Electrical Engineer – High-Density Power Electronics and Sensor Integration

Proception Inc.; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Proception Inc. in Palo Alto seeks an Electrical Engineer to lead embedded motor control and power electronics for a high-density robotic forearm, with 20+ actuators, tight thermal constraints, and real-time communication.

You will design mixed-signal PCBs, implement firmware in C/C++ on RTOS, integrate sensors, and collaborate with mechanical/AI teams to ensure robustness. Competitive salary with meaningful equity; YC-backed.

Qualifications

• Experience designing and debugging high-density, mixed-signal PCBs (power + control + sensing).
• Deep knowledge of BLDC and servo motor control, including FOC and position feedback.
• Expertise in power electronics, switching regulators and thermal management.
• Proficiency with embedded communication protocols: CAN, CAN-FD, EtherCAT.
• Experience integrating sensor arrays (force, tactile, IMUs, encoders) into embedded systems.
• Strong embedded C/C++ and firmware development for RTOS-based systems.
• Familiarity with EMI/EMC mitigation and high-current PCB design.

Responsibilities

• Design and assemble embedded motor control and power boards for 20+ actuators.
• Develop on-board power management subsystems for safe, efficient distribution.
• Integrate sensor modalities for closed-loop robotic control.
• Develop firmware to manage motor drivers, sensors, and CAN-FD/EtherCAT protocols.
• Optimize PCB layout for thermal performance and signal integrity.
• Collaborate with mechanical and AI teams to meet sensing, motion, and thermal constraints.
• Support board bring-up, system debugging, and diagnostics across the embedded stack.
• Contribute to architecture decisions around centralized vs distributed control.

Skills

Embedded C/C++

Real-time firmware

Motor control

High-density PCB design

Power electronics

Sensor integration

RTOS

EMI/EMC mitigation

Debugging & test

Tools

CAN/CAN-FD

EtherCAT

Oscilloscope

Logic analyzers

Power analyzers

Job description

Electrical Engineer – High-Density Power Electronics and Sensor Integration

At Proception, we’re building the most dexterous humanoid hands in the world: 20+ actuators tightly packed into a compact robotic forearm. As an Electrical Engineer, you’ll lead the design of embedded systems that handle motor control, power delivery, sensor integration, and real‑time communication within extreme spatial and thermal constraints. Your work will directly impact the intelligence, responsiveness, and robustness of our robotic platforms.

Requirements

• Experience designing and debugging high-density, mixed-signal PCBs (power + control + sensing)
• Deep knowledge of BLDC and servo motor control (FOC, current sensing, position feedback)
• Expertise in power electronics: switching regulators, gate drivers, current measurement, thermal management
• Proficiency with embedded communication protocols: CAN, CAN-FD, EtherCAT
• Experience integrating sensor arrays (force, tactile, IMUs, encoders) into embedded systems
• Comfortable designing robust power distribution and management systems with protection and monitoring features
• Strong embedded C/C++ and firmware development experience for real‑time and RTOS-based systems
• Familiarity with EMI/EMC mitigation, thermal‑aware layout, and high-current PCB design
• Skilled at hardware bring‑up and debugging using tools like oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and power analyzers

Details & Responsibilities

• Design and assemble embedded motor control and power boards capable of driving 20+ actuators in a compact robotic forearm
• Develop on‑board power management subsystems for safe, efficient, and scalable power distribution
• Integrate multiple sensor modalities (tactile, force/torque, IMU, encoder) for closed‑loop robotic control
• Develop firmware to manage motor drivers, sensor interfaces, and real‑time communication protocols like CAN-FD and EtherCAT
• Optimize PCB layout and mechanical integration to balance thermal performance, EMI/EMC compliance, and signal integrity
• Collaborate closely with mechanical and AI teams to align system design with sensing, motion, and thermal constraints
• Support board bring‑up, system debugging, and diagnostics across the full embedded stack
• Contribute to architecture decisions around centralized vs distributed control, sensor data aggregation, and failover design
• Continuously test and iterate with real robotic hardware to ensure reliability and robustness in field deployments
• Competitive salary with meaningful equity
• Opportunity to work on one of the most technically challenging and high‑impact robotics platforms today
• Work at the intersection of embedded systems, intelligent control, and human‑like machines
• Backed by YC and leading deep tech VCs, with a team of top‑tier engineers and researchers