Engineering Lead - Electrical Systems

American Advanced Materials; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Significant equity

Medical/vision/dental coverage

Flexible PTO

Job summary

American Advanced Materials is seeking a hands-on founding electrical engineer to own electrical systems design for pilot and commercial facilities in Mountain View, CA. You will coordinate with process, controls, EPC partners, and vendors to bring a complex industrial plant from front‑end design through commissioning and operation.

The role requires a PE license, 5–8+ years of experience in high‑integrity industrial electrical systems, and leadership to build a new internal engineering function

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science or higher in electrical engineering is required.
• Active P.E. license is required.
• Experience owning electrical scope from front‑end engineering through detailed design, construction, commissioning, and operation.

Responsibilities

• Own electrical engineering scope for pilot, demonstration, and commercial‑scale facilities.
• Develop and manage the electrical basis of design, including load lists, single‑line diagrams, equipment specifications, grounding strategy, power distribution, hazardous‑area classification, and interconnection requirements.
• Translate process loads and utilities into electrical design requirements with process engineering and equipment leads.
• Lead technical evaluation of electrical equipment vendors, switchgear vendors, power electronics suppliers, instrumentation vendors, system integrators, and EPC electrical packages.
• Review EPC, vendor, and contractor electrical deliverables, including drawings, specifications, RFIs, submittals, FAT/SAT plans, installation details, and commissioning documentation.
• Support power system studies, including short‑circuit, arc flash, protective device coordination, load flow, grounding, and power quality analysis.
• Develop commissioning plans, energization procedures, test protocols, punch lists, and turnover documentation for electrical systems.
• Support HAZOPs, process safety reviews, electrical safety reviews, LOTO planning, and hazardous‑area equipment selection.
• Ensure plant electrical systems are designed for uptime, safe maintenance, troubleshooting, expansion, and rapid replication across future facilities.
• Build the internal electrical engineering function, including standards, vendor specs, design review practices, and operating rhythms for a fast‑moving industrial project.

Education

B.S. or higher in electrical engineering

Active P.E. license

Tools

SKM

ETAP

EasyPower

AutoCAD

Revit

Bluebeam

Job description

We’re looking for a hands‑on, highly skilled electrical engineering leader to be our founding electrical engineer. In this role you would take ownership of electrical systems design, vendor coordination, integration, commissioning, and operational readiness for large scale titanium, zirconium and hafnium production plants. This is a critical technical leadership role where you’ll serve as the electrical owner for a full process plant, bridging plant process requirements with real‑world industrial electrical infrastructure. You will be responsible for ensuring that high‑power process equipment, plant utilities, controls infrastructure, backup power systems, electrical distribution, grounding, hazardous‑area considerations, and instrumentation interfaces are designed safely, built correctly, and ready to operate at scale. You’ll work closely with process engineering, plant equipment engineering, controls/automation, EPC partners, utilities, and equipment vendors to bring a complex industrial process plant from front‑end design through commissioning and production.

Responsibilities

• Own electrical engineering scope for pilot, demonstration, and commercial‑scale materials production facilities

• Develop and manage the electrical basis of design, including load lists, single‑line diagrams, equipment specifications, grounding strategy, power distribution, hazardous‑area classification, and utility interconnection requirements

• Work with process engineering and equipment leads to translate process loads, thermal systems, rotating equipment, vacuum systems, chlorination systems, distillation systems, and auxiliary utilities into electrical design requirements

• Lead technical evaluation of electrical equipment vendors, switchgear vendors, power electronics suppliers, instrumentation vendors, system integrators, and EPC electrical packages

• Review EPC, vendor, and contractor electrical deliverables, including drawings, specifications, RFIs, submittals, FAT/SAT plans, installation details, and commissioning documentation

• Support key power system studies, including short‑circuit, arc flash, protective device coordination, load flow, grounding, and power quality analysis

• Develop commissioning plans, energization procedures, test protocols, punch lists, and turnover documentation for electrical systems

• Support HAZOPs, process safety reviews, electrical safety reviews, LOTO planning, and hazardous‑area equipment selection

• Ensure plant electrical systems are designed for uptime, safe maintenance, troubleshooting, expansion, and rapid replication across future facilities

• Build the internal electrical engineering function, including standards, vendor specs, design review practices, and operating rhythms for a fast‑moving industrial project

Qualifications

• 5-8+ years of electrical engineering experience in industrial facilities, manufacturing plants, chemical plants, energy systems, mining, metals, semiconductors, oil & gas, or comparable capital‑intensive environments

• Proven success owning electrical scope from front‑end engineering through detailed design, construction, commissioning, and operation

• Strong working knowledge of medium‑voltage and low‑voltage power distribution, switchgear, MCCs, transformers, VFDs, UPS/backup power, grounding, cable routing, electrical rooms, protection relays, and field installation practices

• Experience developing or reviewing single‑line diagrams, load lists, electrical equipment specifications, electrical layouts, cable schedules, I/O interfaces, and construction packages

• Familiarity with NEC, NFPA 70E, applicable NFPA/IEEE standards, hazardous‑area classification, arc flash analysis, short‑circuit studies, protective device coordination, and electrical safety practices

• Ability to work fluently across process engineering, equipment engineering, controls/automation, construction, operations, maintenance, EHS, and external vendors

• Strong practical judgment about build vs. buy decisions, vendor capabilities, field constraints, maintainability, and commissioning risk

• Experience with high‑temperature industrial equipment, chemical processing equipment, vacuum systems, furnaces, rectifiers, large motors, compressors, pumps, or high‑power thermal systems is a plus

• Experience with SKM, ETAP, EasyPower, AutoCAD, Revit, Bluebeam, or comparable electrical design/review tools is a plus

• B.S. or higher‑level degree in electrical engineering is required

• Active P.E. license is required

• Experience as electrical owner’s engineer on a major capital project is a strong plus

Compensation & Benefits

Base salary: $170K – $260K

Significant equity compensation aligned with public benchmarks for senior early team members

Your actual compensation will be determined on a case‑by‑case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: location, job‑related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, short & long‑term disability insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. We have a flexible paid time‑off (PTO) policy.