Senior Specialist Engineer - Power Electronics

Eaton Corporation • Lathrup Village, MI

1d • $137,000 - $201,000

About The Position

Eaton Research Lab (ERL) has an exciting and rewarding position of a Specialist Engineer in Power Conversion to support research and technology development in emerging technology programs. The job function includes developing and testing innovative power conversion technologies and identifying market opportunities for the new technologies, support businesses to evaluate market studies and develop business cases. The individual will also identify internal and external funding resource, support discussions with national labs and university leaders to be on top of the key technologies identified. A key role will be to establish customer relationships, present ideas and projects to Eaton business leaders and ERL leadership. Ability to communicate complicated technologies in a clear and concise way to a variety of different audiences (business leaders, technical colleagues and lay people). A good blend of technical knowledge and business acumen is required to be successful in this position. The successful candidate will be reporting to the Technology Manager for Power Electronics (PE) group of ERL. This position will sit in Southfield, MI.

Requirements

• PhD degree in related field
• Minimum of 7 years’ industrial or entrepreneurial experience

Nice To Haves

• Experience in low and medium voltage power conversion and power systems engineering, including creating specifications, defining application space, designing technical solution concepts, and building and testing prototypes to validate models/hypotheses and documenting results.
• Expertise in the following areas: Motor Drive technology, drive/converter topologies, high-power electronics; electric machines and controls; electrification of vehicles, energy storage, and grid connected converters; alternative power generation and distribution.
• Experience in modeling power converters and power systems using simulation tools (example: MATLAB/Simulink, PLECS, Simplorer, PSIM and/or PSCAD).
• Experience in power electronics electromechanical packaging techniques; understanding of the effects of parasitic capacitance/inductance on circuit performance, familiarity with techniques for the minimization and/or control of parasitics, familiarity with voltage creepage and clearance requirements and various insulation and interconnection techniques; familiarity with various power electronic component cooling techniques, etc.
• Appreciation for the trade-offs necessary to achieve designs that meet performance requirements and cost objective solutions.
• Experience with real time simulators such as DSPACE, OPAL-RT and/or RTDS.
• Proven track record in new technology development with multiple stakeholders in a matrixed organizations.
• Good English communication and presentation skills (oral and written)
• Experience formulating value proposition of new technologies

Responsibilities

• As a technical leader, create emerging power conversion & power system solutions based on breakthrough technologies for industrial, automotive, truck, and aerospace applications.
• Lead and develop technology projects by supporting teams (local and remote resources) and working with external technology resources (Business Divisions, Universities and Customers).
• Advance state of the art power electronics, power systems, and power converter technologies, as well as identify and develop commercialization opportunities with diverse Eaton businesses.
• Lead and collaborate with multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural globally distributed teams, lead specific task within the scope of work and provide updates to project manager.
• Identify, analyze, develop and validate advanced technologies in the fields of power conversion and Power Systems.
• Initiate, lead and support global technology programs utilizing Eaton’s technology development processes including Business Reviews, Technology Reviews, and Project Reviews.
• Participate in technology strategy discussions with Eaton’s Businesses and develop technology road maps.
• Lead and support technology development projects and manage global teams (Eaton Business Divisions, Universities, National Labs and Customers).
• Create project plans, manage budgets and resources, and deliver results on budget and schedule.
• Engage with and manage stakeholder relationships - Business Divisions in the US and globally.
• Lead projects with partners from national labs, universities and other research institutes.
• Build global organizational capabilities in power conversion and power systems

Benefits

• Eaton provides various Health and Welfare benefits as well as Retirement benefits, and several programs that provide for paid and unpaid time away from work.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree