Cell Lifetime Modelling Engineer

Our Mission

At Vertical Aerospace, we are pioneering the way for electric aviation. The VX4, our eVTOL (electric, vertical, take-off and landing), ‘zero emissions’ aircraft will set a new safety standard for how we will navigate the sky.

We won’t realise our mission following the same legacy processes and traditions our predecessors followed; instead, we want to ‘redefine’ aerospace best practices.

We are growing quickly from a prototype business to a scaling SME, and the next few years will be critical to our success and delivering on our ambitious goals of having the VX4 in service by 2030.

What to Expect

As a Cell Lifetime Modelling Engineer, you will join a dynamic and passionate team whose primary focus is on the development of advanced battery systems for our fully electric VX4 aircraft. Your expertise will help shape our approach to lithium-ion cell performance and lifetime modelling, ensuring that our battery technology meets the highest standards of reliability and efficiency.

A typical day could involve developing cell-level lifetime models using MATLAB, defining validation strategies with the electrochemistry team, or collaborating with our wider battery and aircraft modelling teams to integrate cell models with pack, powertrain, and vehicle-level simulations.

Your ability to develop robust, empirical models, communicate complex insights, and work effectively across teams will be key to your success in this role.

What You’ll Do

• Develop practical, empirical cell level lifetime models, considering the best approach to capturing stress factor impact on capacity loss and resistance increase over life, considering a wide parameter space coverage

• Develop internal modelling documentation around accuracy and model coverage improvements (TRL levels)

• Write test plans and work with other engineers in the electrochemistry team to define testing strategies to parameterise and validate our lifetime models, considering the balance between data resolution, parameter space coverage and test capability

• Clearly communicate insights from complex models and analysis through pragmatic/effective summaries and visualisations

• Manage and comply to modelling standards and requirements

• Work closely with other members of the electrochemistry team to develop and optimise our data analysis tools and performance models

• Work with our wider battery and aircraft modelling team to integrate cell models with pack, powertrain and vehicle level models

• Work with industrial and academic partners on analysis and modelling activities

• Other related tasks within the electrochemistry team, spanning performance, lifetime, future technology and safety attributes

What you'll bring

• Academic qualification(s) or equivalent (e.g. BSc, MSc, PhD)

• 1-2 years working with commercial lithium-ion cells and an in depth knowledge of common ageing mechanisms and stress factors

• Experience developing empirical models for cell lifetime modelling

• Experience in statistical analysis and data visualisation

• Advanced Matlab programming and Simulink modelling skills

• Familiarity with (Git) version control and repositories e.g. Bitbucket

• Ability to work through problems, starting with first principles calculations and working through to detailed simulation or test

• Experience working with and visualising lithium-ion performance, cell cycling and storage ageing data

• Experience in lithium-ion cell experimental test design and optimisation to efficiently cover a desired parameter space

• Experience working cross functionally to deliver projects/pieces of work efficiently, professionally and in a timely manner

Desired

• Strong electrochemistry base and understanding of lithium-ion cell function, including performance/design trade-offs for different applications

• Experience of looking at cell ageing in a system for an industrial application e.g. EV

• Familiarity with cell equivalent circuit models and experience designing tests to parameterise them

• Experience with Simscape and/or Simscape Battery

• Experience with physics-based modelling of lithium ion cells e.g. Single Particle (SP), Doyle-Fuller-Newman (DFN) etc

• Experience working in aerospace

What can you expect from us?

We're on a mission. Where others see limits, we see opportunity, and we work at pace. Working at Vertical isn't your average role but for those seeking a challenge, a flexible, supportive organisation and an incredible team; working here is an opportunity to do the best work of your career.

Our approach promotes ingenuity and courage, while our environment builds success through diligence in safety and being open in the way we work. The only way we're going to assure the next chapter of aviation history is by working as a team, relentlessly, towards our goal. 

Our benefits

Our people matter - we're not going anywhere without them. Which is why our company benefits go beyond the essentials.

• 26 days holiday, plus bank holiday

• 5 extra days per year to buy (or sell)

• 5 extra days holiday when you get married or enter a civil partnership

• Additional 4% of your salary to spend on extra benefits

• Award-winning digital health and wellbeing service (Help@Hand)

• Company Share Scheme - open to every Vertical employee

• Company Pension Scheme - 5% and we match it

• Breakfast on us, every day

We may just be the hardest job you've ever had, but we're confident it will be the most rewarding. Join the team today and help us shape the future of Advanced Air Mobility.

Disclaimer Statement

We encourage you to apply even if you may not have all the experience listed in the advert. We recognise that talent comes in various forms and we are committed to providing opportunities that create an environment of growth, diversity, and inclusion for everyone. As part of our desire to review and make our processes fair, we may ask you questions related to these aspects during the application process. For more information on how we will use your data, see our Legal section.