Electrical Engineer, Power Systems

Darwin Recruitment; Santa Maria (CA); On-site; USD 198,000 - 242,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare benefits

Relocation package

Competitive compensation

Job summary

Darwin Recruitment partners with a family-owned aerospace company on the California Central Coast to hire an Electrical Engineer, Power Systems for a fresh design from concept through testing to production.

You’ll design power distribution, conditioning, and battery interfaces, build DC power architectures, and help ensure EMI/EMC compliance while supporting integration and test efforts.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in electrical design, PCB layout and test.
• Aerospace or spacecraft power systems experience, including BMS.
• Hands on power electronics: DC/DC converters, linear regulators, protection circuits.
• Power distribution unit (PDU) experience.
• Power integrity, grounding and high current PCB layout knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Own the design of a new spacecraft and launch vehicle power system from requirements to production.
• Design power distribution, power conditioning and battery interfaces.
• Build DC power architectures, including grounding, fault protection and redundancy.
• Support lithium ion battery integration, charge/discharge profiles and protection circuitry.
• Run power budgets, load analysis and efficiency trade studies across mission phases.
• Carry out worst case, derating and thermal analysis on high reliability hardware.
• Design schematics and Class III PCBs, mostly in Altium.
• Support EMI and EMC compliance on switching regulators and high current paths.
• Write specifications, ICDs and customer documentation, including CDRLs.
• Share knowledge and give informal guidance to junior engineers.

Skills

Electrical design

PCB layout

Power systems

Clear communication

BMS experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Associate’s degree with 5+ years of strong engineering experience

Tools

Altium

Job description

Electrical Engineer, Power Systems | California Central Coast | Up to $220,000

Want to design a power system nobody has built before, and see it fly?

Most power engineers spend years maintaining someone else’s architecture. This role is different. Our client is building a brand new system and needs an engineer to own the design from a clean sheet, through test, and into production.

They are a family owned aerospace company designing and manufacturing lithium ion batteries, power systems and advanced avionics for launch vehicles and small satellites. Work is split evenly between federal defence programmes and commercial space. They are close to 70 people and have made 14 hires this year, with growth speeding up. They are hiring two Electrical Engineers into the power team now.

What you will do

• Own the design of a new spacecraft and launch vehicle power system, from requirements to production
• Design power distribution, power conditioning and battery interfaces
• Build DC power architectures, including grounding, fault protection and redundancy
• Support lithium ion battery integration, charge and discharge profiles and protection circuitry
• Run power budgets, load analysis and efficiency trade studies across mission phases
• Carry out worst case, derating and thermal analysis on high reliability hardware
• Design schematics and Class III PCBs, mostly in Altium
• Support EMI and EMC compliance on switching regulators and high current paths
• Write specifications, ICDs and customer documentation, including CDRLs
• Share knowledge and give informal guidance to junior engineers

What you will bring

• 5+ years in electrical design, PCB layout and test
• Aerospace or spacecraft power systems experience, including BMS
• Hands on power electronics: DC DC converters, linear regulators, power MOSFETs and protection circuits
• Power distribution unit (PDU) experience
• Power integrity, grounding and high current PCB layout knowledge
• Clear communication with peers and customers
• A bachelor’s degree in engineering, or an associate’s degree with 5+ years of strong engineering experience

Useful extras: AS9100D, Altium.

Why this role

• Healthcare you cannot buy on the open market: 100% of employee premiums paid, 50% for dependants, and a $900 out of pocket maximum
• 401k with a 4% match plus company profit sharing
• Relocation package, tailored to where you are moving from
• High impact defence and space work in a relaxed, supportive team
• Life on California’s beautiful Central Coast

Good to know

• US citizenship is required, and you must be eligible to obtain a security clearance
• Some travel to external test labs
• Pre employment drug screen and background check
• Fast process: a video interview, then a paid visit to meet the team and explore the area