Power Electronics Engineer

Pentangle Tech Services | P5 Group; Illinois; On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Pentangle Tech Services | P5 Group in Illinois seeks an experienced power electronics engineer to design, validate, and bring up Gate Driver Boards and high-power power boards. The role requires hands-on work with IGBT/SiC devices, extensive bench testing, and cross-functional collaboration across controls, mechanical, and manufacturing teams.

You will develop and execute validation plans (DPT, thermal, fault testing), analyze switching behavior, and document results for design reviews.

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on hardware design and validation of Gate Driver Boards (GDB) and Power Boards for high-power applications.
• Experience with IGBT and SiC devices including protection circuits and fault mitigation.
• Experience designing hardware for inverter, converter, motor drive, UPS, BESS, renewable energy, or similar applications.
• Hands-on testing including Double Pulse Testing, switching characterization, thermal and fault testing.
• Proficient with lab equipment: oscilloscopes, probes, thermal cameras, power analyzers, DAQ systems.
• Ability to review schematics/PCB layouts in Altium Designer or similar tools.
• Familiarity with MATLAB/Simulink, PLECS, LTspice for modeling.
• Experience with DFMEA, reliability engineering and prototype development.
• Strong analytical and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and validate power electronics hardware including Gate Driver Boards and Power Boards.
• Review schematics and PCB layouts; support hardware bring-up for HV/high-current systems.
• Select, qualify, and validate power electronic components including IGBT modules and SiC devices.
• Develop hardware validation plans including DPT, switching characterization, and thermal testing.
• Analyze switching waveforms, gate signals, losses, and protection circuit performance.
• Perform hands-on lab testing using oscilloscopes, probes, thermal cameras, and DAQ systems.
• Investigate hardware failures and perform root cause analysis for inverter and power modules.
• Correlate lab results with simulations to improve product reliability.
• Collaborate with controls, mechanical, manufacturing, PCB layout, and supplier teams.
• Prepare validation reports, test procedures, and design review materials.

Skills

Gate Driver Boards design

Power Boards design

IGBT/SiC device experience

Double Pulse Testing (DPT)

Waveform analysis & debugging

Laboratory testing with scopes

Altium Designer proficiency

MATLAB/Simulink

DFMEA & reliability basics

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

5+ years hands-on power electronics hardware experience

Master's degree with 3+ years experience

Associate degree with 10+ years experience considered

Tools

Altium Designer

MATLAB/Simulink

PLECS

LTspice

DAQ systems

Job description

• Design, develop, and validate power electronics hardware including Gate Driver Boards (GDB), Power Boards, interface circuits, protection circuits, and current/voltage sensing circuits.
• Develop schematics, review PCB layouts, and support hardware bring-up for high-voltage and high-current power conversion systems.
• Select, qualify, and validate power electronic components including IGBT modules, SiC devices, isolated gate drivers, current sensors, and power supplies.
• Develop and execute hardware validation plans including Double Pulse Testing (DPT), switching characterization, thermal testing, fault-condition testing, and commissioning activities.
• Analyze switching waveforms, gate signals, switching losses, current sharing, voltage overshoot, desaturation behavior, and protection circuit performance.
• Perform hands-on laboratory testing using oscilloscopes, differential probes, current probes, thermal cameras, power analyzers, and data acquisition systems.
• Investigate hardware failures and perform root cause analysis of inverter, gate driver, and power module issues including shoot-through events, false turn-on, over-voltage, over-current, and thermal failures.
• Correlate laboratory test results with simulations and analytical models to improve product performance and reliability.
• Collaborate with controls, validation, mechanical, manufacturing, PCB layout, and supplier teams throughout product development.
• Support prototype builds, production launches, supplier technical reviews, Design for Manufacturability (DFM), and Design for Testability (DFT) initiatives.
• Prepare technical documentation including validation reports, test procedures, engineering change documentation, and design review presentations.

Required Skills

• Strong hands-on experience designing and validating Gate Driver Boards (GDB) and Power Boards for high-power applications.
• Experience with IGBT and SiC power devices, including switching behavior, protection circuits, desaturation protection, active clamping, and false turn-on mitigation.
• Experience designing, debugging, and validating power electronics hardware for inverter, converter, motor drive, UPS, BESS, renewable energy, or similar applications.
• Hands-on experience performing Double Pulse Testing (DPT), switching characterization, thermal testing, fault testing, and power electronics validation.
• Proficiency using laboratory equipment including oscilloscopes, differential probes, high-current probes, thermal imaging cameras, power analyzers, and DAQ systems.
• Experience troubleshooting hardware failures using waveform analysis and root cause investigation techniques.
• Strong understanding of power converter topologies, thermal management, protection circuits, EMI/EMC design, creepage and clearance requirements, and electrical safety.
• Experience reviewing schematics and PCB layouts using Altium Designer or equivalent ECAD tools.
• Familiarity with MATLAB/Simulink, PLECS, LTspice, or similar simulation tools.
• Experience with DFMEA, reliability engineering, design validation, and prototype development.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Education / Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related engineering discipline required.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience in power electronics hardware design, development, and validation, or 3+ years with a Master's degree.
• Associate degree with 10+ years of directly related power electronics hardware experience will also be considered.
• Experience developing power electronics hardware for medium- or high-voltage applications is preferred.
• Experience with utility-scale power conversion systems, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), renewable energy systems, motor drives, UPS, or inverter platforms is highly preferred.
• Experience supporting products through the full development lifecycle, from prototype through production release, is preferred.
• Experience working with suppliers, contract manufacturers, and cross-functional engineering teams in a product development environment is highly desirable.