Senior Manager, Power Electronics and Power Conversion
$191,000–$253,000 year
On-siteCosta Mesa, California, United States
Job Summary
Lead power electronics and power conversion programs from concept through production, overseeing motor controllers, DC-DC converters, and smart power distribution systems for defense platforms. Design high-reliability, power-dense architectures and drive full-cycle PCB and LRU design, including schematic design, gate driver development, and layout supervision. Manage hardware-in-the-loop verification, system integration into UAVs or UGVs, and cross-disciplinary trade-off studies for SWaP-C optimization. Collaborate with vendors on fabrication, assembly, and BOMs while supporting firmware teams on digital control loops. Requires Top Secret clearance, 7+ years in aerospace/defense power systems, and proficiency in EDA tools and simulation software.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Power Electronics, or equivalent
- 7+ years of experience designing, testing, and troubleshooting complex power electronics circuits, switching power supplies (buck, boost, flyback, resonant topologies), and motor drives in a high-reliability aerospace, defense, or electric vehicle (EV) context
- Deep understanding of power quality and EMI standards, specifically MIL-STD-704 (aircraft electrical power characteristics) and MIL-STD-461 (requirements for the control of electromagnetic interference)
- Competence with high-power test equipment such as high-voltage power supplies, electronic loads, power analyzers, differential probes, thermal chambers, and test automation
- Practical experience in design for EMI mitigation, low-parasitic layouts, gate drive optimization, and high-frequency switching performance
- Familiarity with standard interfaces used in power systems (CAN, PMBus, I2C, SPI, RS-485)
- Familiarity with DSPs, microcontrollers, or FPGAs commonly used for digital control of power supplies (e.g., TI C2000, STM32)
- Proficiency with Altium Designer or equivalent electronic design automation (EDA) design tools
- Experience with power simulation tools such as PLECS, LTspice, MATLAB/Simulink, or Simplis
- Knowledgeable in Python (for test automation) and C/C++ (for firmware understanding/debugging)
- Must be able to obtain and hold a U.S. Top Secret security clearance
Desired Qualifications
- Master's or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering with a concentration in Power Electronics
- Experience with wide-bandgap (SiC, GaN) semiconductor technology, high-voltage safety design practices (touch-safe standards, creepage/clearance), and thermal management of high-power-density systems
- Familiarity with DO-160 (specifically Section 16 for Power Input and Section 21 for RF Emissions)
- Familiarity with DO-254 and DO-311A (for rechargeable lithium battery systems)
- Familiarity with MIL-STD-810 (environmental engineering considerations)
Hiring someone like this?
Get your role in front of qualified candidates on Sorce.