Electrical Engineer, Network Facilities

Do you want to do work that matters? Do you want to help improve the lives of some of the most hardworking people in Africa, while also reducing carbon emissions? Do you want to use your skills to advance Africa and the Global South towards a zero-carbon future, not just to make a living? Ampersand is your answer.

About Ampersand

Ampersand is Africa’s emobility pioneer. Ampersand provides electric motorcycles and charging infrastructure (battery swap stations), uniquely tailored to serve half of Africa’s road fleet: Commercial motorcycle taxi and delivery drivers. Moto taxis are a primary means of public transport in African cities, and it is estimated that these drivers spend >$6Bn p.a. on gasoline in East Africa alone. Ampersand has developed an electric solution that is more powerful, fun to drive, and cost-effective than the incumbent. Ampersand drivers routinely earn over 45% more income by going electric.

The company started in Kigali, Rwanda, and expanded into Nairobi, Kenya in 2022. Today it has around 5,000 e-motorcycles on the road and 58 battery swap stations across the two countries. Ampersand is leading the market in quality, affordable tech, customer traction, and operational systems. The Ampersand team consists of 500+ staff drawn from diverse backgrounds and is working hard to see all 5 million taxi motorbikes in East Africa become electric by 2030. Ampersand is rapidly scaling its operations and is looking for innovative professionals who are passionate about clean energy and environmental impact to lead and contribute to our rapid growth.

Ampersand values innovation, creativity, and continuous improvement. It seeks people who are proactive problem solvers to drive results. Ampersand promotes leadership within the organization and is a place where you can grow your career as you work with some of the brightest and most hard-working individuals in East Africa.

Our Values

• Customer-centric Everyday: We prioritize our customers daily, tailoring solutions to exceed expectations.
• Challenge The Status Quo Through Innovation: Our dedicated teams constantly challenge the status quo, driving innovation to enhance customer experiences and deliver solutions that go beyond expectations
• Love Solving Problems Together: Internal collaboration is our approach; we thrive on solving challenges alongside our customers.
• Stay Agile: We stay agile to swiftly meet dynamic customer needs and adapt to a changing landscape.
• Driven By People And Planet: Beyond business, we're committed to people and the planet, ensuring a positive impact.

Role Summary

Ampersand is seeking an Electrical Engineer to lead the electrical design, installation quality, commissioning readiness and ongoing maintenance of its battery swap station network. The role will provide technical oversight for station electrical systems, supervise a team of four electrical technicians, and serve as a key technical point of contact with utilities and contractors. Based in Rwanda, the role will also review station designs for Kenya. A current RURA Class B electrical installation licence is mandatory.

About the role

1. Electrical Design and Optimisation

• Prepare and review single-line diagrams, load schedules and distribution-board layouts for new stations and upgrades in Rwanda.
• Size cables, protective devices and earthing systems in line with applicable IEC and national standards, accounting for continuous charger loads, harmonics and ambient temperature.
• Balance charger loads across phases and determine appropriate supply capacity (kVA) to avoid undersupply or unnecessary capacity costs.
• Review station designs prepared by contractors or the Kenya team before approval.
• Maintain standard station-design templates and bills of materials for each station type.
• Verify the quality and suitability of electrical materials before procurement or installation.

2. Installation Quality Control and Commissioning

• Develop, maintain and apply an Ampersand electrical quality-control checklist, and inspect installations before energisation.
• Carry out or witness insulation-resistance, earth-resistance, continuity, polarity and residual-current-device (RCD) tests, maintaining complete records for each site.
• ·Issue snag lists to contractors and approve installations only after defects have been rectified and verified.
• Investigate electrical faults at operating stations, including phase failures, nuisance tripping and charger-bank faults, and document root causes and corrective actions.
• Ensure electrical work meets approved designs, applicable standards and Ampersand safety requirements.

3. Utility and Contractor Liaison

• Prepare and track new-connection and supply-upgrade applications with Rwanda Energy Group (REG).
• Escalate and follow up on power-quality issues—including voltage fluctuations, outages and phase loss—using station data and test evidence.
• Coordinate transformer and medium-voltage (MV) installation works with REG, contractors and relevant stakeholders, undertaking licensed activities only within the scope of the applicable licence.
• ·Maintain clear records of utility applications, site inspections, approvals and outstanding actions.

4. Energy Cost and Tariff Optimisation

• Analyse station electricity bills and metering data, including cost per kWh, peak/off-peak consumption and applicable demand charges.
• Recommend tariff, load-shifting and supply-configuration improvements that reduce energy cost per battery swap.
• Monitor energy losses between grid supply and energy delivered to batteries, investigate unusual results and recommend corrective action.
• Report on energy consumption, cost trends and opportunities to improve station efficiency.

5. Technician Team Leadership

• Line-manage four electrical technicians by setting weekly work plans, allocating site visits and fault call-outs, and tracking completion.
• Supervise fieldwork and coach technicians to install, test, maintain and repair equipment in line with Ampersand standards.
• Enforce safe working practices on every job, including permit-to-work procedures, lock-out/tag-out, appropriate PPE and safe isolation.
• Assess technician competence, identify training needs and maintain a team skills matrix.
• Conduct regular one-to-one meetings, contribute to performance reviews and support recruitment when required.

6. Preventive Maintenance and Asset Management

• Develop and own a preventive-maintenance schedule for every station, covering distribution boards, protection devices, earthing, chargers, cabling and transformer platforms.
• Define inspection and testing activities for each maintenance interval, based on equipment requirements, risk and operating history.
• Schedule maintenance visits and monitor completion against plan, following up on overdue or incomplete work.
• Maintain station maintenance logs and asset registers, using fault history to refine maintenance intervals and spare-parts requirements.
• Provide monthly reports on maintenance completion, faults identified and station downtime attributable to electrical failures.

Minimum requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electrical Power Engineering, or Electrical and Electronic Engineering with a power focus.
• Current RURA Class B electrical installation licence (mandatory).
• Registration with the Institution of Engineers Rwanda (IER).
• Two to four years of post-qualification experience in electrical design, installation, commissioning or maintenance, including experience with medium-voltage systems or distribution-transformer works.
• At least one year of experience supervising electrical technicians or site teams, including work allocation and enforcement of safe working practices.
• Working knowledge of IEC 60364 for low-voltage installations, cable sizing, protection coordination and earthing.
• Practical ability to use insulation-resistance testers, earth testers and multifunction installation testers, and to read and prepare single-line diagrams.
• Experience implementing or contributing to a preventive-maintenance programme.
• Proficiency in AutoCAD or equivalent electrical-drawing software, and Microsoft Excel for load and cost calculations.
• Fluency in English and Kinyarwanda.
• A valid driving licence and willingness to travel to sites throughout Rwanda.

Desirable Qualifications and Experience

• A RURA Class C electrical installation licence, or demonstrated progress towards obtaining one.
• Experience with REG connection and supply-upgrade processes.
• Experience using power-quality analysers, thermal-imaging equipment or electricity-metering data.
• Familiarity with electric-vehicle charging, battery chargers, solar photovoltaic (PV) systems or other power-electronic loads.

Licensing and Professional Development

The successful candidate must hold a current RURA Class B licence from the start of employment. Ampersand will support the successful candidate’s professional development and progression towards Class C, where applicable, through:

• Exposure to relevant work on Ampersand sites and supervised assignments with appropriately licensed contractors.
• Paid time and support for relevant training, examinations and registration, subject to company policy and an agreed development plan.
• A licence-progression plan agreed within the first six months and reviewed during performance discussions.

Applicants who already hold a RURA Class C licence should indicate this in their application.

What Success Looks Like

• Station electrical designs are accurate, standardised, compliant and approved before work begins.
• Installations are inspected and tested before energisation, with complete records and no unresolved critical defects at sign-off.
• Electrical faults are investigated promptly, with root causes documented and repeat failures reduced.
• Preventive maintenance is completed on schedule, with asset records and maintenance logs kept up to date.
• The technician team has clear work plans, receives regular coaching and consistently follows safe working practices.
• Utility applications and power-quality issues are tracked and followed through to resolution.
• Energy use, losses and cost per swap are monitored, with practical improvements identified and implemented.
• Monthly reporting provides reliable visibility into maintenance completion, electrical faults, downtime and energy performance.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit the following documents through the application channel to be confirmed:

• An up-to-date CV.
• A copy of the relevant degree certificate.
• A copy of the current RURA licence and evidence of IER registration.
• A brief example of an electrical design or installation project, explaining your specific contribution.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to complete a technical exercise involving a sample battery swap station load calculation, cable sizing and protective-device selection.

Timing

ASAP

Compensation:

A competitive compensation package commensurate with local market rates.

Job location

This role will be based in Kigali, Rwanda