Head of Power Electronics

American Turbines • San Francisco, CA

21h

About The Position

American Turbines is designing small modular gas turbines for distributed power generation. The Head of Power Electronics will own the systems between the generator shaft and the customer's bus. The machine uses a high-voltage DC architecture, which is a core design choice. This role defines the power conversion system end to end, including conversion, protection, controls interfaces, and schemes that allow hundreds of units to operate together as one plant.

The role makes and quantitatively defends build-versus-buy decisions for each system block. Much of the system will be developed with partners and suppliers, drawing on the EV and industrial supply chains. The Head of Power Electronics will select partners, write specifications, qualify and integrate hardware, and support it on the test stand. As in-house scope grows, this person will hire and lead the power electronics team.

Requirements

• Deep hands-on experience in high-voltage DC power conversion.
• Experience designing wide-bandgap semiconductors, including SiC and GaN, at real power levels.
• Experience taking converters from schematic through layout, magnetics, thermal design, and EMC into production.
• Knowledge of what causes converters to fail in the field.
• Ability to determine when a converter should be purchased as a commodity and when it should be developed as a differentiator.
• Comfort owning supplier relationships, writing source-control specifications, and running qualification testing.
• Ability to move quickly between architecture and detailed engineering while maintaining rigor.
• Experience with hardware operation and an understanding of the strengths and limitations of simulation.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with electric machine design.
• Experience with control systems, from converter control loops to embedded platforms.

Responsibilities

• Define the end-to-end power conversion system, including conversion, protection, controls interfaces, and operation of multiple units as one plant.
• Make build-versus-buy decisions for each system block and support those decisions with numbers.
• Select partners and suppliers for system development.
• Write specifications and source-control specifications.
• Qualify and integrate hardware from partners and suppliers.
• Support and stand behind hardware on the test stand.
• Hire and lead the power electronics team as in-house scope grows.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed