Principal Systems Engineer

Fourth Power; Bedford, Town of Middleton (MA, WI); On-site; GBP 89,000 - 127,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Competitive benefits

Equitable compensation

Job summary

Fourth Power seeks a Principal Systems Engineer to join the Engineering team. You will provide cross-cutting systems engineering support across development programs, ensuring requirements, interfaces, risks, and safety concerns are identified and resolved across disciplines.

This is a full-time, exempt role based at our Bedford, MA and Middleton, MA facilities. You will own system-level requirements, drive risk mitigation, and mentor teams on standards and best practices in energy storage

Qualifications

• 10+ years of systems engineering experience with formal requirements management and risk tracking.
• Experience with extreme environments or first-of-kind hardware preferred.
• Background in energy, power, or heavy industrial sectors preferred.
• Ability to act as a technical generalist across mechanical, electrical, and chemical domains.

Responsibilities

• Own system-level requirements and traceability from targets to subsystem specs across disciplines.
• Identify applicable codes, standards, and regulations (NEC, NFPA, ASME, OSHA) and advise on compliance.
• Lead risk identification and tracking (FMEA, HAZOP) and drive mitigations to closure.
• Manage subsystem interfaces and ensure cross-discipline interactions are resolved early.
• Support electrical system design reviews with grounding, fault propagation, protection, and power quality considerations.
• Split time between desk analysis and hands-on shop floor work and testing.
• Synthesize inputs across domains and identify gaps where you are not the SME.
• Support design reviews, gate reviews, and test planning with structured analysis.

Skills

System-level engineering

Requirements management

Risk identification

Interface control

FMEA/HAZOP

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Electrical and mechanical knowledge

Communication skills

Independent work

Education

BS in Mechanical, Electrical, or Chemical Engineering

Tools

Engineering standards knowledge

Job description

Fourth Power is developing and commercializing the lowest cost energy storage technology on the market to enable the utility grid to operate 24/7/365 on renewable energy. Our batteries store heat in low-cost carbon blocks at up to 2400 degrees Celsius – half the temperature of the sun. The batteries then convert this heat back to electricity using thermophotovoltaics (TPV) on demand.

Fourth Power has a culture of teamwork, continuous innovation based on first principles, and relentlessness in tackling challenging problems. Fourth Power is looking for highly skilled, experienced, and motivated individuals who share our passion for mitigating climate change.

Job Description

We are seeking a Principal Systems Engineer to join the Fourth Power Engineering team. You will provide cross-cutting systems engineering support across our technology development programs, ensuring requirements, interfaces, risks, and safety concerns are identified and resolved across disciplines.

This is a full-time, exempt role.

Location: Bedford, MA and Middleton, MA

Your Role

• Own system-level requirements and traceability from top-level targets down to subsystem specs across mechanical, electrical, chemical, and controls domains.

• Identify applicable codes, standards, and regulations (e.g., NEC, NFPA, ASME, OSHA) for evolving system designs and advise engineering leads on compliance.

• Lead formal risk identification and tracking (FMEA, HAZOP, fault tree, or equivalent), maintain risk registers, and drive mitigations to closure.

• Manage interface definitions between subsystems and ensure cross-discipline interactions are captured and conflicts resolved early.

• Support electrical system design reviews with practical knowledge of industrial electrical concerns including grounding, ground fault propagation, fuse coordination, protective coordination, cable routing, and power quality.

• Split time between desk-based analysis and hands-on work on the shop floor, including inspecting hardware, supporting test campaigns, and troubleshooting in a lab environment.

• Synthesize specialist inputs across knowledge domains, ask the right questions, and identify gaps where you are not the subject matter expert.

• Support design reviews, gate reviews, and test planning with structured analysis and clear acceptance criteria.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of systems engineering experience with demonstrated depth in formal requirements management, risk identification, and interface control.

• Experience in extreme environments or with first-of-kind hardware strongly preferred.

• Prior energy, power, or heavy industrial experience strongly preferred.

• Proficient as a technical generalist across mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineering disciplines.

• Proficient in independently determining which codes and standards apply to a new design context.

• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment.

• Strong communication skills to effectively collaborate with fellow engineers and technicians.

• BS degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Chemical Engineering, or equivalent experience.

Fourth Power is committed to offering equitable compensation, stock options, and a competitive benefits package to all employees.