Senior Electrical Engineer, Power

Planet•San Francisco, CA

10d•Hybrid

About The Position

Welcome to Planet. We believe in using space to help life on Earth. Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest constellation of imaging satellites in history. This constellation delivers an unprecedented dataset of empirical information via a revolutionary cloud-based platform to authoritative figures in commercial, environmental, and humanitarian sectors. We are both a space company and data company all rolled into one. Customers and users across the globe use Planet's data to develop new technologies, drive revenue, power research, and solve our world’s toughest obstacles. As we control every component of hardware design, manufacturing, data processing, and software engineering, our office is a truly inspiring mix of experts from a variety of domains. We have a people-centric approach toward culture and community and we strive to iterate in a way that puts our team members first and prepares our company for growth. Join Planet and be a part of our mission to change the way people see the world. Planet is a global company with employees working remotely world wide and joining us from offices in San Francisco, Washington DC, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and The Netherlands. About the Role: As a member of the Electrical Engineering team, you will work in a group of dedicated engineers responsible for the design of Planet’s satellites. You will architect and design the power subsystems on our modular satellite bus, and bring-up, validate, and qualify your designs for the space environment. This is a full-time, hybrid role which will require you to be in our San Francisco, HQ 3 days per week.

Requirements

10+ years of experience designing PCBs, with 5 years focused on power electronics
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or similar
Advanced experience designing high voltage (>500V) switching power converters
Proficiency with high voltage power component selection, in particular with compound semiconductor technologies (SiC, GaN)
Cross-functional design experience with mechanical/thermal and packaging constraints
Familiarity with analog design, digital design, mixed-signal design (ADCs/DACs)
Experience in embedded systems design
Knowledge of PCB layout techniques for optimized power and ground routing and EMI mitigation
Hands-on expertise with EE tools (oscilloscopes, network analyzers, signal generators, etc)
Experience with simulation tools for power electronics
Advanced with Altium Designer for schematic capture
Advanced in Python or other scripting languages to control/automate test equipment (power supplies, solar array simulators, electronic loads)

Nice To Haves

Experience specifying or designing custom magnetics and other passives for power electronics circuits
Experience with MPPTs and solar arrays
Experience with electric propulsion systems
Experience designing for high-reliability aerospace/LEO applications—designing radiation tolerant electronics, vacuum compatible hardware, frequent thermal cycling

Responsibilities

Design and schematic entry of power subsystems including MPPTs, electronic propulsion PPUs, power regulation and distribution for our fleets of nano and small satellites
Oversight of PCB layout process for your designs, as well as release of drawings for manufacturing
PCBA bring-up, debugging, and functional verification.
With assistance of other teams, qualify design for EMI/EMC compliance, thermal performance, and ensure design can survive the high shock and vibration loads of a rocket launch.
Work with the manufacturing test engineering team to define a highly automated test procedure for each PCBA.
Anomaly response and troubleshooting systems for on-orbit spacecraft.