Senior Power Electronics Engineer

Salient Motion
Hawthorne, CA

Who this role is best for

Strong fit for power electronics professionals with aerospace experience who lead design and integration of high-power systems.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with aerospace qualification mindset and experience in high-power converter design
    — “Aerospace experience: qualification mindset, configuration control”
  • Individuals with expertise in EMI/EMC strategies and safety testing for flight-ready systems
    — “Own EMI/EMC strategy for aerospace environments: grounding, shielding, layout constraints”
  • Professionals who can drive prototype development and lead PCB design with safety best practices
    — “Lead schematic capture and review PCB layout for low-inductance, high-current/high-voltage design”

Things to consider

  • U.S. citizenship or permanent residency is mandatory due to export control and regulatory requirements
    — “Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Permanent Residents (Green Card holders)”
  • The role involves working with export-controlled information and hardware
    — “This role supports aerospace programs and may involve export-controlled information or hardware”

How to stand out

  • Emphasize experience with high-power (>10 kW) systems and aerospace qualification processes
    — “Design topologies and the power stage (DC bus, precharge/discharge, snubbers/clamps)”
  • Highlight your ability to define verification plans and produce review-ready test reports
    — “Define verification plans and acceptance criteria and produce clear, review-ready test reports”
  • Showcase hands-on bring-up and debug experience with high-power hardware and lab safety practices
    — “Plan and execute prototype bring-up and high-power lab testing with safe procedures”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • design and integration of high-power power conversion hardware
  • ownership of key power-stage architecture decisions
  • successful prototype bring-up and verification
Typical background
7+ years in power electronics design and product development

Skills & requirements

Required

Power ElectronicsHigh-power Converter DesignPower Inverter DesignGate-drive DesignController SelectionEmi/emc StrategyThermal DesignHigh-power Lab Testing

Preferred

Aerospace ExperienceQualification MindsetConfiguration Control

Stack & domain

Power Electronics DesignPower Converter/inverter TopologiesGate-drive DesignController SelectionFeedback GainStability MarginProtectionHigh-voltage, High-current Pcb/layout PracticesThermal DesignEmi/emc StrategySchematic CapturePCB LayoutPrototype Bring-up And DebugHigh-power Lab TestingVerification PlansTest ReportsSupplier/parts SelectionDfm/dftLeadershipTeam ManagementCoachingPerformance ManagementWorkload PrioritizationProblem-solvingCommunicationProject ManagementAerospaceDefenseIndustrialMotion ControlElectrical Systems

About the role

Original posting from Salient Motion via Greenhouse

**Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Permanent Residents (Green Card holders) to meet customer and regulatory requirements**

Who We Are

We are pioneering modular motion technologies to power the next generation of innovation for Industrial, Aerospace and Defense. If you're excited about disrupting legacy industries, and passionate about building next generation technology, let's chat!

We are at the forefront of innovation, crafting exclusive motion control components that propel the industrial, aerospace, and defense sectors into the future. 

A couple other things:

We are open to relocating you

We have great benefits

We are well funded, and generating revenue

We are located in beautiful Hawthorne, CA and just moved into a new large hangar facility

Role Summary

We are hiring a Senior Power Electronics Engineer to lead the design and integration of high-power (>10 kW) power conversion hardware for aerospace motion and electrical systems. You will own key power-stage architecture decisions, drive prototype bring-up and verification, and partner with controls, firmware, mechanical, and manufacturing teams to deliver flight- and mission-ready hardware.

What you'll do:

Architect and design high-power converters/inverters (>10 kW) for aerospace electrical and motion control products, balancing efficiency, power density, and reliability

Select and apply Si, SiC, and/or GaN power devices (as appropriate) and design gate-drive, controller, feedback stability, magnetic components including power inductors and transformers, sensing, and protection (short-circuit, overcurrent, over/undervoltage, thermal, desaturation)

Design topologies and the power stage (DC bus, precharge/discharge, snubbers/clamps, current sensing, filtering) and define safe operating envelopes and derating at given environments

Drive thermal design with mechanical engineering (heatsinks, cold plates, airflow/liquid cooling) and validate junction-to-ambient performance including loss breakdown, thermal analysis

Own EMI/EMC strategy for aerospace environments: grounding, shielding, layout constraints, conducted/radiated mitigation, filter design, and test readiness

Lead schematic capture and review PCB layout for low-inductance, high-current/high-voltage design; ensure creepage/clearance, isolation, and safety best practices

Plan and execute prototype bring-up and high-power lab testing with safe procedures; debug failures and perform root-cause analysis

Define verification plans and acceptance criteria and produce clear, review-ready test reports and evidence packages; support supplier/parts selection and DFM/DFT as designs transition to manufacturing

What you need:

7+ years (or equivalent depth) in power electronics design and product development

Strong experience with power converter/inverter topologies, architecture, device selection, gate-drive design, controller selection, feedback gain, stability margin, protection, and high-voltage, high-current PCB/layout practices

Hands-on bring-up and debug experience with high-power hardware (safe lab practices, oscilloscopes, HV differential probes, current probes, power analyzers, network/stability analyzers)

Ability to take designs from concept through prototype, verification, and production readiness with clear documentation to meet special and mission-oriented applications’ requirement

Nice to haves:

Demonstrated work on high-power systems (>10 kW)

Aerospace experience: qualification mindset, configuration control, and familiarity with relevant test practices and EMI/EMC test workflows

Motor drive experience: three-phase inverters for BLDC/PMSM, sensing, DC bus design, regen handling, and protection timing considerations

High-voltage design experience (e.g., 200-800 VDC class) including isolation strategy and creepage/clearance design

Power factor, total harmonic current distortion and EMI/EMC success in shipped products (e.g., MIL-STD-461/DO-160 standard specs) and ability to design for compliance early

Safety qualification experience such as leakage current, ESD, lightning and surge test

Circuit Simulation familiarity (LTspice/PLECS/Simetrix/Simplis/Simulink or similar) for validation and trade-off

PCB CAD and layout tool experience and familiarity

Export Control

This role supports aerospace programs and may involve export-controlled information or hardware. Candidates must be able to comply with applicable export control laws and access requirements.

What we have to offer:

We are not just building components. We are reshaping the future of the Aerospace and Defense component industry, which is a $300B+ market! Come join us and help build next generation systems that will make a massive impact at global scale.

We offer competitive compensation: $175,000 to $200,000 base salary + equity

Exceptional healthcare benefits, Medical is 100% covered by the company

Flexible PTO 

401K

More to come!

Source: Salient Motion careers (Greenhouse)

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