IT and Hardware Technician - Mobile

We’re looking for a mobile IT and Hardware Technician to help keep our hardware and IT systems running smoothly. You’ll chase down our buses, fix hardware and IT issues and carry out preventive maintenance. How you work and think matters more to us than which industry you’ve worked in.

This role will be based in Edinburgh/Livingston, but it’s set up as a mobile role, you’ll also work closely with our teams in Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness. We’ll set you up for success with all the training you need, access to the right vehicle and all the relevant tools and equipment.

About Ember

We’re building the future of public transport – convenient, affordable, connected and zero-emission. Our goal is to make it easier and more enjoyable to get from A to B with Ember than it is with your own car.

Ember is a tech company, not a traditional bus operator. We’ve built a platform that coordinates our entire operation - everything from monitoring vehicles and controlling chargers to selling tickets and calculating ETAs. This allows us to use electric buses more intensively than anyone else in the world, leading to a massive reduction in emissions. It also helps us provide a much better passenger experience, with innovative features like demand-responsive stops.

We’ve come a long way, but we’re still in the early stages of growth, with 20 routes and 118 buses. The challenge is to scale this 50x while staying lean, increasing efficiency and delivering an even better product experience. We’ve recently raised equity from some of Europe’s leading climate venture capital investors and are looking for mission-driven people who can help take us to the next level.

The role

As one of Ember’s IT and Hardware Technicians, you’ll set up and maintain systems across our fleet of buses and charging hubs. This requires very strong technical skills, extreme diligence and organisational skills, an appetite for learning, a problem-solving mindset and good communication. A lot of the work will take place at our Livingston hub, but you’ll need to travel often to our other sites to keep on top of issues.

We work with a wide variety of hardware, much of which will likely be new to you, but the right candidate will pick things up fast. To give you an idea of the scope, responsibilities will include:

• Visiting buses to diagnose and repair on-board tech, e.g. routers, PoE switches, NAS, GSM power switches, bus servers, custom circuit boards, CCTV, iPads, passenger screens, card readers and QR readers.

• Purchasing replacement hardware as needed, making sure we source exactly the right items at the best cost, then configuring it when it arrives. For a router, you’d be comfortable with both the physical setup (attaching antennas, inserting the SIM, installing it in place) and the software setup (subnet addressing, DHCP static leases).

• Building the tech boards we use on board our buses. This means getting hands-on with cutting and stripping wires, crimping connections, screwing things in and so on. You should already be comfortable with basic electronics, e.g. using a multimeter, crimping connectors and understanding how power relates to voltage and current. We’ll train you on our own builds and standards.

• Responding to IT defects, such as Wi-Fi not working on a bus or at a hub, swiftly and diligently. We have good tools to fix many problems remotely, but many still need physical intervention. You’ll need to use these remote tools accurately and be willing to solve problems physically. We also want you to think about how we could avoid the problem entirely, e.g. configuring devices to reboot automatically under certain conditions.

• Doing preventive work: cleaning and resealing cameras, re-securing loose mounts and cradles, swapping SIMs and replacing worn cables.

• Fitting new hardware and rolling out upgrades across the fleet, working closely with the Hardware team to achieve this.

We have a strong focus on building scalable, reliable systems that don’t rely on throwing more people at a job. That means we’ll be looking for you to help us become more efficient and automated, e.g. by logging the causes of defects diligently and then working out what we could do to avoid them in the first place.

Diversity and equality

At Ember, we support diversity across our team and customers. We work to make sure every employee feels respected and able to give their best, whether temporary, part-time or full-time. We’re happy to offer flexible working patterns where they make sense, are compassionate when it comes to time off and offer enhanced maternity and paternity leave.

Read more about our approach in our Equal Opportunities Policy.

What’s on offer

A salary of £30,000–£40,000 per year, depending on your skills and relevant experience. You’ll also be granted share options through an Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) scheme.

How do I apply?

Apply using the form, with your CV and a cover letter explaining why you’re the one.

How you work and think is much more important to us than any specific industry experience, but you should think that this sounds a lot like you:

• A full UK driving licence with six points or fewer.

• Passionate about tech: We’d expect you to show a genuine passion for all things tech. Tell us about a fun project you’ve been working on, whether it’s a smart home, a 3D printer, a scripting project, the ultimate home Wi-Fi or something else.

• IT expert: You should be the person your friends and family go to with their tech problems. You may also have experience with enterprise tools such as Teltonika’s Remote Management System (RMS). If not, you should be confident that you could learn them quickly.

• Hands-on with electronics: You’re comfortable using a multimeter and crimping connectors, and you understand how voltage, current and power relate.

• Natural tinkerer: We’re looking for someone who is curious and wants to know how things work. If you can show that across both software and hardware, that’s even better.

• Organised and structured: Managing all our systems is complex and needs diligence to stop it getting away from you. You should be the kind of person who keeps inbox zero (or some other system) and never lets anything drop.

• Willing to get your hands dirty: You’ll be blending the digital with the physical. Sometimes that’ll mean typing in an IP address or running a script. At other times it’ll mean being on site to carry out a physical fix.