Senior Engineer – DC Traction Motors

Location: Nottingham
Salary: £60,000 per annum + annual bonus + private medical insurance

Overview

We are looking for an experienced Senior Engineer / Technical Focal Point to take full technical ownership of DC Traction Motors. This is a key senior role for a subject matter expert who can combine deep electrical and mechanical knowledge with hands-on operational leadership.

You will act as the definitive technical authority for traction motor overhaul, repair, and performance optimisation—supporting the shop floor, leading complex investigations, and working directly with customers to ensure engineering excellence from strip-down to final test.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Engineering

• Serve as the technical authority for all DC traction motor activities, providing expert guidance across electrical windings, mechanical tolerances, and motor performance issues.
• Lead root cause analysis (RCA) investigations into motor failures using vibration analysis, thermography, and electrical test data, producing clear technical reports and preventative actions.
• Ensure all repairs and overhauls comply with relevant international standards (IEEE, IEC) and railway industry requirements.
• Define and refine technical work scopes, ensuring machining, insulation systems, and rebuild methods meet or exceed OEM specifications.

Project & Operational Management

• Manage the technical lifecycle of motor overhaul projects—from strip and survey through to final testing and delivery.
• Act as the main technical interface between engineering, production, procurement, and customers to resolve technical queries, deviations, and material substitutions.
• Drive continuous improvement, identifying process bottlenecks and implementing Lean engineering practices to improve turnaround times without compromising quality.

Required Skills Experience

Technical Expertise

• Electrical: Strong background in DC motor theory, including commutation, brush gear optimisation, armature windings, and high-pot / surge testing.
• Mechanical: Proven experience with bearing arrangements, shaft recovery, housing repairs, and precision fits and tolerances.
• Diagnostics: Confident interpreting electrical test results (Megger, PI, Step Voltage) and mechanical measurement data.

Professional Background

• Experience: Must have heavy industrial or rail environment focused on large DC rotating machines.
• Qualifications: Degree in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering (desirable not essential), or equivalent senior trade certification backed by significant hands-on experience.
• Project Exposure: Experience managing technical projects, including planning, stakeholder communication, and cost awareness.

Personal Attributes

• Strong analytical mindset, able to translate complex technical data into practical shop-floor solutions.
• Clear and confident communicator, capable of engaging both technical teams and non-technical clients.
• Decisive and resilient, comfortable making critical engineering decisions under operational pressure.