Powering Progress: The Future of Advanced Engineering Recruitment

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What’s driving the next decade of clean energy growth in the US? It’s not just innovation, it’s engineering.

In 2024, the US added a record 12.3 GW of new battery storage capacity, up 66% from the previous year with projections pointing to another 18.2 GW in 2025. Meanwhile, the electrification of industry, smarter automation systems, and rising demand for semiconductors are accelerating hiring across every layer of clean tech.

For advanced engineering professionals, this means new roles, fast-growing specialisms, and a shift toward cross-sector collaboration. For companies, it means rethinking recruitment strategies to access talent with the right blend of technical expertise and commercial agility.

What we’re seeing here is a massive talent moment.

Sector Snapshot: Where Demand Meets Innovation

Battery Technology Grid-scale storage projects now account for 90% of total battery capacity, with lithium-ion technologies dominating. Companies seek engineers with experience in materials science, thermal systems, and cell design to drive R&D and deployment. Top roles: Battery engineers, systems integration specialists, battery chemists.

Energy Storage Energy storage capacity in the US will more than double by 2025, according to the EIA. This growth is creating new demand for project engineers and operations managers who can scale storage systems efficiently and safely.

Top roles: Project engineers, commissioning managers, storage performance analysts.

Automation From smart grids to precision manufacturing, automation underpins the next phase of industrial efficiency. Companies are hiring control systems engineers and robotics developers to design scalable, flexible systems that reduce downtime and improve performance.

Top roles: PLC engineers, automation software developers, robotics engineers.

Electrification Industrial sectors are investing in electrification to cut emissions and meet regulatory targets. Engineers with cross-disciplinary knowledge of power systems, controls, and mechanical processes are in high demand.

Top roles: Power electronics engineers, EV systems engineers, electrical design leads.

💻 Semiconductors As the backbone of modern clean tech, semiconductors power everything from electric vehicles to renewable energy control systems. The sector faces a global skills shortage, pushing companies to recruit both experienced and emerging talent across fabrication, design, and process development. → Top roles: Process engineers, chip design engineers, fab operations leads.

Recommended Read: How Clean Technology Is Empowering Innovation Across US Industries

The Road Ahead: Engineering Teams That Drive Innovation

To compete in 2025 and beyond, businesses should:

• Prioritise Leadership with Technical Depth: Seek out mid-to-senior professionals with hands-on engineering experience who can lead high-growth projects and understand both systems and scale.
• Tailor Roles for Next-Gen Engineers: Gen Z engineers value growth and purpose. Offer progression pathways, flexible working, and opportunities to work on high-impact technologies like EV charging infrastructure and smart grid automation.
• Rethink Talent Pipelines: Source candidates from sectors like automotive, aerospace, and electronics where technical overlaps with energy storage, automation, and semiconductors are strong. When Nexus, a tech-led vehicle and plant hire platform, needed to build a multidisciplinary engineering team at pace, Fruition delivered a tailored recruitment campaign, filling 73% of roles in just four months. While the focus was digital infrastructure, the partnership demonstrated how agile hiring strategies and strong tech leadership can accelerate complex transformation.

Recommended read: Nexus case study

How Fruition Group Can Support Your Advanced Engineering Growth

At Fruition Group, we specialise in advanced engineering recruitment across battery, energy storage, automation, electrification, and semiconductors, building the teams you need to meet today’s targets and tomorrow’s ambitions.

Whether you're accelerating growth or entering new markets, we support:

• Executive Search for leaders with sustainability, energy, and innovation credentials.
• Specialist Talent Sourcing across engineering, infrastructure, and digital transformation.
• End-to-End Recruitment that aligns your hiring strategy with your clean energy goals.

If you’re hiring or looking to grow your clean tech team, we’d love to help. Visit our website to get in touch to discuss your next move or hire.