Power Electronics Design Engineer

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory•Laurel, MD

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Are you a power electronics engineer who wants to see your designs operate on spacecraft exploring our solar system? Do you enjoy solving complex challenges in analog and mixed-signal electronics, from custom power supplies and magnetics design to flight qualification and testing? If so, we're looking for someone like you to join our team at APL! The Space Science Electronics Group at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory builds instruments and electronics systems that generate data used in scientific research. Our group of approximately 40 engineers brings technical expertise across all aspects of instrument development, including systems engineering, digital and analog electronics design, FPGA design, and software design. We work closely with engineers and scientists across the Laboratory to develop instruments for spaceflight missions. Examples of our work include the instrument suite on the MESSENGER spacecraft, instruments for Europa Clipper, imagers on DART, and many other missions. We are currently developing instruments for Dragonfly and NOAA SOLAR missions. The instruments we build include magnetometers, optical imagers, particle instruments, and gamma-ray and neutron spectrometers. We are seeking talented power electronics engineers to contribute to the design, implementation, production, and testing of spaceflight instrumentation. If you are passionate about power electronics, analog electronics, and instrumentation for spaceflight missions, we would be excited to have you join our team.

Requirements

A Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or an equivalent technical field, with 2+ years of experience in analog power electronics design.
Experience with common power converter topologies and design electronics for EMI/EMC considerations.
Basic scripting knowledge, preferably including the ability to script automated measurement sequences.
Proficiency with computer-aided design and circuit simulation tools.
Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively in a team environment.
Eligibility to obtain a Secret-level security clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security clearance investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

Nice To Haves

An M.S. in Electrical Engineering or equivalent technical experience, with 5+ years of experience in power electronics, analog electronics, and mixed-signal circuit design.
Experience designing space-qualified electronics, including custom magnetic component design, part selection, de-rating, and worst-case analysis, radiation considerations, and design margin assessment.
Worked with sensitive analog and mixed signal circuit; optimized power supplies for biasing detectors, minimizing noise and cross talk, and tuning for stability over large load/temperature ranges.
Relevant spaceflight hardware experience.
Leadership and organizational capabilities.
Strong verbal and written communication skills.
The ability to work independently and mentor early-career engineers.

Responsibilities

Designing, simulating, and testing analog electronics for spaceflight instrumentation. including isolated DC/DC power converters, low- and high-voltage power supplies, detector bias supplies, custom magnetics design, power conditioning, motor control electronics, and related support circuitry.
Optimizing magnetic components, compensation networks, control loops, filtering, protection circuits, EMI/EMC mitigation features for spaceflight power systems
Overseeing breadboarding, testing, fabrication, and space qualification of analog, power, and mixed-signal electronics.
Designing, testing, and integrating engineering model and flight model electronics.
Hands-on laboratory testing and troubleshooting of power, analog, or mixed-signal electronics.
Preparing for and presenting at design reviews.
Generating test plans and technical documentation.