Power Electronics Engineer

Chariot Defense•San Bruno, CA

12h•$130,000 - $180,000•Onsite

About The Position

Chariot Defense is seeking a Power Electronics Engineer to own the electrical architecture of their power, conversion, and energy systems. This role involves designing and manufacturing power products for the U.S. military and its allies, focusing on decoupling power generation from consumption for enhanced lethality and survivability. The engineer will be instrumental in shaping product development across multiple platforms and sectors, working in a high-ownership, high-impact, and interdisciplinary environment from prototype to production.

Requirements

B.S. in Electrical Engineering (M.S. a plus)
2-5 years of experience in power electronics hardware design, with at least 2 years on low voltage and high-voltage power conversion and management
Demonstrated end-to-end ownership: you've taken power electronics hardware from topology architecture to schematic to production
Hands-on experience with protection circuits, and high-voltage isolation
Working knowledge of DC/DC and DC/AC converter topologies — buck, boost, flyback, full-bridge, inverter — and control loop theory (analog and digital compensation, stability margin analysis)
Experience designing to EMI/EMC requirements — conducted and radiated emissions, filtering strategies, layout best practices; MIL-STD-461 familiarity strongly preferred
Proven bench skills: comfortable with power analyzers, oscilloscopes, thermal cameras, electronic loads, and building your own test fixtures
Comfort with mechanical and thermal constraints — able to read an enclosure drawing, understand a thermal budget, and make layout decisions accordingly
Top-notch engineering intuition and first principles thinking toward designing complex products that function seamlessly for your customer, taking both an engineering/ technical, and product/ customer approach, to strike the optimal balance.
Able to independently identify critical information or priority gaps and apply effort toward closing those gaps.
Undaunted by imperfect, incomplete or absent datasets or information, and capable of making sound, comprehensive, and swift first-principled decisions to achieve a product end-state that meets and/or exceeds the need of the hour.
Not satisfied by superficial explanations of a problem or “band-aid engineering”; seeks persistently to find the specific root cause through data-driven methods, and resolve failures or recurring issues, so they can be mitigated to prevent future such instances.
Gratified by helping your peers succeed, building a robust team culture, and propagation deep camaraderie amongst your peers; seeks to break down information silos by collaborating rigorously with others to solve problems, share knowledge, and provide input.

Nice To Haves

Experience with wide bandgap semiconductors (GaN, SiC) for high-efficiency, high-density power conversion
Strong experience with AC power conversion (1 phase, 3 phase) systems and knowledge of transformers
Familiarity with battery safety standards: UN 38.3, UL 2580, IEC 62133
Experience with pulsed-load power delivery for high-power transient systems (directed energy, radar, EW)
Background in designing to MIL-STD-810 and MIL-STD-461 (combined electrical and environmental qualification)
Embedded firmware experience or strong collaboration with firmware teams on BMS/power management
Experience with LTspice, SIMPLIS, MATLAB/Simulink, or COMSOL for circuit and thermal simulation

Responsibilities

Own full-cycle design of power electronics subsystems: DC/DC and DC/AC converters, protection logic, and power distribution units, managing low voltage and high voltage systems, as well as AC circuits.
Design and incorporate next-generation GaN and SiC inverter systems for high-efficiency power conversion, using advanced power control schemes.
Design for low electromagnetic signature by minimizing conducted and radiated emissions to meet MIL-STD-461 requirements.
Develop schematics and oversee PCB layout using Altium or equivalent, with particular attention to power density, thermal management, and EMI mitigation at the board level for DC and AC systems.
Perform hardware bring-up, write and execute hardware bring-up, verification, and validation test plans; operate lab equipment including oscilloscopes, electronic loads, power analyzers, current probes, and thermal cameras.
Define and execute testing, including environmental and qualification testing (thermal cycling, vibration, shock) in coordination with the mechanical team.
Collaborate closely with mechanical engineers on component integration, PCB placement within enclosures, connector and harness selection, and thermal path design.
Support firmware and software engineers with electrical specifications for power management and control firmware.
Travel to test sites (military and non-military) and military exercises to observe hardware operation in real conditions, and engage closely with global suppliers.