Power Electronics / Electrical Systems Engineer

Lucid Bots•Charlotte, NC

22h•Hybrid

About The Position

Lucid Bots is the leading U.S. AI robotics manufacturer of exterior cleaning drones and robotics for commercial and government applications. Since 2018, we've been building the world's most productive and responsible robots to tackle critical maintenance challenges. With industry-leading engineering and dedicated customer support, we've enabled operators to generate over $75 million in revenue, with a fleet of over 500 robots deployed to accomplish dull, dirty, and dangerous jobs with safety and efficiency. Our mission is simple: extend human reach. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, we design, engineer, manufacture, and support our products in the United States. Our production-ready robots are deployed by customers around the world — from global enterprises to independent owner-operators — to improve safety, increase productivity, and elevate operational standards. We are one of the fastest-growing manufacturing companies in the United States, recently ranked fourth nationally, and we just closed a $20M Series B to fuel our next chapter at the intersection of AI, hardware, and real-world impact. Backed by leading investors including Y Combinator (S19), Cubit Capital, Idea Fund Partners, Danu Ventures, and others, we're scaling quickly. We're building more than robots—we're building the future of physical AI. At Lucid Bots, we're building something extraordinary - and how we work matters just as much as what we build. These values guide how we hire, grow, and show up for one another. Expedition Behavior - We climb as one. No silos, no "that's not my job." We protect the team and share the load. Grow with Humility - We're relentless learners. We seek feedback, own mistakes, and get better every day. Lift People Up - Humans come first. We care fiercely, speak honestly, and design for real people in real conditions. Build the Extraordinary - We take ownership, reject the ordinary, and run toward hard problems. We live Above the Line: we take responsibility, create solutions, and shape the future. If these values energize you, you'll thrive here. If they feel like too much, this may not be the right climb - and that's okay. This is the core technical role for Lucid Bots' power tether program — one of our most critical new product development efforts. You'll own the drone tether power system end to end, responsible for reliably delivering approximately 7,000 W continuously (with transient peaks up to 10,000 W) from the ground power source, down the tether, and into the drone's propulsion and avionics. You'll work alongside a team of talented electrical, mechanical, firmware, and test engineers, and your output will show up in hardware that ships to real customers in the real world. This is not a "design it and hand it off" role, you'll own it from architecture through validation.

Requirements

Hold a Bachelor's or Master's in Electrical Engineering, or equivalent hands-on experience.
Shipped multiple electronics products to production.
Proven experience designing power electronics in the multi-kilowatt range, including DC-DC converter design.
Working knowledge of high-voltage DC systems, conductor sizing, and thermal management from real systems built and validated.
Experience integrating power systems with three-phase motor drives and ESCs, and understanding how those interfaces behave under load.
Comfortable with electrical safety standards, grounding design, and protection design.

Nice To Haves

Experience with tethered drones, UAV power systems, or long-cable power delivery
Familiarity with EMI/EMC design and mitigation
Hands-on prototyping, bring-up, and bench validation of power hardware
Background in EV motor controller design or high-voltage DC power routing

Responsibilities

Design the high-voltage DC power transmission architecture for the tether, including selection of transmission voltage to minimize conductor mass and resistive loss over tether length.
Design and specify DC-DC conversion stages (step-up at the ground station, step-down onboard the drone), targeting high efficiency at 7 kW continuous load.
Size tether conductor gauge, insulation, and connectors for continuous current plus 10 kW peak inrush, with appropriate derating and safety margin.
Define current limits, protection thresholds, and coordinate over-current and fault behavior with the onboard power distribution.
Own thermal management of converters, connectors, and cabling across the full load range.
Integrate the power system with the drone's ESCs and flight controller, ensuring stable behavior during peak transients and load steps.
Coordinate with mechanical engineering on the tether reel, strain relief, and cable routing, and with safety and compliance staff on high-voltage standards, grounding, and arc-flash mitigation.
Produce schematics, power budgets, test plans, and design documentation for design reviews.