Lead Power Systems Engineer

Trident Systems•Sterling, VA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Lead Power Systems Engineer will be the technical leader and decision-maker for a multidisciplinary team of electrical, power, and hardware engineers that design and produce high-performance power systems for satellites. This role requires an experienced spacecraft development engineer who can guide architecture, communicate with customers, and manage top-level requirements and verification. The Lead Power Systems Engineer should have proven skills in designing, debugging, and optimizing DC-DC converters, and should have practical experience with GaN technologies and radiation effects on electronics.

Requirements

B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering or a closely related field.
9+ years of experience in power electronics design, with at least 3 years in a technical lead or principal engineer role.
Demonstrated expertise in DC-DC converter design across common topologies (buck, boost, flyback, forward, full-bridge) for spaceflight or other high-reliability applications.
Hands-on experience with GaN FET characterization, gate driver design, and transition to flight application.
Working knowledge of radiation effects in electronics and RHA methodologies applicable to LEO, MEO, GEO, or deep space environments.
Experience owning requirements and verification artifacts in a formal systems engineering process (ICD, ICDs, V&V matrices, SRS).
Proficiency with circuit simulation tools (LTSpice, SIMPLIS, or equivalent).
Experience with formal design reviews (PDR, CDR, TRR) and direct customer interaction.

Nice To Haves

Experience with MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-1553, ECSS, or NASA GEVS standards
Familiarity with space-qualified magnetic component design (custom inductors and transformers)
Experience with battery management and charge control for Li-ion cells in space applications
Cadence or Altium PCB design review experience
Familiarity with EEE-INST-002 or equivalent part screening and derating standards
Prior work on programs with formal flight heritage

Responsibilities

Serve as technical lead and primary decision-maker for power systems design across government, civil, and commercial space programs.
Define and own power system architectures from concept through CDR, including bus regulation, power distribution, battery charging, and protection topologies.
Lead a team of electrical and power hardware engineers through all phases of the development lifecycle – requirements capture, design, analysis, fabrication, integration, and test.
Establish and maintain top-level electrical requirements and drive verification and validation activities including qualification and acceptance testing.
Serve as primary technical interface to customers, program managers, and external stakeholders; present design status, trade studies, and technical risks at formal reviews.
Guide circuit design and layout reviews for high-reliability and GaN-based DC-DC converters, EMI filters, power distribution networks, solar array interfaces, and battery management systems.
Apply radiation hardness assurance (RHA) disciplines including part derating, total ionizing dose (TID) analysis, single event effects (SEE) screening, and lot testing coordination.
Identify and resolve technical risk early through analysis, simulation (SPICE/LTSpice), worst-case analysis (WCA), and hardware bring-up.
Mentor junior and mid-level engineers; define best practices and contribute to internal technical standards and IP development.
Support proposal efforts including technical volume authorship, BOE development, and design-to-cost trades.
Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

Health benefits
Medical
Dental
Vision
Basic life with AD&D
Short term disability
Long term disability
Ancillary (Voluntary life with AD&D, accident, critical illness, hospital, and pet)
Spending accounts (HSA, FSA, and DCFSA)
Paid time off
Holidays
401(k) (including company match)
Tuition reimbursement
Leaves (Parental, maternity, and military)
Annual discretionary bonus (for eligible roles)