Description
Research, design, develop, and test power electronic converters, motor drives, and high-efficiency power systems for commercial, industrial, automotive, renewable, or aerospace applications. Apply power electronics, control theory, magnetics, and semiconductor device knowledge to create AC/DC, DC/DC, and DC/AC circuits, gate drivers, and protection for power supplies, chargers, and grid-tied equipment.
- • Design AC-DC, DC-DC, and DC-AC converters, inverters, and motor drives to meet efficiency, power density, thermal, and cost targets.
- • Specify and select power semiconductors (Si, SiC, GaN), magnetics, capacitors, sensors, and protection components.
- • Develop and implement digital or analog control algorithms, modulation schemes, and protection logic for power stages.
- • Create schematics, perform simulations (SPICE, PLECS, MATLAB/Simulink), and execute PCB layouts for high-power, high-speed switching designs.
- • Perform thermal analysis and design, including heat sinking, airflow, and component derating.
- • Define and execute V&V plans covering efficiency, ripple, transient response, SOA, and reliability testing.
- • Conduct EMI/EMC design, filtering, and compliance testing to standards such as CISPR and FCC.
- • Ensure electrical safety compliance (UL/IEC), including creepage/clearance, insulation coordination, and isolation requirements.
- • Design and validate active and passive PFC stages to meet regulatory and grid power quality requirements.
- • Develop magnetics (inductors, transformers), including core selection, winding design, and loss modeling.
- • Prepare and maintain design documentation, BOMs, test plans, reports, and work instructions.
- • Coordinate prototype builds, bring-up, and design transfers to manufacturing with DFM/DFT considerations.
- • Perform root cause analysis of failures and implement corrective actions; conduct FMEA and reliability predictions (e.g., MTBF).
- • Plan and manage power lab setups, test fixtures, instrumentation, and safe operating procedures.
- • Analyze system requirements, load profiles, thermal and mechanical constraints, and grid interconnect needs to assess feasibility.
- • Optimize designs for energy efficiency, standby power, and regulatory compliance (e.g., DOE, Energy Star).
- • Provide technical support and training to internal teams, suppliers, and customers on power hardware and standards.
- • Estimate schedules and costs, track budgets, and manage component sourcing and lifecycle risks.
- • Collaborate with mechanical, firmware, and systems engineers to integrate power hardware and digital control.
- • Investigate new topologies, wide-bandgap devices, packaging, and cooling technologies to enhance performance.
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Last reviewed: Jan 2026
