Senior Electrical System Engineer

Ermco•Raleigh, NC

About The Position

The Senior Electrical System Engineer is responsible for the design, integration, and validation of grid-connected and standalone power conversion systems that support the company’s Smart Grid and microgrid product lines. This role applies advanced engineering principles to develop and refine high-performance power electronics systems while ensuring reliability, safety, and regulatory compliance. The successful candidate will lead system-level architecture development, testing, compliance validation, and multi-domain integration with embedded controls and mechanical systems, contributing to the development of next-generation of Smart Grid products.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree (BSEE) required; Master’s degree (MSEE) preferred, with a focus in power electronics, electrical engineering, or a related field.
10+ years of experience in electrical engineering projects in the field of power electronics and/or power systems.
Knowledge of buck/boost, multi-phase/interleaved, DAB, LLC, and H-bridge topologies, and working experience with some of these topologies.
High-voltage (>400V AC or DC) and high-power (>10kVA) applications, including safety isolation, gate drives, current sensors, magnetic components, and isolated communications.
Experience with communications protocols such as ethernet, CAN, I2C and RS-232.
Product development experience for complex power electronics systems, i.e., containing multiple power converters and circuit boards, and embedded control software.
Experience developing systems with multiple embedded MCU, DSP, FPGA or CPU devices.
Experience with grid-connected systems.
Hands-on experience performing system- and subsystem-level validation testing, including thermal, EMI/EMC, and performance verification.
Knowledge of UL, IEEE, CSA, and EMC compliance standards and validation testing methods.
Proficiency with electrical modeling and simulation tools
Familiarity with Design for Manufacturability (DFM), Design for Test (DFT), and reliability engineering practices.
Experience working on team projects including collaboration with software and mechanical engineering functions.
Strong leadership skills, with the ability to guide and mentor junior engineers.
Excellent problem-solving abilities, capable of addressing complex technical challenges independently.
Effective communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams and manage stakeholders.
Highly organized, with the ability to manage multiple complex projects and priorities.
Experience conducting failure analysis and implementing corrective actions for design-related issues.

Nice To Haves

Exposure to energy storage systems, DC microgrids, DER integration, or EV charging infrastructure.
Experience with DSPs and control integration for power converter applications.
Knowledge of electrical distribution systems and grid interconnection standards.
Exposure to environmentally hardened Industrial rated product development
Experience with kilovolt-level systems, circuits, and components.
Working experience with power semiconductor devices, especially GaN FETs and SiC FETs.

Responsibilities

Technical leader for architecture, requirements development and system engineering for new product developments of grid-connected power electronics systems.
Develop and document system-level functional specifications, requirements, and integration plans across electrical, software, and mechanical domains.
Develop and execute system and subsystem/converter test plans to validate functionality, performance, reliability, thermal, EMC, and safety compliance testing, and analyze test data for compliance and performance.
Collaborate with team members and compliance and certification experts to ensure adherence to UL, IEEE, CSA, and EMC standards.
Support or perform the selection, design, and validation of key power components (magnetics, semiconductor devices, gate drivers, circuit protection, and sensors).
Develop requirements for, source, and validate custom or semi-custom components, typically inductors or transformers, for power electronics systems, employing electromagnetic and/or thermal modeling tools, analysis, and hand calculations.
Apply modeling and simulation tools to predict performance, optimize efficiency, and validate design decisions.
Lead integration of subsystems into complete systems.
Work hands-on in lab environments to debug and characterize hardware and system interactions, ensuring safe conditions in high-voltage high-power environments.
Support field validation testing and customer evaluations of new products.
Collaborate closely with software, firmware, and mechanical engineers to ensure cohesive system design and manufacturability.
Mentor and provide technical leadership to more junior engineers
Participate in continuous improvement efforts, driving quality, reliability, and efficiency across product lines.