(Senior) Applications Engineer

The role

This person will help customers design in vertical GaN power devices and turn device performance into system-level wins. They will build and test power converter hardware, run simulations, and characterize wide bandgap devices on the bench.

What you will do

• Support customer design-in activity through simulations, bench testing, troubleshooting and performance optimization.
• Translate customer specifications into device and circuit requirements.
• Take technical ownership of selected customer engagements.
• Build and run SPICE and/or PLECS simulations of vertical GaN in converter environments.
• Correlate simulation with bench measurements.
• Contribute to evaluation boards, demo boards and reference designs.
• Perform system-level bench testing and debug.
• Perform hands-on, system-level characterization of fast-switching WBG devices.
• Develop practical design rules for customers.
• Write and contribute to application notes, design guides, test reports and training material.

Required qualifications

• Ph.D. in EE (Power Electronics) or a closely related field; recent graduates are welcome.
• M.S. in EE with substantial, specific hands-on power converter work from a thesis, lab or industry project.
• Solid understanding of power converter design: switching loss mechanisms, thermal characteristics, magnetics, layout/parasitics and gate drive.
• Hands-on bench experience building and testing power electronics hardware.
• Working proficiency with SPICE and/or PLECS for simulating power circuits.
• Working proficiency with EDA tools for PCB design and fabrication, such as Altium Designer, Eagle or OrCAD.
• Familiarity with parasitic-aware layout and EMI considerations for fast-switching power stages.
• Clear written and verbal technical communication.
• Comfort working directly with customers.

Nice to have

• 2–5 years of additional industry experience in applications engineering, power converter design or power semiconductor characterization.
• Lab experience with high-voltage or high-current wide bandgap (SiC or GaN) devices

About the company

Vertical Semiconductor is a venture-backed MIT spin-out leading the development of vertical gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductors.