Intern, Electronics Design Engineer, Summer 2027

Heron Power Inc.; Scotts Valley (CA); On-site; USD 25,000 - 39,000; Part time

Job summary

Heron Power Inc. is seeking an electrical engineering intern in Scotts Valley, CA to participate in subsystem architecture, design and analysis, ECAD library management, and prototype testing. You will work with the EE team to develop functional tests, bring-up procedures, and debugging of prototypes.

You will collaborate across firmware, test, and manufacturing teams in a fast-paced startup environment, applying first principles and hands-on skills to advance power electronics for the grid.

Qualifications

• Pursuing a bachelor's or master's degree in Electrical Engineering.
• At least 1 internship or hardware project in EE field.
• Experience with circuit simulation and ECAD tools (LTSpice, Altium).
• Experience with MCUs, peripherals and CAN/I2C/SPI/UART.
• Familiarity with analog circuits and power conversion.
• Hands-on debugging with oscilloscopes and multimeters.
• Willingness to learn and work independently in a fast-paced team.

Responsibilities

• Own the ECAD component library and provide reviews of design components.
• Identify suitable components and evaluate alternatives for designs.
• Verify circuit performance via simulation and prototype testing.
• Participate in design reviews and trade-off analyses for sub-systems.
• Develop bring-up test plans and FW/SW requirements for new designs.
• Test electrical interface integrity across PCBs, sensors, actuators, and buses (CAN, RS-485, Ethernet).

Skills

Circuit simulation

ECAD tools

Microcontrollers

I2C / SPI

CAN bus

Analog electronics

Testing & debugging

First principles

Power electronics

Education

Bachelors/Masters in EE

Tools

LTSpice

Altium

Job description

What to Expect

Heron Power is a startup company building cutting-edge power electronics for the 21st-century grid. We aim to debottleneck the growth of electricity generation and consumption with scalable, innovative, and less costly hardware solutions, accelerating the electrification of everything.

Our first goal is to build better converters (inverters & rectifiers) to connect large-scale renewables, storage, and loads like datacenters to the grid. Heron Power’s leadership team is made up of seasoned veterans who have designed and shipped gigawatts of power conversion products over the past decade.

We understand that no one individual knows everything. We will all learn a lot together and from each other. We strive to build a collaborative, enriching environment conducive to personal, technical, and career growth. You can expect to work in a dynamic and collaborative environment, driven by first principles engineering, solving difficult problems.

Job Overview

As an electrical engineer intern, you will be responsible for participating in subsystem architecture design, design and analysis/simulation of subcircuits, ECAD library management, layout, schematic capture and performing component and circuit cost and sourcing analysis. You will work with the EE team developing functional test, bring-up procedures, testing and debugging prototypes.

How You Will Contribute

• Own the role of ECAD librarian creating components and providing reviews of design components.

• Work with the EE team to identify suitable components for designs as well as evaluating and identifying alternate solutions.

• Verify circuit performance through simulation and testing of prototypes, including development and facilitation of test procedures.

• Participate in design reviews and trade-off analysis for sub-system architectures.

• Develop bring-up test plans and FW/SW requirements for new designs, performing testing of prototype hardware and managing test data.

• Test electrical interface integrity across PCBs, sensors, actuators, and communication buses (e.g., CAN, RS-485, Ethernet, LV analog/digital I/O).

• Support validation and bring-up of LV systems during prototype and production builds, including DVT and integration testing.

• Coordinate with firmware, test, and manufacturing teams to ensure proper system behavior, testability, integration, and serviceability.

What You Will Bring

We have a short list of must-have requirements. We prioritize a strong grip on first principles, hands-on skills, and a sense of initiative. Domain-specific knowledge and experience will help determine the career level for each hire.

Must-Have Requirements

• Currently pursuing a bachelors or masters in Electrical Engineering.

• 1+ term of previous internship experience in an EE field or examples of hardware projects you have worked on.

• Experience with circuit simulation and ECAD tools (eg. LTSpice, Altium...).

• Experience with microcontrollers, their peripherals and standard board level communication protocols (I2C, SPI, QSPI, UART, CAN).

• Familiarity with analog circuits, power conversion and power supply topologies.

• Hands-on experience with debugging and testing electrical systems using oscilloscopes, multimeters, and similar tools.

• Passion for learning and the ability to work independently in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment.

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience with LV systems in high-voltage environments

• Familiarity with fieldbus communication protocols like CAN or industrial ethernet.

• Knowledge of EMC and UL/IEC standards.

• Knowledge of IPC standards for PCB design and manufacturing.

• Experience in creating engineering drawings, wiring harness drawings, and related specifications.

• Exposure firmware development and debugging tools.

• Knowledge of failure mode analysis and root cause investigations of electrical systems.

• A portfolio that showcases your passion for electronics.

If you are passionate about technology and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment, we would love to hear from you. Join us in accelerating the electrification of everything at Heron Power.