Senior Electrical Hardware Test Engineer, Energy Storage

Redwood Materials Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 145,000 - 192,000; Full time

Job summary

Redwood Materials in San Francisco, CA, is seeking a Senior Electrical Hardware Test Engineer to validate high-voltage power electronics for energy storage systems. You will design and run validation tests on components operating at 400–2000VDC and 480–800VAC from schematics, layouts, and datasheets.

You will develop test hardware and PCBAs, build test infrastructure, and write Python tools to automate testing and analyze results.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or related field.
• 5+ years of test engineering or hardware validation experience.
• Hands-on with high-voltage systems (400–2000VDC and 480–800VAC).
• Proficiency with Altium and reading schematics, layouts, datasheets.

Responsibilities

• Design, set up, and execute validation tests on high-voltage power electronics components and assemblies.
• Read schematics, Altium layouts, and datasheets to inform test design.
• Debug hardware hands-on — probe circuits, isolate faults, and drive root-cause investigations.
• Design, fabricate, and source custom PCBAs for characterization.
• Build supporting test infrastructure spanning electrical, mechanical, and software domains.
• Develop and maintain test automation and data analysis tools using Python.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to generate FMEAs and test plans; analyze data for design improvements.

Skills

Test engineering

Power electronics

Python (OO)

Lab instrumentation

Communication skills

Education

Master's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field

Tools

Altium

Job description

Senior Electrical Hardware Test Engineer, Energy Storage

About Redwood Materials

Redwood Materials was founded in 2017 by JB Straubel, co-founder and former CTO of Tesla, on a simple but radical idea: the critical minerals powering the energy transition already exist. They just need to come back. Today Redwood is the largest lithium-ion battery recycler in North America — recovering, refining, and redeploying critical minerals from end-of-life batteries back into the supply chain. On the energy side, Redwood has deployed the largest second-life battery project in the world, delivering power to AI data centers in months rather than years using proprietary energy architecture engineered entirely in-house. The company is profitable, the market it operates in is projected to grow 20 to 50 times over the next decade, and Redwood is the only company with the supply chain, the technology, and the operational scale to lead it.

Position Summary:

Join Redwood Materials to validate the high-voltage power electronics behind the world’s energy storage systems. You’ll design and run validation tests on components and assemblies operating at 400–2000VDC and 480–800VAC. You’ll work directly from schematics, Altium layouts, and datasheets to understand switching topologies, gate drive, isolation, protection, and thermal behavior, then use that understanding to build sharper tests. When something fails, you’ll probe the circuit, isolate the fault, and drive root cause to the component level. You’ll design and source custom PCBAs for characterization, build electrical-focused test infrastructure with mechanical and software elements, and write Python tools to automate testing and analyze data. Working alongside design, reliability, and abuse engineers on FMEAs and test plans, you’ll turn complex data into design and process improvements that ship. If you thrive at the bench, love finding the real cause of a failure, and want your work to matter from day one, this is your role.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Design, set up, and execute validation tests on high-voltage power electronics components and assemblies
• Read and work directly from schematics, Altium layouts, and datasheets to understand circuit behavior and inform test design
• Debug and diagnose hardware hands-on — probe circuits, isolate faults, and drive root cause investigations to the component level
• Design, fabricate, and source custom PCBAs to support component-level characterization and test needs
• Specify and build supporting test infrastructure spanning electrical, mechanical, and software domains, with an emphasis on electrical scope
• Develop and maintain test automation and data analysis tools using Python
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (design, reliability, and abuse engineers) to generate FMEAs and test plans; analyze complex test data and drive design and process enhancements

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related field
• 5+ years of technical experience in test engineering, hardware validation, or power electronics development
• Hands-on experience with high-voltage systems (400–2000VDC and 480–800VAC)
• Proficiency with Altium or similar EDA tools; fluency reading schematics, layouts, and component datasheets
• Comfort at the bench with oscilloscopes, probes, and general lab instrumentation
• Working knowledge of power conversion — switching topologies, gate drive, isolation, protection, and thermals
• Demonstrated experience with root cause and failure analysis — tracing a failure to a component or mechanism, not just documenting the symptom
• Proficiency in object-oriented programming, Python preferred
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; ability to engage effectively with stakeholders at all organizational levels, including executives
• A get-it-done attitude; no job is too big or too small

In accordance with California pay transparency laws, the salary range for this position is listed below. Actual compensation may vary based on a variety of factors, including experience, education, and skills.

$145,000 - $192,000 USD

The position is full-time. Compensation will be commensurate with experience.