Senior/Staff Safety Compliance Engineer

Heron Power Inc.; Scotts Valley (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 198,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation including salary and equity

Benefits package

Job summary

A power electronics startup is seeking a Lead Compliance Engineer to manage product safety and compliance across its portfolio. The ideal candidate has a Master's in electrical engineering, over 7 years of experience, and a deep understanding of UL/IEC/IEEE standards. Responsibilities include developing compliance strategies, preparing test plans, and mentoring junior engineers. The role offers competitive compensation ranging from $150,000 to $198,000 annually in a dynamic team environment.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering or equivalent.
• More than 7 years’ experience in regulatory and compliance certification.
• Deep understanding of UL/IEC/IEEE/ISO standards.
• Experience with high-power assemblies and manufacturing processes.
• Experience developing DFMEA and PFMEA for hardware design.

Responsibilities

• Drive full product safety and compliance lifecycle.
• Research and apply compliance standards.
• Develop and execute compliance test plans.
• Debug failures and drive design solutions.
• Mentor and guide junior engineers.

Skills

Compliance interpretation for UL, IEC, IEEE standards

Experience with high-power assemblies

Effective communication

Hands-on experience with test equipment

Education

Master’s degree in electrical or mechanical engineering

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Power analyzers

Spectrum analyzers

Job description

What to Expect

Heron Power is a startup company building cutting-edge power electronics for the 21st-century grid. We aim to debottleneck the growth of electricity generation and consumption with scalable, innovative, and less costly hardware solutions, accelerating the electrification of everything.

Our first focus goal is to build better converters (inverters & rectifiers) to connect large‑scale renewables, storage, and loads to the grid. Heron’s leadership team is made up of seasoned veterans who have designed and shipped gigawatts of power‑conversion products over the past decade.

We understand that no one individual knows everything. We will all learn a lot together and from each other. We strive to build a collaborative, enriching environment conducive to personal, technical, and career growth. You can expect to work in a dynamic and collaborative environment, driven by first principles engineering, solving difficult problems.

Job Overview

As a Lead Compliance Engineer, you will drive and manage the full product safety and compliance lifecycle across our product portfolio. This role is responsible for leading compliance strategy from early engagement in codes and standards development through certification, market launch, and ongoing sustaining improvements. You will lead the responsibility for identifying all regulatory and technical hurdles Heron’s products must clear on the path to global market. Then, in collaboration with the design engineering team, will demonstrate Heron's products meet or exceed all requirements, achieve all certifications, and successfully enter target markets.

How You Will Contribute

• Research, interpret, and apply compliance from UL, IEC, IEEE, NEC, ISO, and other regulatory bodies to inform Heron’s path to successful listing for each product and new market entry.
• Partner with leads from engineering, product and manufacturing across the product lifecycle to embed compliance into product architecture and design, bringing first‑principles‑informed, can‑do creativity.
• Develop and execute compliance test plans, including identifying/building test infrastructure and resources.
• Debug failures and drive design solutions in collaboration with engineering design teams.
• Establish and manage high‑performance partnerships with NRTLs to achieve timely certification.
• Define and maintain client test data acceptance programs with NRTLs to accelerate compliance program execution.
• Proactively manage business risk by monitoring evolving standards, engaging with AHJs and utilities.
• Represent the company in industry codes and standards development activities, proactively influencing emerging requirements and translating them into actionable product and engineering guidelines.
• Contribute to thought leadership through white papers, participation in utility hearings, and regional codes and standards activities.
• Mentor and guide junior engineers while establishing best practices, tools, and scalable compliance processes.
• Develop capital and operating expenses forecast for compliance operations.
• Develop infrastructure planning aligning with product roadmap.

What You Will Bring

We have a short list of must‑have requirements. We prioritize candidates with a strong grip on first principles, hands‑on skills, and initiative.

Must‑Have Requirements

• Master’s degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering or equivalent.
• More than 7 years’ experience in regulatory and compliance certification for solar, wind, battery or other power electronics products.
• Deep understanding and familiarity with relevant UL/IEC/EN, IEEE, and ISO standards and how they inform the design and certification process of grid‑connected power electronics systems.
• Experience with manufacturing processes and material selection for high‑power assemblies (e.g., busbars, potting, conformal coating, HV connectors).
• Experience developing DFMEA, PFMEA and HARA for complex hardware design and manufacturing environment.
• Experience of participating in product‑relevant standards committees.
• Development experience of cybersecurity program for utility connected equipment.
• Functional safety requirements and procedures integration into Software and Firmware development.
• Ability to thrive in ambiguity, relying on your first principles engineering experience to identify creative solutions to hard problems.
• Capability to remain engaged, proactive, and positive under pressure, owning assignments and taking full accountability.
• Effective communicator and negotiator with excellent attention to detail.
• Hands on experience designing and operating test equipment and data acquisition systems, such as oscilloscopes, power and spectrum analyzers, data loggers, etc.

Nice‑to‑Haves

• Familiarity with grid‑tied hardware such as medium‑voltage converters, switchgear, circuit breakers, or protective relays.
• Experience designing or testing medium‑voltage systems (e.g., 1.5kV–35kV), including insulation coordination, clearance/creepage, and partial discharge considerations.
• Hands‑on experience with test automation using Python, LabVIEW, or embedded scripting for power hardware validation.
• Working experience of UL1741, UL 347a, IEC 62109-1, IEC 62109-2, IEC 62040, IEC 62477, UL 9540, UL 1998, UL 840, UL 2891, UL5500, IEEE 1547, IEEE 2800.

If you are passionate about technology and enjoy working in a fast‑paced environment, we would love to hear from you. Join us in accelerating the electrification of everything at Heron Power.

Heron Power provides competitive compensation (salary and equity) and benefits. The salary for this role ranges from $150,000 to $198,000 per year.