Graduate Design Engineer (Rail Electrification and Design Automation) - #2174558

Graduate Engineer – Rail Electrification and Design Automation

Inovar is a Manchester-based engineering consultancy specialising in rail electrification design and digital engineering solutions. We are seeking a graduate engineer with strong technical ability, programming skills and an interest in applying emerging technologies to practical engineering challenges.

Our recent projects include Old Oak Common Rail Systems, the TransPennine Route Upgrade and Poplar Electrification, which recently won a National Rail Award. Our previous graduate recruit has since progressed to Design Engineer and will contribute to mentoring the successful candidate.

Why join Inovar?

Working for a small consultancy brings both challenges and opportunities. By taking ownership of a wide range of tasks, you will gain broad engineering experience, work directly with experienced professionals and have opportunities to develop beyond a conventional graduate engineering role.

You will contribute to major railway infrastructure projects while developing your technical skills in both engineering design and digital technologies.

You will receive mentorship towards professional registration with the Engineering Council through an appropriate institution, such as IMechE, IET or ICE.

We also offer:

• A starting salary of £30,000, reviewed annually and on promotion
• A defined career progression path from Graduate Engineer through Design Engineer, Senior Engineer and Principal Engineer, with clear requirements for each stage
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Employer pension contribution
• Private medical insurance
• Annual profit share based on company performance
• Hybrid working and quarterly team days

The role

Your primary responsibility will be to develop as an overhead line equipment (OLE) design engineer, contributing to live railway projects alongside experienced engineers.

You will learn the principles of OLE design, including wire geometry, tensioning, component selection, clearance assessment, design calculations, drawing production and technical reporting. As your experience develops, you will take increasing responsibility for delivering engineering work for our clients.

Alongside this, you will have opportunities to apply your programming skills to practical engineering problems. Inovar is developing its capabilities in design automation, parametric modelling and AI-assisted engineering, and we are looking for someone who can contribute to this work.

The balance between engineering design and automation will depend on project requirements and business priorities. Our aim is to increasingly integrate programming and automation into our everyday engineering processes to improve efficiency, quality and consistency.

This is primarily an engineering design role, not a software development position. We are looking for someone who enjoys engineering, understands the value of sound technical judgement and is enthusiastic about improving how engineering work is delivered.

The candidate

Essential:

• A Bachelor's or Master's degree in mechanical, civil, structural, electrical, mechatronics or a closely related engineering discipline
• Demonstrable programming ability, preferably in Python, with experience developing scripts, applications or automation tools
• An interest in applying programming and artificial intelligence to practical engineering problems
• An appreciation of 2D and 3D CAD software.
• A commitment to working towards professional registration as a Chartered Engineer
• Strong written and spoken English, with the confidence to discuss technical matters with colleagues and clients
• A logical and analytical approach to problem solving, with a willingness to research and learn independently
• Initiative, creativity and an ability to approach unfamiliar technical challenges

Desirable:

• Experience with Python libraries, data processing, APIs or engineering automation
• Familiarity with parametric modelling, numerical methods or computational engineering
• Experience using AI-assisted programming tools, with an understanding of the need to verify their outputs
• Previous engineering placement or internship experience

Show us what you have built.

We ask applicants to provide an example of a programming, automation or computational engineering project they have completed. This could be a dissertation tool, placement assignment or personal project.

We are interested in the problem you were solving, how you approached it, what you developed and how you tested the result. Practical ability, independent thinking and a willingness to learn are more important to us than familiarity with any particular software package.

How to apply

Please apply via LinkedIn, enclosing your CV and a brief description of a programming, automation or computational engineering project you have completed. A link to a portfolio or GitHub repository is welcome but not essential. For any questions, contact [email protected] or any member of our team via LinkedIn.