment
• Basic scripting ability (Python or similar) for simple automation or configuration tasks
• Familiarity with tools such as CANoe, CANalyzer, or Vector hardware for CAN/Ethernet diagnostics
* Understanding of BMS fundamentals or EV charging systems — even at a conceptual level