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Volta Executive

Client case · energy storage (BESS)

Five executives and experts for NIDEC's batteries

A quality director on the executive committee and four R&D and electrical managers, at the Roche-la-Molière site in the Loire. Profiles that job ads do not find, approached one by one by an engineer.

The case in 30 seconds

  • 5

    roles entrusted

  • 2

    newly created roles

  • D+1

    first candidate approached

  • 1day

    between offer and signature

01 · The case in 30 seconds

The assignment brief

A global group,five rare roles

The assignment as it was entrusted to us, and the R&D role filled, day by day.

Assignment briefNIDEC × Volta Executive
Client
NIDEC Conversion and NIDEC ASI, French entities of a Japanese industrial group
Site
Roche-la-Molière, Loire (42)
Activity
Battery energy storage (BESS) and power conversion
Positions
A quality director on the executive committee and four managers: R&D product development, Inverter Control R&D, R&D, electrical department
Method
Direct search, every candidate assessed by an engineer
Progress
R&D product development manager filled, offre signée en août 2026, arrivée en novembre. Inverter Control R&D Manager pourvu en octobre 2026. Les autres mandats sont en cours.

The R&D role, day by day

  1. D+1Candidate approachedR&D manager at a major electrical engineering group
  2. D+5Assessed by an engineerTechnical assessment interview with Florian
  3. ShortlistFive profiles presentedTo the client, with motivations and expectations
  4. AugustOffer signed the same dayOne day between offer and signature

Timeline taken from our candidate tracking software. Day 0 is the day the assignment opens.

02 · The challenge

The context

Hiring in the battery marketin very short supply

A Japanese industrial group and global reference in power conversion and electric motors, NIDEC is structuring its French teams to support the growth of energy storage.

  1. An exploding BESS market

    Battery storage is growing fast, driven by grid-scale and industrial tenders. The profiles able to design, industrialise and certify these systems are rare and heavily sought after.

  2. Conventional channels that do not work

    Senior experts in power electronics, BMS and IEC standards do not answer job ads. They are in post and constantly approached: direct search is the only credible route.

  3. Roles to be created

    Two of the five roles did not exist: R&D product development and the Inverter Control R&D department, to be structured with the group's R&D centre in Italy.

Power electronics test bench
Power electronics, test bench · illustrative photo

03 · The assignment

The five roles

From the executive committeeat the heart of R&D

Five assignments run at the same time, by direct search, for NIDEC's batteries business.

  1. Quality director, executive committee member

    NIDEC ASI · Roche-la-Molière (42)

    Search under way

    The scope

    • Steering the quality system triple certified ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 on a critical industrial site
    • Managing a multidisciplinary quality team
    • Executive committee member
    • Growing responsibilities at group level: international quality audits within two or three years

    The profile

    Engineer with a solid electrical foundation, 10 years or more in an industrial environment, proven experience of the three ISO standards, fluent English.

    ISO 9001 · ISO 14001 · ISO 45001 · Executive committee

  2. R&D product development manager

    NIDEC Conversion · Roche-la-Molière (42)

    Filled · new position

    The scope

    • Take charge of the System and Product Development team, about five people
    • Steer BESS product development end to end: business case, product requirements, IEC certification, industrialisation through to TRL 8-9
    • Manage project managers, test bench experts and power electronics experts
    • Technical support to the sales and project teams, technology watch with the group's R&D

    The profile

    Engineer in electrical engineering, automation or power electronics, 5 years or more in engineering, ideally BESS, energy conversion or electric powertrain. V-cycle, gate reviews, TRL. Fluent French and English.

    BESS · PCS / BMS · IEC · HIL OPAL-RT · V-cycle

    Permanent managerial contract · Roche-la-Molière (42) · remote one day a week · €50-70k depending on profile

  3. Inverter Control R&D Manager

    NIDEC Power Conversion · Roche-la-Molière (42)

    Filled · new position

    The scope

    • Define and structure the Inverter Control R&D department: processes, tools, standards
    • Design, test and validate inverter firmware, grid code compliance
    • Run the HIL platforms and the OPAL-RT grid simulator
    • Manage the team and align with the group's R&D centre in Italy

    The profile

    Engineer in electrical engineering or power electronics, 5 to 10 years in inverter control (energy, power conversion or electric vehicles). Matlab/Simulink, embedded C/C++. Fluent French and English.

    Grid forming · Inverter · Matlab/Simulink · C/C++ · HIL OPAL-RT

  4. R&D Manager

    NIDEC Conversion · Roche-la-Molière (42)

    Search under way

    The scope

    • Steering BESS product development, NPD process through to TRL 8/9
    • Business case, product requirements, certification and industrialisation
    • Managing project managers and power electronics experts

    The profile

    Master's-level engineer (Bac+5) in electrical engineering, power electronics or control systems, 5 years or more, ideally in energy conversion, BESS or electric automotive, fluent English.

    BESS · NPD · TRL 8/9 · Power electronics

  5. Electrical department manager

    NIDEC Conversion · Loire (42)

    Search under way

    The scope

    • Overseeing the electrical studies of turnkey BESS projects (EPC)
    • HV, MV and LV chain: transformers, switchgear, substations
    • Load flow, short circuit, protections, selectivity, earthing
    • FAT, SAT and commissioning: Europe, Africa and the Middle East

    The profile

    Master's-level engineer (Bac+5) in electrical engineering or power systems, 5 years or more, IEC standards and DIgSILENT PowerFactory, fluent English.

    HV/MV/LV · DIgSILENT · EPC · IEC

Our ruleVolta Executive does not publish any result before the final signature of a role. This page is updated with each signature.

04 · The result

Where the account stands

One role filled,four searches under way

The search found the right profile in 24 hours. The rest took fourteen weeks: interviews spread over the summer and a budget to realign with the market. Two points the scoping hour now settles up front.

  • 1

    role filled, start in November

  • 4

    assignments under way

  • 14wk

    from assignment to signed offer, R&D role

Genuine technical qualification

Every candidate is challenged on BESS architectures, power electronics and IEC standards. This is not a sales filter: it is a technical interview conducted by an engineer.

Targeted sourcing in the battery market

Mapping of the French and European BESS market, direct search within the talent pools of storage, conversion and electric vehicle players.

No three-hour brief

Volta Executive reads the energy conversion and storage players fluently: no need to explain what a BMS or a power inverter is.

05 · The method

The Volta Executive method

Four stages,kept on every NIDEC role

A 1-hour scoping session and a scorecard, the mapping of the search ecosystem, a shortlist within 10 days, a hire within 3 weeks. The 3 weeks run from scoping to the chosen candidate with the offer accepted, when the five key success factors are in place. The candidate’s notice period, often three months for a manager in post, comes on top.

  1. Day 1

    A 1-hour scoping session and a scorecard

    One hour with the future manager, not just HR. We come out with the three results expected at twelve months, the real budget including variable pay, and a scorecard ranking each skill: essential, necessary, useful, bonus.

  2. Days 1 to 3

    Map the search ecosystem

    The companies, sites and roles where the profile really exists: competitors, suppliers, customers, neighbouring sectors doing the same job under another name. We know how many people fit the scorecard before writing the first message.

  3. Within 10 days

    A shortlist within 10 days

    Three to five candidates approached directly, met, assessed against the scorecard by an engineer, presented with their motivations and real salary expectations. Not a pile of CVs.

  4. Within 3 weeks

    A hire within 3 weeks by direct search

    Two interview rounds at most, with the direct manager. The package and the counter-offer are prepared before the final interview: the offer goes out within 24 hours and the chosen candidate says yes.

First confidential conversation

A need in batteriesor energy storage?

Quality director, R&D manager, power electronics experts, BESS engineers: the profiles that conventional channels do not find. Thirty minutes to scope the role, no commitment.

Our full track record

Reply within 48 hours · shortlist within 10 days · hire within 3 weeks

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