Q: How long have you worked at Advanced Electric Machines?
AD: I’ve been working here for about five years now, so I’m a bit of an old hat!
Q: Can you tell us about your job role?
AD: My role is within the product development department. On a day-to-day basis, I am responsible for making sure our electric motors achieve maximum performance and efficiencies during operation, and at different voltages and temperatures.
Q: What is your proudest professional achievement since you’ve been here?
AD: My proudest professional achievement is winding the first coils for HDSRM and following that through to make our very first HDSRM motor. We’re now making the latest developments to try to continuously improve the product, which has been a massive privilege.
Q: What excites you about working at AEM?
AD: AEM offers the team quite a rapid career growth with lots of opportunities to work across different sectors, particularly in automotive, aerospace and industrial applications. That’s a lot of range!
Q: What is the biggest challenge facing PEMD, and how is Advanced Electric Machines helping?
AD: I think there’s a lot of greenwashing going on in the sector in general. In particular, I would say that there’s a lot of cloudiness over what is actually green and sustainable, with too much misinformation out there. Unfortunately, trying to cut through that is quite difficult.
Advanced Electric Machines has made a product that is fundamentally better. It’s got no permanent magnets in there, there is significantly less pollution that comes from the other materials we use, and we are developing solutions that are actually recyclable. The product is more circular in itself and it will only get better.
Q: Why do you think PhDs should choose to work here?
AD: PhDs should choose to work at AEM because of the technical development that we undertake for each of our projects. With this comes various research opportunities, which look into different technologies both in the motor and the power electronics that control them.
Q: How does AEM support your professional development, and what opportunities does the company provide to support your growth?
AD: AEM has supported me throughout my entire career. When I first started here, I was winding coils and doing a little bit of electromagnetic work. Since then, I’ve made motors, I’ve tested them, and I’ve been fortunate enough to work with every department within the business. This was a huge step in the right direction for me, and I am so grateful for these opportunities. I’ve now found my niche and I know where my skill set is best suited, and I’m thrilled to be a part of a company that supports its staff.
Q: What impact do you feel your contribution makes to Advanced Electric Machines?
AD: I think that my contribution enables our products to perform at the highest possible level. We employ a process that ensures that I am constantly monitoring ways in which to improve our offering, allowing it to be competitive with the market.
On a personal level, I love being able to work on a genuinely sustainable product. It fills me with pride to know that I’m contributing to the wider environment.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your recent work with Tevva?
AD: Part of my role as a product development engineer is to offer technical support to our customers. In our work with Tevva, we worked on their electric truck project. My responsibility was to collaborate with them to help their truck pass its roadworthiness tests, which, of course, they did!
Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?
AD: The bit I enjoy most about my job is being able to follow a product from the very beginning – the design phase – through to its manufacture, and then actually testing it to see if it matches the modelling. From this point, we follow the product, undertaking iterative testing as a means of improving it.
It’s really satisfying to see something transform from being a mere idea to actually taking shape in the flesh, and then taking certain steps to make it even better than it was.
Q: What would you say are the values at AEM?
AD: Without doubt, what sets AEM apart in my mind is its values of sustainability, performance, and growth. In the modern world, it’s essential that businesses take the right steps to being sustainable, and Advanced Electric Machines doesn’t just achieve that for itself, it helps other businesses achieve greater sustainability. The exceptional products and services that we offer demonstrate our commitment to high performance, and our ambitions to build the world’s most sustainable electric motors.