Power Electronics Engineer (Prism)

The role

You will own the power conversion and distribution electronics for Prism, a 2.4 meter parabolic antenna. You will design power systems from architecture through prototype, testing, and production.

What you will do

• Design power electronics for Prism, including AC-DC and DC-DC conversion, power distribution, and supplies for high power RF amplifiers
• Define Prism's power architecture and drive system trades
• Design load switching, sequencing, and power path protection schemes
• Perform schematic capture, PCB layout oversight, and bring-up of power hardware
• Build circuit and system models to analyze and verify power system performance
• Define interfaces between the power system and Prism's RF, digital, and motion control loads
• Qualify designs through environmental and EMI/EMC testing

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or a related engineering discipline
• 3-5+ years of power electronics hardware design experience
• Hands-on experience designing switched-mode power converters at hundreds of watts or more
• Experience taking power hardware from schematic and layout through bring-up, characterization, and debug in the lab
• Proficiency with circuit simulation tools such as LTspice, PLECS, or SIMetrix
• Comfort with power electronics test equipment, including oscilloscopes with differential and current probes, electronic loads, and power analyzers

Nice to have

• Master's degree or PhD in electrical engineering with a focus on power electronics
• Kilowatt-class AC-DC and isolated DC-DC converter design, including power factor correction
• Drain supply and bias design for GaN RF power amplifiers, including sequencing and low-ripple regulation
• Protection circuitry design, including hot-swap, inrush limiting, overcurrent, and reverse-polarity protection
• Input filter design and control loop compensation for converter stability
• Surge, lightning, and transient protection for grid-connected outdoor equipment
• Magnetics design and wide-bandgap (GaN, SiC) power stage design
• Motor drive power electronics for antenna positioners or motion control systems
• Thermal design and EMI/EMC mitigation for high-density power hardware
• Design for manufacturing, production test development, and reliability qualification

About the company

Northwood is a modern space infrastructure company building a global network of phased array and parabolic ground stations. They design, build, and rapidly deploy scalable systems for satellite missions.