Senior Power Electronics Engineer Hawthorne, CA

Salient Motion, Inc.; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare benefits

Flexible PTO

401K plan

Equity

Job summary

Salient Motion, Inc. in Hawthorne, CA is hiring a Senior Power Electronics Engineer to lead the design and integration of high-power converters for aerospace motion systems.

You will own power-stage architectures, drive prototype bring-up, and collaborate with controls, firmware, mechanical, and manufacturing teams to deliver flight-ready hardware. You will select Si/SiC/GaN devices, design gate-drive, sensing, protection, and EMI/EMC strategies, and work with thermal and packaging teams to meet

Qualifications

• 7+ years in power electronics design and product development.
• Experience with high-voltage, high-current PCB/layout practices.
• Hands-on bring-up and debugging of high-power hardware.
• Ability to take designs from concept through production readiness with clear documentation to meet mission requirements.

Responsibilities

• Architect and design high-power converters/inverters (>10 kW) for aerospace systems.
• Lead schematic capture and PCB layout for low-inductance, high-current/high-voltage designs.
• Drive thermal design with mechanical engineering and validate junction-to-ambient performance.
• Define verification plans and produce test reports and evidence packages.

Skills

Power electronics

High-voltage design

Gate-drive design

PCB layout

Lab testing

Tools

LTspice

PLECS

Simetrix

Simulink

Job description

Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Permanent Residents (Green Card holders) to meet customer and regulatory requirements
Who We Are

We are pioneering modular motion technologies to power the next generation of innovation for Industrial, Aerospace and Defense. If you're excited about disrupting legacy industries, and passionate about building next generation technology, let's chat!

We are at the forefront of innovation, crafting exclusive motion control components that propel the industrial, aerospace, and defense sectors into the future.

A couple other things:

• We are open to relocating you
• We have great benefits
• We are well funded, and generating revenue
• We are located in beautiful Hawthorne, CA and just moved into a new large hangar facility

Role Summary

We are hiring a Senior Power Electronics Engineer to lead the design and integration of high-power (>10 kW) power conversion hardware for aerospace motion and electrical systems. You will own key power-stage architecture decisions, drive prototype bring-up and verification, and partner with controls, firmware, mechanical, and manufacturing teams to deliver flight- and mission-ready hardware.

What you'll do:

• Architect and design high-power converters/inverters (>10 kW) for aerospace electrical and motion control products, balancing efficiency, power density, and reliability
• Select and apply Si, SiC, and/or GaN power devices (as appropriate) and design gate-drive, controller, feedback stability, magnetic components including power inductors and transformers, sensing, and protection (short-circuit, overcurrent, over/undervoltage, thermal, desaturation)
• Design topologies and the power stage (DC bus, precharge/discharge, snubbers/clamps, current sensing, filtering) and define safe operating envelopes and derating at given environments
• Drive thermal design with mechanical engineering (heatsinks, cold plates, airflow/liquid cooling) and validate junction-to-ambient performance including loss breakdown, thermal analysis
• Own EMI/EMC strategy for aerospace environments: grounding, shielding, layout constraints,conducted/radiated mitigation, filter design, and test readiness
• Lead schematic capture and review PCB layout for low-inductance, high-current/high-voltage design; ensure creepage/clearance, isolation, and safety best practices
• Plan and execute prototype bring-up and high-power lab testing with safe procedures; debug failures and perform root-cause analysis
• Define verification plans and acceptance criteria and produce clear, review-ready test reports and evidence packages; support supplier/parts selection and DFM/DFT as designs transition to manufacturing

What you need:

• 7+ years (or equivalent depth) in power electronics design and product development
• Strong experience with power converter/inverter topologies, architecture, device selection, gate-drive design, controller selection, feedback gain, stability margin, protection, and high-voltage, high-current PCB/layout practices
• Hands-on bring-up and debug experience with high-power hardware (safe lab practices, oscilloscopes, HV differential probes, current probes, power analyzers, network/stability analyzers)
• Ability to take designs from concept through prototype, verification, and production readiness with clear documentation to meet special and mission-oriented applications’ requirement

Nice to haves:

• Demonstrated work on high-power systems (>10 kW)
  Aerospace experience: qualification mindset, configuration control, and familiarity with relevant test practices and EMI/EMC test workflows
• Motor drive experience: three-phase inverters for BLDC/PMSM, sensing, DC bus design, regen handling, and protection timing considerations
• High-voltage design experience (e.g., 200-800 VDC class) including isolation strategy and creepage/clearance design
• Power factor, total harmonic current distortion and EMI/EMC success in shipped products (e.g., MIL-STD-461/DO-160 standard specs) and ability to design for compliance early
• Safety qualification experience such as leakage current, ESD, lightning and surge test
• Circuit Simulation familiarity (LTspice/PLECS/Simetrix/Simplis/Simulink or similar) for validation and trade-off
• PCB CAD and layout tool experience and familiarity

Export Control

This role supports aerospace programs and may involve export-controlled information or hardware. Candidates must be able to comply with applicable export control laws and access requirements.

What we have to offer:

• We offer competitive compensation: $175,000 to $200,000 base salary + equity
• Exceptional healthcare benefits, Medical is 100% covered by the company
• Flexible PTO
• 401K
• More to come!