Senior Power Electronics Engineer - Hardware Design

Mainspring Energy, Inc.; Menlo Park (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A power generation technology company in California is seeking a skilled power electronics engineer to design and improve hardware for their Linear Generator. The ideal candidate holds a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering with 5+ years' experience in power electronics. Responsibilities include troubleshooting and validating designs, collaborating with teams, and ensuring manufacturability. The role requires clear communication skills and a passion for hands-on development. Familiarity with Altium is a plus.

Qualifications

• 5 years of experience developing power electronics technologies.
• Excellent design fundamentals and schematic production ability.
• Proven independence on electronics design projects.

Responsibilities

• Design custom power electronics hardware for the Linear Generator.
• Qualify and troubleshoot power electronics designs.
• Collaborate with teams to improve designs.

Skills

Power electronics technologies

Circuit board design

Electrical Engineering

EE tools proficiency

Power semiconductor design

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium

Job description

Mainspring Energy manufactures and delivers fuel-flexible, low-emissions local power solutions that rapidly add new capacity and deliver reliable, affordable, and sustainable electric power. The company began commercial shipments of its Mainspring Linear Generators in 2020 and today has hundreds of megawatts in advanced development and field operations for leading Fortune 500 companies, data centers, and utilities. Mainspring also partners with global energy leaders including AEP, NextEra Energy Resources, Schneider Electric, and more.

The core values that ground our work, guide our decisions, and connect us together:

• Pragmatic Optimism
• Excellence without Ego

About Mainspring

Mainspring Energy manufactures and delivers fuel-flexible, low-emissions local power solutions that rapidly add new capacity and deliver reliable, affordable, and sustainable electric power. The company began commercial shipments of its Mainspring Linear Generators in 2020 and today has hundreds of megawatts in advanced development and field operations for leading Fortune 500 companies, data centers, and utilities. Mainspring also partners with global energy leaders including AEP, NextEra Energy Resources, Schneider Electric, and more.

The core values that ground our work, guide our decisions, and connect us together:

• Pragmatic Optimism


• Excellence without Ego


• Proactive Collaboration

Job Overview

The technology that powers Mainspring’s Linear Generator is unlike any other generator technology on the market. The Linear Generator relies on innovative electrical power and control hardware systems to achieve its best-in-class efficiency while meeting the world’s strictest emissions requirements. These electrical hardware systems are designed by a talented team of electrical engineers that own hardware design from initial concept through test and manufacturing.

We have a high impact opportunity for a power electronics engineer to shape the future of the Linear Generator’s power electronics systems.

Responsibilities

• Design custom power electronics hardware that enables key functions of our Linear Generator


• Bring-up, validate, and qualify your power electronics designs


• Troubleshoot complex hardware issues that arise in the test lab, production floor, and fielded units


• Collaborate with the new production introduction team and external suppliers to improve designs for manufacturability and testability


• Partner with reliability engineers to further drive up electrical hardware reliability


• Serve as an expert on the hardware systems that you own

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree, or higher, in Electrical Engineering


• 5 years of experience developing power electronics technologies


• Excellent electronics design fundamentals; ability to take concept level design details, select components, and produce a schematic


• Examples of taking ownership of a power electronics design project


• Circuit board design experience


• Familiar with schematic capture and power converter circuit modeling/simulation tools


• Knowledge of power electronics control theory


• Proficiency with EE tools (Oscilloscopes, Power Analyzers, Network Analyzers, Signal Generators etc.)


• Experience with power semiconductor selection, gate drive, and protection circuit design


• Proven ability to work independently on an electronics design project


• Clear verbal and written communication skills


• A passion for hands-on hardware development


• A “collaborate-first” mindset and have successfully communicated across a range of teams and personalities

Nice-to-haves

• Experience designing high voltage (480VAC or 800VDC range) systems


• Experience designing kW-level power electronics


• Experience in the full hardware development life cycle, from requirements development to manufacturing support


• Experience working at a startup or rapid development environment


• Experience with Altium

Does your experience not meet all of our posted requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to positions unless they meet every listed requirement. At Mainspring, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, flexible, and collaborative environment, so if you want to help us transition the world to clean and affordable electricity, and don’t meet all posted requirements for a particular role, we’d still love to hear from you. Mainspring can sometimes be flexible enough to shift responsibilities for the right person, or otherwise identify open or upcoming roles that may better fit your professional background.

In more traditional words, Mainspring Energy, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

This compensation and benefits information is based on Mainspring Energy's estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future. We generally do not negotiate on salary once we have made an offer. The level of pay within the range will depend on a variety of job-related factors that may include location, relevant prior experience and/or education, or particular skills and expertise. New hires joining the company tend to be paid within the starting base pay range noted above, with opportunities to increase pay over time based on development of additional skills, competencies, and company-specific knowledge.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

This role is an amazing growth opportunity, where you will work closely with and learn from a small team of top-caliber power electronics engineers. Working together, you will jointly own all the custom power electronics within our system.

This is a hybrid position (onsite + remote) at our Menlo Park HQ . It will require you to be onsite as required to perform testing, troubleshooting, manufacturing support, etc. The salary will be adjusted to reflect local market conditions based on employee location as well as the experience of the employee. Along with the base salary, Mainspring offers pre-IPO stock options + benefits.