Position Description

Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) II

ViZn Energy Systems, located in Columbia Falls MT, has a need for a Software Engineer II in Test (Mid-level Software Engineer) for the design and development of large-scale energy storage flow batteries.

Job Description

ViZn Energy Systems is looking for highly capable and enthusiastic candidates to join the team on the development of a new line of energy storage products.  This position is for a Mid-level Software Engineer in Test reporting to the Software Engineering Manager. This person will assist with guiding the effort to develop test coverage, test automation, and CI/CD practices for new energy storage products by providing programming to support Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) software development, automated testing, simulation, and deployment. It is required to have a minimum of 5 years of experience with unit and functional testing, test automation, integration testing, and implementing CI/CD systems. In addition, familiarity with OOP practices, RESTful APIs, containerization, and cloud technologies is required. This is a hands-on position with the need to develop/test software for equipment and requires the ability to build simulation environments and write automated software test scenarios within those environments.

Close work with the team comprised of engineers, scientists, product management, and senior management will be required.  Level and compensation will be consistent with experience.  Preference will be given to candidates who have prior experience in energy storage technology and are demonstrated successful multi-taskers.

Responsibilities and Primary Activities

Analyze new and existing software systems to evaluate test cases/scenarios.

Create manual and automated test protocols for software systems.

Create test scenarios and plans based on software requirements and specifications.

Programming to support test automation for different layers of software systems, including service endpoints, UIs, and databases.

Implementing tests on existing software systems to expand code coverage.

Documentation of test protocols and procedures.

Work with outside contract engineering resources as required.

Incorporate test automation within deployment and build operations, ensuring that released code passes tests.

Manage software revisions and documentation.

Assist in troubleshooting performance issues for both hardware and software.

Work on a distributed team and provide clear written and verbal communication.

Requirements

BS in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.

Previous experience as a software engineer in test.

Experience (>3 years) writing quality software in an object-oriented programming language (C#, Java, etc.).

Significant experience (>5 years) with technical documentation of testing procedures

Significant experience (>5 years) with test automation tooling and software.

Experience (>3 years) writing and consuming APIs (SOAP, REST, RPC, etc.).

Experience (>3 years) with relational database systems (SQL Server, MySQL, PostgresSQL, or equivalent).

Significant experience (>5 years) writing automated unit, functional, and integration tests.

Experience with containers and container orchestration for applications, services, and APIs in a cloud environment (Docker, Kubernetes, etc).

Experience working in version control systems (GIT, TFVC, SVN, etc.).

Experience working with Agile based tooling (JIRA, Azure Devops, etc.).

Some experience with DevOps and configuring and scripting CI/CD orchestration (Jenkins, Azure Devops, etc.).

Proof of ability to work in the US.

Preferred Experience

Experience with code quality and test automation tooling (e.g Selenium, SonarQube, etc.)

Experience with virtualization (VirtualBox, Hyper-V, VMWare).

Experience with encryption and authentication protocols (SSL/TLS, SASL, Kerberos, etc.).

Cloud hosting experience (Google Cloud Platform, AWS, Azure, Alibaba, etc.)

Experience with configuring simulation environments for testing combined hardware/software systems.

Experience working for a manufacturing company.

 Preferred Skills/Attributes

Goal oriented and self-directed.

Strong and clear communicator (written and verbal).

Strong individual contributor who is a team player when needed.

Proven track record of working with a diverse and multi-faceted development team.

Demonstrated work ethic consistent within a start-up atmosphere.

Able to prioritize activities to accomplish tasks and meet deadlines.

Application

If you meet these requirements, please forward a resume to: hr@viznenergy.com

Mechanical Test Engineer

On-site required

Description:

ViZn Energy has a unique opportunity for a Test Engineer that will support development of batteries for grid energy storage. The engineer will focus heavily on developing and conducting tests to support future product innovation. Items on test will be subjected to electrolytic and environmental conditions typical for our application and range from component level durability testing to performance verification of fully functional battery systems. There will be a need for a high level of data recording and analysis. The ideal candidate will wear many hats with demonstrated experience in documentation and root cause failure analysis. Knowledge of material science and properties is also a plus.

Primary Responsibilities:

Design, propose, and execute experiments

Support engineering staff with test planning and failure analysis

Collect, analyze, and report data via presentations and formal documents

Identify test standardization opportunities and document for future repeatability

Design, build, operate, and maintain laboratory equipment, data acquisition systems, and test fixtures

Required Qualifications:

BS or MS degree in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science

1 or more years of experience in component testing and data analysis. Candidates with multiple levels of experience are welcome to apply

Strong written and oral communication skills

Preferred Qualifications:

Applicable industry experience in battery design and/or testing

Experience with Environmental Testing

Experience with data acquisition and automated systems

Creo® and/or SOLIDWORKS® user a big plus

Statistical skills

Data acquisition programming

Instrumentation

High degree of mechanical aptitude

Knowledge of material properties

ViZn Energy Systems is looking for an Sr. Electronics Engineer to join our team in Columbia Falls, Montana. ViZn Energy is developing an environmentally sustainable and commercially viable flow battery with the ultimate goal of providing grid-scale renewable energy storage to countries around the world.

This position is based on-site in our Columbia Falls, Montana office. This section of Northwest Montana is home to Glacier National Park, Flathead Lake, Whitefish Mountain Resort, and many other world-class outdoor locations to suit the interests of nearly any outdoor recreationalist. We strive to maintain a healthy work-life balance so we can all enjoy the pleasures that this beautiful location has to offer.

ViZn Energy offers a competitive compensation package, including health, vision, and dental insurance, paid time off, and a flexible work schedule and environment.

Job Description
The qualified candidate will be a technical lead in a team of electrical engineers and technicians for system design for a battery storage system. This person will lead the design and development of a custom embedded hardware solutions. This is a key technical position to help drive technology development and provide technical leadership to support Director and company initiatives.
Qualified candidates will have a minimum of 8 years’ design experience with custom embedded hardware development. It is required to have a minimum of a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and experience with the development of a multiplexed system that includes custom PC boards. The successful candidate will have strong experience with analog and mixed signal circuit design, understanding of firmware design and logic along with good troubleshooting skills. Proven experience with engineering documentation and change control along with successful production release of products at a manufacturing company is required.
You will work closely with mechanical, software, system, and battery engineering to implement the system. Interaction will also be with scientists, product management, and senior management. Level and compensation will be consistent with experience. Preference will be given to candidates who have prior experience in energy storage technology and have demonstrated successful multi-tasking.

Responsibilities and Primary Activities
• Provide technical leadership for electrical engineering group consisting of engineers and technicians.
• Responsible for embedded control system including system architecture, custom PC board development and system integration.
• Responsible for custom battery management hardware development including next generation products.
• Provide technical leadership to battery engineers to support battery controls and methodologies.
• Communicate with firmware team to coordinate firmware development in conjunction with PCB design.
• Manage outside contract engineering resources to support design projects including pc board schematics and layouts.
• Oversee the design of electrical components based upon reliability, durability and cost requirements.
• Ensure accuracy and maintenance of costed Bill of Materials to support overall system cost model.
• Manage engineering documentation including schematics, drawings, and specification sheets.
• Create design requirements documents to support engineering and company goals.
• Create test procedures to ensure product performance meets design requirements.
• Work with suppliers to ensure components meet requirements.
• Hands on with troubleshooting performance issues.
• Create patent and other intellectual property disclosures.
Requirements
• Minimum BS in Electrical Engineering.
• Minimum of 8 years’ design experience with embedded control system development with power, analog and mixed signal circuit design, and implementation.
• Minimum of 5 years’ industry experience for a manufacturer of industrial equipment or relevant field doing similar work.
• Good understanding of firmware design and logic along with good troubleshooting skills.
• Proof of ability to live and work in the US and preferably resides in Montana.

Preferred Experience
• Understanding of system design for high voltage (480 VAC), motor controls, heater controls, and overall system grounding.
• PCBA Design for industrial applications, DC-DC Converters, EMI Mitigation.
• Experience with SPI, serial, and TCP/IP, USB communication protocols.
• Experience with battery management system design, electrochemical storage systems and/or fuel cells.
• Knowledge of inverters and transformers (high power grid-based designs).
• Understanding of installation and troubleshooting of industrial equipment.
• Use of design tools like Altium, AutoCAD Electrical, SolidWorks Mechanical, and Circuit Simulation Tools (SPICE).
• Use of Product Data Management tools like SolidWorks PDM or Windchill.

Preferred Skills/Attributes
• Goal oriented and self-directed with ability to be technical lead to peers.
• Clear communicator (written and verbal).
• Proven track record of working with a diverse and multi-faceted development team.
• Demonstrated work ethic consistent within a start-up atmosphere.
• Able to prioritize activities to accomplish tasks and meet deadlines.
• Hands-on.

Application
If you meet these requirements, please forward a resume to: hr@viznenergy.com

ViZn Energy Incorporated, located in Columbia Falls MT, has a need for a Development Battery engineer, who will be a key contributor to the Applied Research Department. The Battery Development engineer is responsible for performing and coordinating electrochemical characterization of the cells, maintenance, management, and development of controls for pumps, heaters, power supplies, electronic loads, and data acquisition units. Developing and implementing testing approaches and using statistical analysis tools to correlate experimental results with variations in cell/system parameters. The successful candidate will be a hands-on, resourceful problem-solver, and a consummate team player with excellent communication skills. Emphasis will be placed on experience in the development of battery technology, battery characterization techniques, Chemistry, and Electrochemistry as well as simulation/modeling methods.

This position is based on-site in our Columbia Falls, Montana headquarters. This area of Northwest Montana is home to Glacier National Park, Flathead Lake, Whitefish Mountain Resort, and many other world-class outdoor locations to suit the interests of nearly any outdoor recreationalist. We strive to maintain a healthy work-life balance so we can all enjoy the pleasure that this amazingly beautiful mountain location has to offer.

Duties
• Operation, data analysis, and test planning for small-scale battery test stands.
• Testing and qualification of novel battery materials to improve the performance of the battery.
• Improve system performance by executing root cause failure analysis and providing recommendations for appropriate corrective actions.
• Analyze and interpret data, prepare test reports, and present results.
• Maintain cell test database.
• Create and maintain test procedure documentation.
• Perform test equipment maintenance.
• Characterization of electrolyte additives, battery capacity, and maintenance procedures using electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry and EIS.
• Literature research to expand knowledge and seek solutions for battery lifetime, shunt currents, and any related topics.

Job Requirements:
• Education: BS, or equivalent, in materials science, chemical engineering or related field
• Ability to design, build and troubleshoot test setups (mechanical, electrical, fluid, thermal, etc.)
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to design and conduct complex experiments.
• Experience implementing root cause and corrective action methodologies.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to function as a team player in a cross-functional environment.
• Experience in statistical analysis techniques
• Strong computer skills including Microsoft Office and databases.

Preferred Experience/Skills:
• Experience in battery characterization and/or testing
• Strong background in electrochemistry
• Familiar with Python, Matlab or another scripting language for data manipulation
• Familiar with battery modeling and simulation methods

Application
ViZn Energy Inc. (ViZn) is a Montana Corporation headquartered in Kalispell, Montana. ViZn is in the process of developing the next-generation grid storage technology, based upon a large-scale energy redox storage battery. The aim is to provide cost-effective storage for renewable generation technologies and provide greater efficiency for the nation’s energy grid. Contact us to express interest and submit your Resume/CV at: hr@viznenergy.com

ViZn Energy Systems is looking for an Electrical Firmware Engineer to join our team in Columbia
Falls, Montana. ViZn Energy is developing an environmentally sustainable and commercially
viable flow battery with the goal of providing grid-scale renewable energy storage to countries
around the world.
This position is based on-site in our Columbia Falls, Montana office. This section of Northwest
Montana is home to Glacier National Park, Flathead Lake, Whitefish Mountain Resort, and
many other world-class outdoor locations to suit the interests of nearly any outdoor
recreationalist. We strive to maintain a healthy work-life balance so we can all enjoy the
pleasures that this beautiful location has to offer.
ViZn Energy offers a competitive compensation package, including health, vision, and dental
insurance, paid time off, and a flexible work schedule and environment.

Job Description
The qualified candidate will be a technical contributor as a member of a team of electronics and
power electrical engineers and technicians for the design of a battery storage management
system. This person will contribute to the design and development of custom embedded
hardware solutions. This is a key technical position to help drive technology development and
provide technical leadership to support company initiatives.

Qualified candidates will have design experience in Software / Firmware Engineering with
hardware and industrial controls development for embedded hardware solutions. It is required
to have a minimum of a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science,
or related curriculum as well as experience with the development of a multiplexed system that
includes custom PC boards. The successful candidate will have experience developing firmware
and software for the operation and automated testing of PCBA’s for analog and mixed signals,
power circuits, and control systems, along with good troubleshooting skills. Experience with
engineering documentation and change control along with successful production release of
products at a manufacturing company is a plus.

You will work closely with electronics, electrical power, mechanical, software, system, and
battery engineering to implement test platforms. Interaction will also be with scientists, product
management, and senior management. Level and compensation will be consistent with
experience. Preference will be given to candidates who have prior experience in energy storage
technology and have demonstrated successful multi-tasking.

Responsibilities and Primary Activities
 Design and develop embedded firmware for microcontroller based PCBA solutions used
in Flow Battery Systems.
 Support project initiatives and provide technical expertise through collaboration with a
design team consisting of electrical, mechanical, system, and chemical engineers.
 Ensure that development milestones and deadlines are met.
 Define and implement high performance software by leveraging a strong understanding
of embedded hardware design.
 Analyze and provide feedback on peer designs through a collaborative design review
process.
 Actively participate on a cross-functional team to develop the next-generation battery
control system as well as address design issues or maintenance of existing products.
 Coordinate with project teams to create and release product requirements, design
specifications and design descriptions applicable to standards and procedures.
 Ensure accuracy and maintenance of costed Bill of Materials to support PCBA-based
battery management platforms.
 Hands on troubleshooting of system performance issues.

Requirements
 Minimum BS in Electrical, Computer Science, or similar engineering degree.
 Minimum of 5 years’ experience writing embedded firmware in C and/or C++.
 Minimum of 3 years’ industry experience for a manufacturer of industrial equipment or
relevant field doing similar work.
 Modern MCU development experience (ARM Cortex M series desirable).
 Experience with SPI, I2C, 1-wire, UART (RS-232/485), CANbus, USB, PWM, etc.
Understanding of peripheral protocols.
 Experience writing embedded drivers for ICs, including ADCs, memory decoders, relay
drivers, temperature sensors, speed sensors, IO expanders, etc.
 Interrupt driven embedded design experience.
 Experience with Ethernet and TCP/IP protocols, including HTTP endpoint structure
creation.
 Familiarity with working in issue tracking and source control software such as JIRA,
Azure DevOp’s etc. and GIT, TFVC, SVN, etc.
 Good understanding of software and firmware development methodologies, schematic
design, development, and release related to controls system components.
 Good understanding of hardware and firmware design along with good troubleshooting
skills.
 Proof of ability to live and work in the US and preferably resides in Montana.

Preferred Experience
 Understanding of embedded control system, custom PC board development, and
system integration with DC/DC Converters.
 Embedded system modeling and simulation experience.
 Experience with MODBUS communication development.
 SCRUM/Agile interactive coding development environment or other project
management methodology.
 Experience with development in MCUXpresso or other Eclipse-based IDEs.
 Embedded multi-threaded firmware development.
 Embedded RTOS experience.
 Energy system design including grid-tie and electrochemical storage systems.
 Experience with battery management system design.
 Knowledge of inverters and transformers (high power grid-based designs).
 Understanding of installation and troubleshooting of industrial equipment.

Preferred Skills/Attributes
 Goal oriented and self-directed with ability to be technical lead to peers.
 Clear communicator (written and verbal).
 Proven track record of working with a diverse and multi-faceted development team.
 Demonstrated work ethic consistent within a start-up atmosphere.
 Able to prioritize activities to accomplish tasks and meet deadlines.
 Hands-on.

Application
If you meet these requirements, please forward a resume to: hr@viznenergy.com