Our vision is to create a safe and sustainable world.

Ricardo plc is a global strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company. With over 100 years of engineering excellence and employing close to 3,000 employees in more than 20 countries, we provide exceptional levels of expertise in delivering leading-edge and innovative cross-sector sustainable products and solutions. Every day, we enable our customers to solve the most complex and dynamic challenges to help achieve a safe and sustainable world.

The Role

Based at Ricardo’s Shoreham Technical Centre, we are seeking a Contract Project Engineer in Gasoline ICE Calibration to support ongoing client projects, primarily in base engine calibration.

Our Calibration team delivers and validates control strategies for a wide range of clean propulsion and energy systems—including engines, transmissions, xEV powertrains, power electronics, motors and drives, battery management systems, thermal systems, and fuel cells. This role will focus on gasoline base engine calibration development and validation, with the potential to support other technical areas depending on project needs for the duration of the contract.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the technical development of base engine calibration, including (but not limited to) air charge, torque structure, fuelling, knock control, and exhaust temperature modelling.

• Contribute to the development and optimisation of engine emissions control strategies.

• Conduct calibration activities across various environments, including test rigs, engine testbeds, vehicles/machines/boats, and remote (desktop-based) setups.

• Perform daily development work on engine testbeds.

• Carry out detailed technical analysis supported by robust data and evidence.

• Take ownership of assigned tasks, ensuring delivery on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards.

• Engage directly with clients on technical matters and act as a point of contact for relevant project elements.

• Collaborate with wider project teams to coordinate and execute project deliverables effectively.

• Provide clear and concise technical reporting for both internal and customer-facing updates.

• Supervise and mentor junior team members, ensuring quality and consistency in assigned work.

• Be available for business travel as required, including visits to customer sites, development support activities, and other Ricardo locations.

Key Competencies and Experience

• Strong engineering background with a proven track record in engine calibration or closely related disciplines.

• In-depth experience with Engine Management System (EMS) calibration and strategy development.

• Proficient in industry-standard calibration and data analysis tools, such as INCA and MDA.

• Solid understanding of engine fundamentals, including combustion, emissions control, and control system logic.

• Demonstrated ability to deliver technical tasks to high standards across time, cost, and quality metrics.

• Excellent analytical skills and the ability to interpret and present data-driven insights.

• Effective communicator with excellent verbal and written English, suitable for regular customer interaction.

• Experience working directly with clients and internal stakeholders in a collaborative, customer-facing environment.

Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion statement

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person's potential, and we'll help you reach yours. We have an ambitious diversity, equality, and inclusion approach as explained here. We value diversity; recognising that a more diverse workforce creates a richer and more varied working environment. Diversity also drives innovation, by allowing us to offer our clients the best consultancy service that we can. As part of our commitment to engage positively and pro-actively with all our employees and to ensure an inclusive culture, we are a recognised as a 'disability confident' employer.

Next steps

Once you have submitted your application a member of our Recruitment Team will be in touch. Please be aware that the timing can vary dependent on the volume of applications that we receive for each role and in some cases, we may start to review applications prior to the closing date.

Ricardo is a Disability confident employer please advise the recruitment team via recruit@ricardo.com if you require any adjustments to support you throughout the recruitment process.

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