Staff Power Electronics Engineer

CesiumAstro, Inc.; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 199,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health

Dental

Vision

HSA

FSA

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Retirement plans

Job summary

CesiumAstro is seeking a Staff Power Electronics Engineer to lead the development of space‑grade power electronics hardware for satellites and space power systems. You will define architectures, trade studies, and drive detailed circuit design, PCB layout, verification, and production transfer across the full lifecycle.

You will mentor engineers, lead a small team, and perform power integrity, reliability analyses, and system integration tests to ensure robust space payloads.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from an accredited university.
• Minimum of 9 years of experience designing analog and power electronics.
• Experience with power architectures, SWAP-C trade studies, and power management blocks.
• Experience with DC-DC converter topologies and power stage design.
• Experience with schematic capture and PCB layout tools; Altium/OrCAD/Allegro/Xpedition.

Responsibilities

• Define electrical power system architecture and derive subsystem requirements.
• Design DC-DC converters, motor drives, inverters, and power management circuits from concept to production.
• Perform detailed analog and power electronics design across single to multi-output modules.
• Model and analyze circuits including FMEA, reliability, and power integrity.

Skills

Power electronics

Analog design

DC-DC converters

Power management

PCB layout

EMC

Schematic capture

Testing & debug

Lab instruments

SPICE / MATLAB

Education

BS in Electrical Engineering

9+ years experience in analog and power electronics

MS/PhD preferred for advanced focus

Tools

Altium

OrCAD

Allegro

Xpedition

LTspice

Job description

Please Note: To conform with the United States Government Space Technology Export Regulations, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., conditional resident, asylee or refugee (protected individuals as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

At CesiumAstro, we are developers and pioneers of out-of-the-box communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. We take pride in our dynamic and cross-functional work environment, which allows us to learn, develop, and engage across our organization. If you are looking for hands‑on, interactive, and autonomous work, CesiumAstro is the place for you. We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward‑thinking individuals to join our team.

We are seeking a Staff Power Electronics Engineer to join our growing spacecraft payload development team. In this position, you will contribute across the entire development lifecycle of next‑generation power electronics hardware for satellites and space power systems payloads—from leading the definition of power system architectures and trade studies to detailed circuit design, simulation, printed circuit board (PCB) layout, verification and integration testing, production transition and manufacturing support.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Define electrical power system architecture, and derive power subsystem requirements
• Design DC-DC power converters, motor drives, inverters, power management and control circuits from concept to production release
• Perform detailed design for low to high complexity analog and power electronics circuits ranging from single DC-DC power converters to multi‑output power supply modules
• Perform modeling and analysis of analog and power electronics designs including worst‑case circuit analysis (WCA), stress analysis, small signal modeling analysis, failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), reliability analysis, and power integrity analysis
• Develop design verification test plans, requirement compliance matrices, system integration and qualification test plans, and production acceptance test plans for power converters and power supply designs
• Lead board bring‑up and design verification testing of power electronics circuits and modules
• Lead system integration, qualification campaigns, and release of analog and power electronics designs into production
• Mentor younger engineers and foster knowledge sharing
• Lead a small team of power electronics engineers to drive project execution
• Perform research and monitor power electronics industry trends to drive innovation and generate intellectual property in this area

REQUIREMENTS AND MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor of Science (BS) degree or higher in Electrical Engineering (or related) from an accredited university.
• Minimum of 9 years of experienced designing analog and power electronics
• Experience working with electrical power systems and subsystems, including developing power architecture and power requirements, performing trade studies for size, weight, power, and cost optimization (SWAP-C), selecting power converter topologies, and defining power management and control blocks
• Experience with modeling and control of DC-DC converters and power stage design of different isolated and non‑isolated DC-DC power converters (e.g. discrete linear regulators, Buck, Boost, Buck‑boost, Flyback, Forward, Half‑bridge, Full bridge, and Resonant converters)
• Experience designing custom signal and power magnetics, and power filters for low noise and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)
• Experience developing design verification test plans, requirement compliance matrices, system integration and qualification test plans, and production acceptance test plans
• Experience performing worst‑case circuit analysis (WCA), stress analysis, failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), and reliability analysis for power supplies
• Extensive hands‑on experience with testing and troubleshooting electronics and power converters using laboratory instruments such as oscilloscopes, impedance analyzers, spectrum analyzers, electronic loads, and signal generators
• Experience with electronics schematic capture and printed circuit board (PCB) layout tools such as Altium, OrCAD, Allegro or Xpedition
• Experience with analysis and simulation tools such as SPICE, LTSPICE, SIMetrix/SIMPLIS, PLECS, Simulink, MATLAB, MathCAD, ANSYS Q3D and SiWave, or HyperLynx
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

• Master of Science or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering with research focus in power electronics
• Experience designing high‑reliability analog and power electronics for automotive, space or defense applications
• Knowledge of space radiation environments and radiation effects in electronics
• Experience in power electronics applications utilizing GaN or SiC wide bandgap power semiconductor devices
• Experience running board‑level power integrity simulation using tools such as Ansys SiWave, or HyperLynx
• Experience with soft switching and resonant power converter topologies (e.g. LLC, CLLC, series resonant, phase shifted full bridge, dual active bridge, etc.)
• Experience with power stage design for inverters and motor drives
• Knowledge of modeling and control of inverters and motor drives
• Experience with advanced control schemes for DC-DC power converters (e.g. voltage mode with feedforward control, constant on‑time control, V2 constant on‑time control, phase shift modulation, average current mode control)
• Experience with isolation and grounding, failure mode effects analysis and fault tolerant design, and thermal management of power electronics
• Programming skills to support hardware test and data processing (Python, MATLAB, etc.)
• Knowledge of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) for solar power applications, battery sizing and battery management systems, power conversion for electric propulsion systems, power conditioning, power management, and power distribution units for spacecraft technology
• Experience designing and testing power electronics units to meet industry standards and requirements in the automotive, industrial, space or military markets (e.g., FCC, CISPR, UL safety, ECSS, NASA, MIL standards)

$165,000 - $199,000 a year

CesiumAstro considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills. Full‑time employment offers include company stock options and a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, HSA, FSA, life, disability and retirement plans.

• health
• dental
• vision
• HSA
• FSA
• life
• disability
• retirement plans

CesiumAstro is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected Veteran Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Please note: CesiumAstro does not accept unsolicited resumes from contract agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited resumes submitted to our website or to CesiumAstro team members will be considered property of CesiumAstro, and we will not be obligated to pay any referral fees.