JOB DESCRIPTION — R&D MANAGER (SMART BREATHER & NIFPS)

Job Title

R&D Manager– Smart Breather & NIFPS (Product Development)

Function

Research & Development / Product Engineering

Reports To

Head – R&D / DGM – Product Engineering

Location

EMR Plant (TNR / TBN / FRP) — to be assigned

Products Owned

Smart Breather (Moisture Mitigation) & NIFPS – Nitrogen Injection Fire Protection System (Fire Mitigation)

Experience

15+ years in electronics/embedded product design; power/transformer accessories industry preferred

Role Summary

EMR Tap Changers Pvt. Ltd. is looking for a hands-on R&D Manager to own the design, development, and continuous improvement of two of EMR's flagship transformer-protection products: the Smart Breather (moisture ingress mitigation) and NIFPS (Nitrogen Injection Fire Protection System — fire mitigation). The role sits at the intersection of electronics/embedded systems and transformer protection engineering, and requires someone who can move fluidly between circuit-level design, sensor integration, control-panel logic, and field-level failure analysis on live transformer installations.

Key Responsibilities

A. Smart Breather (Moisture Mitigation)

•     Design and improve moisture-sensing and desiccant-regeneration logic for Smart Breather units, including humidity sensor selection, calibration, and drift compensation.

•     Develop/refine the embedded electronics (PCB, microcontroller firmware, heater control, silica-gel regeneration cycle logic) that govern automatic breathing and moisture-mitigation cycles.

•     Define and validate alarm, communication, and remote-monitoring features (e.g., RS-485/Modbus, IoT/SCADA connectivity) for smart diagnostics on transformer breathers.

•     Run accelerated life, humidity-chamber, and environmental (IP-rating, vibration, temperature) tests; analyze failure modes and drive design corrective actions.

•     Support conventional-to-smart breather retrofit programs and cost-down redesigns without compromising moisture-ingress protection performance.

B. NIFPS (Fire Mitigation)

•     Develop and enhance the electronic control and detection architecture of NIFPS — pressure relief detection, nitrogen injection sequencing, and fire-suppression trigger logic for power/distribution transformers.

•     Work on sensor and instrumentation design (pressure switches/transducers, oil surge relays interfacing, temperature sensing) that trigger the fire-mitigation sequence within required response times.

•     Design and validate the control panel electronics (PLC/microcontroller-based), wiring architecture, and fail-safe logic in line with relevant fire-protection and transformer-safety standards.

•     Support type testing, third-party certification, and utility-specific approval trials (e.g., KPTCL, TGTransco, PGCIL) including documentation and technical query resolution.

•     Investigate field complaints/failures on installed NIFPS units, perform root-cause analysis, and implement design or process corrective actions.

C. Cross-Product / General R&D

•     Prepare and maintain design documentation: schematics, BOMs, test reports, DVP&R, and product datasheets for both product lines.

•     Collaborate with manufacturing, quality, and sourcing teams to industrialize new designs and resolve production-stage electronic/electromechanical issues.

•     Coordinate with MR Germany product/engineering counterparts on design alignment, technology transfer, and global product roadmap inputs where applicable.

•     Support customer- and site-level technical clarifications for OEMs, EPCs, and utilities on Smart Breather and NIFPS performance and specifications.

•     Stay current with transformer accessory standards (IEC/IS) and competitor technology to keep EMR's offering technically differentiated.

Required Technical Skills

•     Strong fundamentals in electronics: analog/digital circuit design, sensor interfacing, PCB design and debugging.

•     Working knowledge of embedded systems/microcontroller programming (C/C++) for control and monitoring logic.

•     Understanding of transformer accessories and failure mechanisms — moisture ingress in breathers, and fire risk/pressure-relief behavior relevant to NIFPS — is a strong plus.

•     Familiarity with industrial communication protocols (Modbus/RS-485, basic IoT/SCADA integration) for smart/remote-monitoring features.

•     Exposure to environmental and type testing (IP rating, humidity/temperature chambers, vibration, EMI/EMC) and reading/interpreting test standards.

•     Ability to read and create electrical/electronic schematics, panel wiring diagrams, and technical drawings.

•     Comfortable with field visits for installation support, failure investigation, and customer interaction.

Qualifications

•     B.E./B.Tech in Electronics, Electronics & Communication, Electrical & Electronics, or Instrumentation Engineering (M.Tech preferred but not mandatory).

•     Prior experience with transformer accessories, protection systems, or industrial fire/moisture-mitigation products is highly desirable.

What EMR Offers

•     Direct ownership of two high-visibility, safety-critical transformer-protection products with export exposure (SAARC, Southeast Asia, Africa).

•     Access to Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen (MR Germany) engineering standards, technology, and global best practices.

•     A collaborative R&D environment working closely with manufacturing, quality, and business development teams across EMR's plants.