Staff Firmware Engineer, Battery Systems

QuantumScape Corporation•San Jose, CA

25d•$136,700 - $208,500•Onsite

About The Position

QuantumScape is seeking a Staff Firmware Engineer, Battery Systems, to own the electrical design of its battery management system (BMS). The role covers the design of reliable and safe battery packs, including AFE architecture, temperature monitoring, and selection of fuses and FETs for protection. The engineer will collaborate with mechanical engineering to develop high-power- and energy-density designs that meet regulatory safety requirements, and work closely with firmware engineering to ensure functions are implemented and validated thoroughly. The position designs BMS hardware for packs with voltages up to 600V and power above 20kW, creates schematics and PCB designs, defines sensing and balancing connections, selects protection devices, and supports design verification and certification. This is an onsite role, required five days per week, within an R&D and manufacturing operations organization.

Requirements

A relevant bachelor's degree and 9+ years of experience, a relevant master's degree and 8+ years of experience, or a relevant Ph.D. and 5+ years of experience.
5+ years of battery pack or BMS design experience, with at least two products taken through prototype validation or production.
Familiarity with schematic and PCB design tools such as Altium or Cadence.
In-depth understanding of Li-Ion battery technology and protections.
Expertise designing analog, digital, and general power circuits, especially low-power designs for battery applications.
Familiarity with simulation tools such as PSPICE, LTSpice, Simulink, and PSIM.
Good PCB layout knowledge, including high-speed design, thermal design, design for manufacturing, and EMI mitigation techniques.
Understanding of component management and BOM structures, including identifying agency-critical components and verifying safety specifications.
Experience designing, bringing up, testing, and troubleshooting new platforms.
Ability to analyze circuit components, including their thermal and magnetic properties.
Good understanding of grounding, isolation, creepage/clearance, and hi-pot testing.
Ability to create thorough DVT plans to validate product specifications.
Experience designing for reliability using tools such as design margin analysis, DFMEA, and HALT.
Experience with battery safety standards such as UL 1973, UL 9540A, and IEC 62619.
Comfort collaborating with mechanical, firmware, and marketing teams.
Ability to generate engineering documentation such as specifications, block diagrams, design review presentations, assembly drawings, and test reports.

Nice To Haves

Previous experience in data center power and energy products (CBU/BBU/EBM, etc.).
Hands-on PCB layout experience.
Direct experience supporting PCBA manufacturing.
High-voltage battery pack design experience up to 800V+.
High-current design experience above 100A.
Experience with scalable modular systems with hot-swap capabilities.
Experience in a customer-facing application engineering role.
Knowledge of power electronic circuits such as AC/DC, DC/DC, and inverters.

Responsibilities

Design BMS systems for pack voltages up to 600V and power above 20kW.
Create schematics and design PCBs for the BMS.
Define connections for voltage sensing, balancing, and temperature monitoring.
Select protection devices based on worst-case operating conditions.
Collaborate with mechanical engineers on heat sinks and wiring harnesses.
Implement inrush-current-limiting features.
Ensure hardware redundancy for critical protection functions.
Work with the marketing team to generate detailed engineering specifications.
Perform design margin analysis and DFMEA.
Specify design verification tests to ensure functional performance and regulatory compliance of the battery pack.
Support UL 1973 and UL 9540A safety certification activities.
Work with external design teams to ensure the battery pack integrates well into its application.