Power Electronics Engineer

Principal Power Electronics Engineer

As a Principal Power Electronics Engineer, you will lead the end-to-end design, development, and testing of flight-critical power avionics hardware for planetary rover vehicles. You will own the rover's entire power system—from solar input and battery management through regulated power distribution and fault protection—ensuring highly reliable performance in demanding space environments. This is a hands-on role where you collaborate closely with a multidisciplinary avionics team to turn clean-sheet concepts into robust, mission-ready hardware.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture and development of vehicle power electronics from a clean sheet through flight, including solar power conversion, battery management systems, power distribution, load management, and voltage regulation.
• Define and implement detailed PCBA requirements, use cases, and system integration plans for the rover power system.
• Create and maintain schematics for power and analog circuits using Altium Designer, ensuring robust design practices and clear documentation.
• Perform PCB layout for complex power and analog boards, including power converters, regulators, distribution boards, and battery interface boards.
• Conduct detailed design analyses, including power budgeting, size and mass assessments, Monte Carlo tolerance analysis, and reliability-related evaluations.
• Plan and execute PCBA design verification testing, including bench-level functional tests, performance characterization under load, and environmental or qualification testing.
• Lead system integration testing of power electronics with the broader rover avionics and subsystems, resolving interface issues and optimizing system performance.
• Prepare and lead design reviews for interdisciplinary audiences, clearly presenting design decisions, trade-offs, risks, and mitigation strategies.
• Use SPICE and Excel to model, simulate, and analyze circuits, validating designs prior to fabrication and refining them based on test results.
• Work hands-on in the lab to bring up new boards, troubleshoot hardware issues, interpret test results, and validate performance against requirements.
• Support manufacturing activities, including design-for-manufacturability considerations, build support, and resolution of production issues related to power hardware.
• Provide technical support for flight operations as needed, ensuring reliable power system performance throughout the mission.
• Collaborate closely with other engineering disciplines to ensure the power system meets mission, mechanical, thermal, and software constraints.
• Contribute to a dynamic, fast-paced engineering culture by proactively identifying improvements, sharing expertise, and mentoring other team members.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or an equivalent technical discipline.
• 15+ years of experience in power electronics design, including schematic capture, PCB layout, and hardware testing.
• Deep expertise in solar power conversion, voltage regulation, load management, fault protection, and power transmission.
• Strong experience with analog instrumentation and digital circuits in power electronics applications.
• Proven ability to perform schematic capture and layout of complex PCBAs for power and analog circuitry.
• Proficiency using Altium Designer for schematic capture and PCB layout.
• Skilled in performing circuit analyses using SPICE for simulation and Excel for calculations and data analysis.
• Hands-on proficiency with electronic lab equipment, including power supplies, oscilloscopes, digital multimeters (DMMs), signal generators, and soldering tools.
• Demonstrated success working in a dynamic, fast-paced environment with evolving requirements.
• Ability to take ownership of complex systems, work with minimal supervision, and drive designs from concept through flight readiness.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience designing power electronics for mission-critical or harsh-environment applications such as aerospace, space, or automotive systems.
• Experience in power system architecture, including end-to-end power flow from energy generation and storage…