Senior/Staff Power Electronics Engineer

About the role

Heron Power is a startup building cutting‑edge power electronics for the 21st‑century grid, aiming to debottleneck electricity generation and consumption with scalable, innovative, and less‑costly hardware solutions. The company’s first goal is to build better converters (inverters & rectifiers) to connect large‑scale renewables, storage, and loads to the grid. Led by seasoned veterans who have designed and shipped gigawatts of power conversion products, Heron Power fosters a collaborative, enriching environment where you will work in a dynamic, fast‑paced team driven by first‑principles engineering.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of high‑power, grid‑connected converter hardware.
• Own the full hardware development lifecycle—from requirements definition and modeling through schematic capture, PCB layout, prototyping, testing, validation, and manufacturing support.
• Develop detailed electrical models of converter circuits and topologies to support performance analysis and design optimization.
• Select power components, design protection circuitry, and ensure compliance with relevant safety and grid standards.
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with firmware, mechanical, reliability, and manufacturing teams to bring designs from concept to production at scale.
• Drive innovation in power converter architectures to achieve industry‑leading performance in efficiency, power density, and reliability.

Requirements

• Degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent practical experience.
• Minimum 3 years of hands‑on experience in the design, prototyping, testing, and industrialization of power converters.
• Deep understanding of power electronics topologies, both theoretical and applied, including isolated and non‑isolated architectures.
• Proven experience with high‑voltage semiconductor devices such as IGBTs, Si/SiC MOSFETs, and diodes, as well as design of gate drivers and sensing circuits.
• Strong grasp of magnetic component design and selection—inductors, transformers—as well as capacitor types (film, ceramic, electrolytic) for high‑voltage/high‑frequency operation.
• Solid understanding of switching behavior, semiconductor loss mechanisms, and experience with power loss and thermal modeling.
• Proficient in schematic capture, simulation tools (SPICE, PLECS, LTspice, Simulink etc.), and familiar with lab instrumentation such as oscilloscopes, network analyzers, and power analyzers.
• Experience in PCB layout for power electronics, including strategies to reduce parasitics, improve thermal management, and ensure manufacturability and EMC compliance.
• Working knowledge of product safety, reliability, and environmental standards for industrial applications.
• Basic understanding of control systems and experience working with embedded firmware; familiarity with UL, CE, and grid interconnection standards (such as IEEE 1547, UL347A, etc.) relevant to power converters.
• Work authorization in the United States.

Qualifications

• Experience designing or testing medium‑voltage systems (5 kV–35 kV), including insulation coordination, clearance/creepage, and partial discharge considerations.
• Familiarity with grid‑tied hardware such as medium‑voltage converters, switchgear, circuit breakers, or protective relays.
• Knowledge of insulation materials, shielding techniques, and arc flash mitigation for high‑voltage systems.
• Background in reliability engineering and accelerated life testing (HALT, HASS, FMEA) for power electronics.
• Exposure to manufacturing processes for high‑power assemblies (e.g., busbars, potting, conformal coating, HV connectors).
• Hands‑on experience with test automation using Python, LabVIEW, or embedded scripting for power hardware validation.
• Participation in standards committees or familiarity with emerging grid codes and interconnect standards is a plus.

Skills

Strong grasp of first‑principles engineering, hands‑on prototyping, simulation (SPICE, PLECS, LTspice, Simulink), PCB layout for power electronics, thermal and loss modeling, component selection (IGBTs, Si/SiC MOSFETs, magnetics, capacitors), familiarity with safety/grid standards (UL, CE, IEEE 1547