FOSTER Summer Placement - Power Electronics for Magnets

The FOSTER programme's enhanced internship scheme provides students an opportunity to gain work experience within the growing UK fusion industry. The FOSTER programme is looking to build the talent pipeline into the industry. Over the past three years, 83 students have participated in placements in 20 host organisations around the UK, with many receiving offers of employment after their graduation. 

Tokamak Energy are fully committed to building talent within the fusion industry and excited to offer internship opportunities across our business. The placement will give you valuable experience working within a commercial fusion company alongside talented experts within the field, building both your technical and business knowledge.     

Placements at Tokamak Energy also give students the opportunity to regularly collaborate not only with our employees, but crucially with other members of your cohort. We recognise the value of creating a supportive learning environment to enable you to explore the subjects and skills that you are passionate about. This is your chance to dive into the world of Fusion Energy and help shape the future of sustainable energy!

This role relates to developing magnet power supply for scientific applications that require sub-ppm level of magnetic field stability. Such stability is achieved by close loop control of the magnet through power electronic dc-dc converters. As part of system development, the  work includes the hardware design of the converter, control loop design, simulation and demonstration of a working prototype. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to focus on their area of interest: power electronics hardware design, or closed loop controller design. 

In this role, you will: 

• Understand the power converter requirements and operation 

• Verify the functionality through circuit and system simulation 

• Verify the hardware design by reviewing component ratings, evaluating loss and temperature rise 

• Assemble hardware and test individual units 

• Implement and debug control loop in simulation and hardware 

• Demonstrate a working prototype 

Hazard-specific / Safety-critical duties  

This job includes the following hazards or safety-critical activities which will require successful pre-employment health screening through our occupational health service before the successful candidate will be allowed to start work: 

• Working at height (ladders, scissor lifts, cherry pickers & scaffolding) 

• Regular manual handling 

• Use of welding equipment 

• Working with electricity (ELV) 

• Working with or in the vicinity of equipment that produces high magnetic fields 

Requirements

• Studying a Degree or Masters in Electronics and Electrical Engineering, or other relevant field 

• Knowledge of power electronic converter operation, for example: buck and boost dc-dc converters, diode rectifiers, single-phase inverters 

• Practical experience with electronics, for example op-amps and microcontrollers 

• Some programming skills in Matlab, Python, or C 

• Experience with system or  circuit-level simulation (e.g. Matlab/Simulink, PLECS, LTSpice) 

• Motivated and enthusiastic with ability to work independently  

• Good communication skills with ability to work collaboratively with team members  

• Good planning and organisation skills  

• Communicating and relating to others (oral / written)  

• Analysis and research 

Benefits

• 6 days holiday (plus bank holidays)
• The placement has a maximum duration of 10 weeks.
• The salary is £23,809 per annum, pro-rated and paid monthly.
• Accommodation cover aren't offered for the student placements.
• Cohort experience
• This is a fantastic opportunity to get a closer look at what we do, the work environment, and the exciting roles we have available.
• Advert closes 31 March 2025.
• Please check you are eligible via this link on the UKAEA website: https://careers.ukaea.uk/early-careers/foster-summer-internship/