Senior Fluidics Engineer

Role: Senior Fluidics Engineer

Location: Leeds, UK (with occasional travel)

Department: Engineering R+D

About AssetCool

AssetCool is addressing one of the most pressing challenges in the global energy transition – grid congestion. By combining cutting-edge grid robotics with breakthrough materials science, our technology transforms the physical performance of the grid in situ, increasing current-carrying capacity by up to 30%, at just 5% of the cost and in a tenth of the time compared to conventional approaches.

In addition to enhancing capacity, our solutions tackle other grid constraints including corrosion, electrical noise, and enable the collection of high-value data to build accurate, predictive digital twins. This technology is proving transformative and is being adopted at an accelerating pace, with deployments across Canada, Slovenia, the UK, and the USA, and a strong global deployment pipeline.

AssetCool is a fast-growing company with plans to more than double in size over the next six months. Backed by international investors from the US, mainland Europe, and the UK, we are proud to be one of the most innovation-focused companies in the UK energy sector.

We’re looking for ambitious, mission-driven individuals who are excited to work hard alongside their colleagues to build and deploy world-leading technology that tackles some of the planet’s most urgent infrastructure challenges.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Senior Fluidics Engineer to lead the design, development, and optimisation of our next generation of fluid delivery systems for AssetCool’s CAMs. This role will focus on enabling precise, reliable, and scalable application of advanced coating materials to transmission conductors in operational environments. The engineer will work closely with mechanical, electronics, and robotics teams to integrate robust fluidics systems into modular robotic platforms.

Key Responsibilities

Fluidics System Development

• Design and optimise complete fluid delivery architectures, including reservoirs, pumps, mixers, regulators, valves, filters, hoses, and applicators.
• Engineer systems for precise flow rate, pressure regulation and deposition control, ensuring consistent film thickness and coating quality.
• Develop two-part and multi-component mixing systems, including static/dynamic mixers, with real-time ratio monitoring and automated control.
• Ensure designs minimise weight, footprint, and power consumption for robotic deployment.

Telemetry, Instrumentation & Control

• Integrate sensors for flow rate, pressure, viscosity, and temperature monitoring to ensure accurate process control.
• Implement real-time telemetry on coating consumption, fluid levels, and system diagnostics for predictive maintenance.
• Develop feedback loops that dynamically adjust pump speeds, valve positions, and pressure regulators based on live data.
• Collaborate with Software Engineers to integrate fluidics data streams into the CAM control system and operator dashboard.

Materials & Chemical Handling

• Work with coating chemists to understand rheology, cure times, shear sensitivities, and solvent compatibility, and translate this into engineering design.
• Develop systems capable of handling shear-sensitive, viscous, or particulate-laden coatings without clogging or degradation.
• Establish cleaning, purging, and maintenance strategies to ensure system reliability and minimise downtime.

Testing & Validation

• Conduct laboratory and field tests to validate fluid delivery performance under a range of environmental and operational conditions.
• Characterise deposition uniformity, curing behaviour, and multi-layer performance.
• Support failure analysis and root cause investigations of fluid delivery issues.
• Document design specifications, test procedures, and operating guidelines for production deployment.

Collaboration with Production and Field Services

• Work with the Production department to handover projects from R+D to production and quality engineering.
• Be involved in project pilots internationally for initial deployments of fluidic systems.
• Partner with electronics and controls engineers to ensure seamless integration of sensors, actuators, and data acquisition.
• Collaborate with robotics engineers to ensure compatibility of fluidics with robotic motion constraints and deployment environments.

Required Skills & Experience

• Degree (Master’s or PhD preferred) in Mechatronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Fluidics, or a related discipline.
• 7+ years of experience in fluidics system design and development, ideally for coatings, adhesives, paints, or precision chemical delivery.
• Experience designing portable, compact, or robotic fluidics systems.
• Strong knowledge of pumps (peristaltic, gear, diaphragm), valves, pressure regulators, atomisers, and mixers.
• Expertise in flow instrumentation, telemetry, and closed-loop control.
• Hands-on prototyping and testing experience, with a track record of taking designs from concept to deployment.
• Ability to work across disciplines (mechanical, chemical, electronics, robotics) in a fast-paced startup environment.

Desired Experience

• Background in spray or coating application technologies.
• Experience with multi-component fluid handling systems, including two-part epoxy, polyurethane, or adhesive applications.
• Knowledge of standards for pressurised fluid systems, coatings, and safety compliance.

Why Join AssetCool?

• Work on groundbreaking technology revolutionizing the power grid.
• Fast-growing startup with significant industry traction and large-scale projects.
• Collaborative, innovation-driven team with exciting career growth opportunities.
• Competitive salary, and flexible work options

We know that women and other underrepresented groups can sometimes feel they need to meet every single requirement listed in a job description. If you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification, we still encourage you to apply. You might be exactly who we're looking for, either for this role or another opportunity within our team.

We’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. We’re committed to building an inclusive, supportive workplace where everyone can thrive, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

If you have a disability or any specific requirements and need adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, just let us know and we’ll do our best to accommodate your needs.

We may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid missing out.

We are not looking for agency support currently.