Senior/Staff Hardware Design Engineer

Heron Power•Scotts Valley, CA

4d•$140,000 - $200,000

About The Position

Heron Power is a startup developing power electronics for the electric grid, including converters that connect large-scale renewables, storage, and loads such as data centers. The company describes its environment as dynamic and collaborative, driven by first-principles engineering, with opportunities for personal, technical, and career growth. The Senior/Staff Hardware Design Engineer architects, designs, and integrates the low-voltage electrical system within high-performance power converters to meet reliability, EMC, and safety requirements. The role defines cabinet-level electrical architecture, manages harnessing and interconnects, and supports appropriate distribution of power, signals, and control across subsystems. Work spans the product lifecycle, from concept development and component selection through schematic capture, validation, and production support. Scope and responsibilities will scale based on the candidate’s experience.

Requirements

Degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
At least 5 years of experience in low-voltage electrical system design, including cabinet-level LV system architecture and component design; energy, automotive, or industrial control experience is ideal.
Strong knowledge of cabinet-level low-voltage power distribution and signal architecture.
Experience selecting and integrating low-voltage components, such as relays, fuses, and terminal blocks, for multi-voltage systems such as 12V, 24V, and 48V.
Familiarity with harness design, connector systems, electrical schematics, and wiring diagrams.
Understanding of EMC best practices and grounding and shielding techniques.
Proficiency with electrical CAD tools, such as Altium.
Hands-on experience debugging, testing, and validating electrical systems using oscilloscopes, multimeters, and similar tools.
Experience with manufacturing processes, including design for manufacturability, volume production, and developing manufacturing test procedures and test equipment.

Nice To Haves

Experience with low-voltage systems in high-voltage environments.
Familiarity with fieldbus communication protocols such as CAN or industrial Ethernet.
Knowledge of control-cabinet UL/IEC compliance, wire derating, spacing, and thermal considerations.
Experience creating wiring harnesses and managing cable assemblies with third-party suppliers.
Exposure to cross-functional design with firmware and mechanical engineering teams.
Experience with failure mode analysis and root-cause investigations of low-voltage electrical systems.
Knowledge of safety-critical system design, including interlocks and redundant controls.

Responsibilities

Own the hardware development lifecycle from requirements definition and modeling through schematic capture, PCB layout, prototyping, testing, validation, and manufacturing support.
Define and implement low-voltage electrical architecture for cabinet-based systems, including microprocessors, power supplies, power distribution, interconnects, and signal processing and routing.
Select low-voltage components based on system requirements and reliability targets.
Create system block diagrams, schematics, and harness documentation for cross-functional development and manufacturing.
Ensure electrical interface integrity across PCBs, sensors, actuators, and communication buses, including CAN, RS-485, Ethernet, and low-voltage analog/digital I/O.
Collaborate with mechanical teams on enclosure layout, cable routing, shielding, and grounding strategies for EMI/EMC performance.
Support validation and bring-up of low-voltage systems during prototype and production builds, including DVT and integration testing.
Ensure low-voltage systems comply with safety and regulatory standards such as UL, CE, and IEC.
Coordinate with firmware, test, and manufacturing teams to support system behavior, integration, and serviceability.
Support manufacturing processes, including design for manufacturability, volume production, and development of manufacturing test procedures and test equipment.