In 1978 he joined Wood Group Industrial Controls Ltd. in Aberdeen, as a development engineer working on Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS). In 1982 he took up a position as Lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Communication Engineering at the University of Technology in Lae, Papua New Guinea, where he lectured on Power Electronics and Industrial Electronics, and was heavily involved in rural electrification programmes for remote communities.
In 1984, he returned to Edinburgh University, where he is currently a senior lecturer in the School of Engineering. From 2002 to 2007 he was Director of Teaching in the School. He carries out research with the Institute for Energy Systems His current research interests are in the field of power electronics, particularly power electronic interfaces for renewable energy systems and electronic power supplies. His teaching is in electrical power engineering, particularly power electronics.
Ewen Macpherson is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering & Technology, a Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.