Electrical Engineer

Within Solar Team Twente the Electrical Engineers make sure that the car can drive in an efficient and reliable way. To do this, you will build upon the electrical systems of previous teams, searching for new opportunities for improvement and implementing them. You will design new parts and improve the existing ones, all while making sure they work well with the already existing systems. You won’t have to do this alone; there will be constant help from former team members and technical partners.

To create the best car, we must be on the cutting edge of technology, which is why we design our own systems. However, as your car will be racing through rough environments, the systems must be very reliable. You will have to find the balance between innovating and making sure that everything keeps working during the event.

The electrical system of the rally car can be split up into four subsystems: drivetrain, energy storage, solar panel and telemetry. While they are all extremely important, the car won’t work if these subsystems can’t communicate with each other. You will learn about the communication between these systems, but you will also learn to communicate with the other people designing these systems. This means you will work together with alumni, partners and other experts.

Solar Team Twente has always been one of the best teams in terms of electrical systems, because all the electrical systems in the car are designed by our own engineers. Are you up for the challenge to further innovate the electrical systems? Are you ready to test your electrical knowledge in a fantastic project? Can you work precisely but also fast? Can you work with a team but also independently? Then you are the person we are looking for! Depending on your specialization within the Electrical Team you will learn working with software such as Altium or Matlab, communication protocols such as CAN, designing PCB's, testing your own electrical parts and much more. After a lot of work, you will get the most amazing reward: seeing the car you build yourself crossing the finish line!

The experience of Roosmarijn

My time as the Electrical Engineer for Solar Team Twente's 2024 Innovation Edition was an incredible ride. I am Roosmarijn Meijers and I originally joined for the love of sustainable energy and solar panels, but my role quickly evolved. We wanted to build something future teams could use, which led us to "Sabine": a high-potential system with a lot of unknowns.

Because we had a smaller team than the Australia editions, I didn't just get hands-on technical experience; I had to step up into project management and wear a lot of different hats. It took a massive amount of teamwork and guidance from others, but I’m super proud of what we achieved.

The ultimate payoff was the race in South Africa. Getting goosebumps as our car drove onto the streets of Johannesburg, seeing kids cheering at the control stops, and finally crossing the finish line in Cape Town are memories I won't forget. It was a wild year full of surprises, challenges, and amazing collaboration.