Electrical Engineer - Power Electronics

Ring Inc; Menlo Park (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Mainspring Energy in Menlo Park, CA is seeking a power electronics engineer to shape the Linear Generator’s power electronics systems. You will design custom hardware, bring-up and qualify designs, and troubleshoot issues across test labs, production, and fielded units.

Collaborate with design and reliability teams, work with suppliers, and own hardware system outcomes in a fast-paced startup environment focused on energy efficiency and low emissions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or higher.
• 2–5 years of experience in power electronics.
• Ability to take concept through schematic and hardware realization.
• Experience with power electronics hardware design projects.
• Experience with circuit board design and testing.
• Familiarity with schematic capture and power converter modeling tools.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Design custom power electronics hardware enabling key functions of the Linear Generator.
• Bring-up, validate, and qualify power electronics designs.
• Troubleshoot complex hardware issues in test labs, production, and fielded units.
• Collaborate with DNI team and external suppliers to improve manufacturability and testability.
• Partner with reliability engineers to improve electrical hardware reliability.
• Serve as an expert on the hardware systems you own.

Skills

Power electronics design

Schematic capture

Circuit modeling/simulation

Troubleshooting hardware

Independent work

Clear communication

Hands-on hardware development

Collaborative mindset

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Power Analyzers

Network Analyzers

Signal Generators

PCB design tools

Job description

About Mainspring

Mainspring Energy manufactures and delivers fuel-flexible, low-emissions local power solutions that rapidly add new capacity and deliver reliable, affordable, and sustainable electric power. The company began commercial shipments of its Mainspring Linear Generators in 2020 and today has hundreds of megawatts in advanced development and field operations for leading Fortune 500 companies, data centers, and utilities. Mainspring also partners with global energy leaders including AEP, NextEra Energy Resources, Schneider Electric, and more.

core values that ground our work, guide our decisions, and connect us together:

• Pragmatic Optimism
• Excellence without Ego
• Proactive Collaboration

Job Overview

The technology that powers Mainspring’s Linear Generator is unlike any other generator technology on the market. The Linear Generator relies on innovative electrical power and control hardware systems to achieve its best-in-class efficiency while meeting the world’s strictest emissions requirements. These electrical hardware systems are designed by a talented team of electrical engineers that own hardware design from initial concept through test and manufacturing. We have a high impact opportunity for a power electronics engineer to shape the future of the Linear Generator’s power electronics systems.

Responsibilities

• Design custom power electronics hardware that enables key functions of our Linear Generator
• Bring-up, validate, and qualify your power electronics designs
• Troubleshoot complex hardware issues that arise in the test lab, production floor, and fielded units
• Collaborate with the new production introduction team and external suppliers to improve designs for manufacturability and testability
• Partner with reliability engineers to further drive up electrical hardware reliability
• Serve as an expert on the hardware systems that you own

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree, or higher, in Electrical Engineering
• 2-5 years of experience developing power electronics technologies
• Excellent electronics design fundamentals; ability to take concept level design details, select components, and produce a schematic
• Examples of taking ownership of a power electronics design project
• Circuit board design experience
• Familiar with schematic capture and power converter circuit modeling/simulation tools
• Knowledge of power electronics control theory
• Proficiency with EE tools (Oscilloscopes, Power Analyzers, Network Analyzers, Signal Generators etc.)
• Experience with power semiconductor selection, gate drive, and protection circuit design
• Proven ability to work independently on an electronics design project
• Clear verbal and written communication skills
• A passion for hands-on hardware development
• A “collaborate-first” mindset and have successfully communicated across a range of teams and personalities

Nice-to-haves

• Experience designing high voltage (480VAC or 800VDC range) systems
• Experience designing kW-level power electronics
• Experience in the full hardware development life cycle, from requirements development to manufacturing support
• Experience working at a startup or rapid development environment