Staff Power Engineer, Inverter

Archer is an aerospace company based in San Jose, California building an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a mission to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. We are designing, manufacturing, and operating an all-electric aircraft that can carry four passengers while producing minimal noise.

About the role

We are looking for an experienced electrical engineer to design and develop high voltage, high power density motor controllers for eVTOL applications. You will own the full lifecycle of power electronics hardware—from specification through manufacturing—while collaborating with a multidisciplinary team.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop high-voltage, high-power-density motor controllers for eVTOL applications.
• Own all aspects of power electronics design in an all-electric aircraft, from components to circuits, modules, and system integration.
• Design and optimize passive components in power electronics systems.
• Perform EMC testing and analysis for power electronics systems.
• Lead new designs from conception to production.
• Take hardware from specification to design, prototype, reliability validation, and manufacturing.
• Design MOSFET gate drive circuits, electronic power supplies, and sensing circuits.
• Create and review schematics, layouts, and PCB assemblies.
• Design and execute prototype verification tests to prove concepts.
• Analyze test data and reports to ensure designs meet functional and performance specifications.
• Troubleshoot and root-cause issues in the prototype line.

Requirements

• Electrical Engineering degree or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of relevant electrical system and circuit board design experience.
• Sound knowledge and hands-on experience in traditional and modern power electronic technologies, including:
  • Inverter technology for variable-speed motor drives (MOSFET, rectifiers, gate driver PWM).
  • Passive power devices (inductors, capacitors, resistors, transformers).
  • Power electronics system architecture design and hardware integration.
  • Motor drive and power converters (AC-DC, DC-DC, DC-AC) control technologies.
  • Motor control and commutation methods for three-phase motors.
  • Microcontrollers and sensor technology implementation.
  • Gate drive design for wide-bandgap devices (SiC and GaN).
• Experience with 50 kW–200 kW inverters at 400 V–1000 V.
• Proficiency in schematic capture and circuit simulation software (e.g., Altium Designer or Xpedition).
• Strong PCB layout experience.
• Experience performing circuit design analyses (worst-case, fault, lifetime estimation).
• Mastery of lab instruments: oscilloscopes, EMC analyzers, etc.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills.

Bonus Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with DO-160G testing and DO-254 development.
• Ph.D. in power electronics.
• Embedded firmware development experience.
• Passion for aviation and eVTOL.

Pay

Target base pay range: $172,800 – $216,000. Actual compensation will be determined by job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.