Python/Linux Engineer - Energy Hardware & V2G
Most Python software runs in the cloud and moves data around. This role is different. Your code runs inside someone's home, talks to their solar and battery inverter and EV charger in real time, and decides when to buy and sell electricity on the National Electricity Market. Every line you write has a direct physical consequence.
Our Company deploys a proprietary Linux controller to thousands of Australian homes. It's the distributed brain of a virtual power plant - coordinating solar panels, batteries, EV chargers and smart appliances to trade energy on behalf of customers. We're now doing early work on vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology - using parked electric vehicles as grid-scale batteries that can buy and sell electricity while sitting in the driveway. We're a small, experienced team looking for engineers who want deep technical ownership and are excited to learn the hardware and electricity systems side of the problem.
WHAT YOU'LL WORK ON
• Python-based electricity trading software running on ARM Debian Linux in the field
• Real-time control logic that drives solar inverters, battery systems, EV chargers, hot water and AC units via Modbus - we'll teach you the protocol
• Early-stage vehicle-to-grid (V2G) development - bidirectional charging that turns parked EVs into dispatchable grid assets
• System-level Linux work: networking (IPv4/IPv6), state management with Salt, connection management via connman
• Hardware communication via UARTs, I2C and similar interfaces - closer to the metal than most Python roles
• Software that has to work reliably in the field, unsupervised, at scale
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
Strong Python and Linux - the hardware and energy knowledge we can teach:
• Solid Python engineering: you care about correctness, performance and maintainability
• Comfortable on Linux at the system level - processes, networking, services, filesystems
• 5+ years of experience with deployed Python that runs without supervision in Linux production environments
• Curiosity about how things work at the hardware level - you don't need embedded experience, but you shouldn't be put off by it
• Any exposure to IoT, industrial systems, home automation or energy is a genuine bonus
WHAT WE OFFER
• High ownership on a small team - your engineering decisions shape the product
• The chance to build genuine expertise in electricity systems, grid markets and energy hardware - skills that are becoming increasingly valuable
• Technically unusual problems that don't come up in typical backend or DevOps roles
• Canberra base with genuine hybrid flexibility
• Competitive salary commensurate with experience
If you're a strong Python/Linux engineer who's been looking for a role with more physical consequence - where your software controls actual hardware in the real world - this is worth a conversation.