Senior Power Electronics Engineer at Salient Motion

Job description

**Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Permanent Residents (Green Card holders) to meet customer and regulatory requirements** Who We Are We are pioneering modular motion technologies to power the next generation of innovation for Industrial, Aerospace and Defense. If you're excited about disrupting legacy industries, and passionate about building next generation technology, let's chat! We are at the forefront of innovation, crafting exclusive motion control components that propel the industrial, aerospace, and defense sectors into the future. A couple other things: We are open to relocating you We have great benefits We are well funded, and generating revenue We are located in beautiful Hawthorne, CA and just moved into a new large hangar facility Role Summary We are hiring a Senior Power Electronics Engineer to lead the design and integration of high-power (>10 kW) power conversion hardware for aerospace motion and electrical systems. You will own key power-stage architecture decisions, drive prototype bring-up and verification, and partner with controls, firmware, mechanical, and manufacturing teams to deliver flight- and mission-ready hardware. What you'll do: Architect and design high-power converters/inverters (>10 kW) for aerospace electrical and motion control products, balancing efficiency, power density, and reliability Select and apply Si, SiC, and/or GaN power devices (as appropriate) and design gate-drive, controller, feedback stability, magnetic components including power inductors and transformers, sensing, and protection (short-circuit, overcurrent, over/undervoltage, thermal, desaturation) Design topologies and the power stage (DC bus, precharge/discharge, snubbers/clamps, current sensing, filtering) and define safe operating envelopes and derating at given environments Drive thermal design with mechanical engineering (heatsinks, cold plates, airflow/liquid cooling) and validate junction-to-ambient performance including loss breakdown, thermal analysis Own EMI/EMC strategy for aerospace environments: grounding, shielding, layout constraints, conducted/radiated mitigation, filter design, and test readiness Lead schematic capture and review PCB layout for low-inductance, high-current/high-voltage design; ensure creepage/clearance, isolation, and safety best practices Plan and execute prototype bring-up and high-power lab testing with safe procedures; debug failures and perform root-cause analysis Define verification plans and acceptance criteria and produce clear, review-ready test reports and evidence packages; support supplier/parts selection and DFM/DFT as designs transition to manufacturing What you need: 7+ years (or equivalent depth) in power electronics design and product development Strong experience with power converter/inverter topologies, architecture, device selection, gate-drive design, controller selection, feedback gain, stability margin, protection, and high-voltage, high-current PCB/layout practices Hands-on bring-up and debug experience with high-power hardware (safe lab practices, oscilloscopes, HV differential probes, current probes, power analyzers, network/stability analyzers) Ability to take designs from concept through prototype, verification, and production readiness with clear documentation to meet special and mission-oriented applications’ requirement Nice to haves: Demonstrated work on high-power systems (>10 kW) Aerospace experience: qualification mindset, configuration control, and familiarity with relevant test practices and EMI/EMC test workflows Motor drive experience: three-phase inverters for BLDC/PMSM, sensing, DC bus design, regen handling, and protection timing considerations High-voltage design experience (e.g., 200-800 VDC class) including isolation strategy and creepage/clearance design Power factor, total harmonic current distortion and EMI/EMC success in shipped products (e.g., MIL-STD-461/DO-160 standard specs) and ability to design for compliance early Safety qualification experience such as leakage current, ESD, lightning and surge test Circuit Simulation familiarity (LTspice/PLECS/Simetrix/Simplis/Simulink or similar) for validation and trade-off PCB CAD and layout tool experience and familiarity Export Control This role supports aerospace programs and may involve export-controlled information or hardware. Candidates must be able to comply with applicable export control laws and access requirements. What we have to offer: We are not just building components. We are reshaping the future of the Aerospace and Defense component industry, which is a $300B+ market! Come join us and help build next generation systems that will make a massive impact at global scale. We offer competitive compensation: $175,000 to $200,000 base salary + equity Exceptional healthcare benefits, Medical is 100% covered by the company Flexible PTO 401K More to come!

Requirements

Must-haves

Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Permanent Residents (Green Card holders) to meet customer and regulatory requirements** Who We Are
We are at the forefront of innovation, crafting exclusive motion control components that propel the industrial, aerospace, and defense sectors into the future.
We are open to relocating you
We have great benefits
We are well funded, and generating revenue
We are located in beautiful Hawthorne, CA and just moved into a new large hangar facility
Architect and design high-power converters/inverters (>10 kW) for aerospace electrical and motion control products, balancing efficiency, power density, and reliability
Design topologies and the power stage (DC bus, precharge/discharge, snubbers/clamps, current sensing, filtering) and define safe operating envelopes and derating at given environments
Drive thermal design with mechanical engineering (heatsinks, cold plates, airflow/liquid cooling) and validate junction-to-ambient performance including loss breakdown, thermal analysis
Own EMI/EMC strategy for aerospace environments: grounding, shielding, layout constraints, conducted/radiated mitigation, filter design, and test readiness
Lead schematic capture and review PCB layout for low-inductance, high-current/high-voltage design; ensure creepage/clearance, isolation, and safety best practices
Plan and execute prototype bring-up and high-power lab testing with safe procedures; debug failures and perform root-cause analysis
Define verification plans and acceptance criteria and produce clear, review-ready test reports and evidence packages; support supplier/parts selection and DFM/DFT as designs transition to manufacturing
7+ years (or equivalent depth) in power electronics design and product development
Hands-on bring-up and debug experience with high-power hardware (safe lab practices, oscilloscopes, HV differential probes, current probes, power analyzers, network/stability analyzers)
Ability to take designs from concept through prototype, verification, and production readiness with clear documentation to meet special and mission-oriented applications’ requirement

Nice-to-haves

Demonstrated work on high-power systems (>10 kW) Aerospace experience: qualification mindset, configuration control, and familiarity with relevant test practices and EMI/EMC test workflows
Motor drive experience: three-phase inverters for BLDC/PMSM, sensing, DC bus design, regen handling, and protection timing considerations
High-voltage design experience (e.g., 200-800 VDC class) including isolation strategy and creepage/clearance design
Power factor, total harmonic current distortion and EMI/EMC success in shipped products (e.g., MIL-STD-461/DO-160 standard specs) and ability to design for compliance early
Safety qualification experience such as leakage current, ESD, lightning and surge test
Circuit Simulation familiarity (LTspice/PLECS/Simetrix/Simplis/Simulink or similar) for validation and trade-off
PCB CAD and layout tool experience and familiarity
Export Control This role supports aerospace programs and may involve export-controlled information or hardware. Candidates must be able to comply with applicable export control laws and access requirements.

Application prep

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Platform: greenhouse
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Benefits

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401k

Pto