Lead Power Electronics Engineer - MW-Class Multi-Port Power Conversion

Job description

Exowatt is revolutionizing the energy landscape for the AI era with our groundbreaking P3 system that captures solar energy, stores it as heat, and generates electricity on demand. Founded in 2023 and backed by leading investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Sam Altman, and Felicis, we're committed to providing clean, modular, and scalable power that meets the rapidly growing demands of AI infrastructure. Our mission is to make sustainable renewable energy always available and almost free, enabling technological advancement while protecting our planet. We are looking for a Lead Power Electronics Engineer to lead development of Exowatt’s next-generation MW-class multi-port power conversion solution. This person will own system architecture, product and engineering requirements, partner evaluation, development oversight, validation, and certification readiness for a high-power solution using advanced technologies such as SiC, GaN, and/or Solid State Transformer architectures. This is a senior technical role for someone who has designed, developed, or brought up power conversion systems at the hundreds-of-kW to MW scale. The ideal candidate has practical experience with high-power converter design, grid-interactive systems, controls integration, protection, thermal and mechanical design, EMI/EMC, safety, and certification. The person in this role will work closely with product, systems, controls, firmware, mechanical, thermal, manufacturing, supply chain, and external development partners to bring a robust MW-level multi-port solution to certification readiness by Q4 2027. This position is based in Miami, FL. If selected, relocation to Miami, FL is required. Exowatt provides relocation assistance. ### Key Responsibilities: - ### **Product Definition & Architecture** - Lead architecture definition for a MW-class multi-port power conversion system supporting interfaces such as solar, storage, thermal generation, grid, load, and/or DC bus integration - Develop the Product Requirements Document and translate product needs into detailed Engineering Requirements across electrical, thermal, mechanical, controls, firmware, safety, reliability, manufacturability, serviceability, and certification - Evaluate SiC-based, GaN-based, and Solid State Transformer architecture options, including tradeoffs across performance, cost, reliability, scalability, manufacturability, certification complexity, and time-to-market - Define key system requirements, including voltage levels, power ratings, efficiency, isolation, grounding, protection, communications, operating modes, grid behavior, and thermal performance - Build technical roadmaps, risk registers, design review gates, and validation strategies to support the target development timeline ### **MW-Class Power Electronics Development** - Lead technical development of high-power converter architectures, including DC/DC, DC/AC, AC/DC, AC/AC, bidirectional, isolated, modular, and multi-port conversion systems - Guide topology selection and trade studies for architectures such as dual-active-bridge converters, resonant converters, modular multilevel converters, NPC/ANPC topologies, interleaved converters, and medium-frequency transformer-based systems - Drive power stage design decisions, including semiconductor selection, gate drivers, magnetics, DC link design, busbars, sensing, filtering, protection, cooling, packaging, creepage/clearance, and insulation coordination - Review schematics, power layouts, high-power interconnects, thermal designs, safety systems, and controls interfaces - Work with controls and firmware teams to align modulation, protection logic, fault response, communications, diagnostics, and system state machines with system requirements ### **Partner Evaluation & Joint Development** - Identify and evaluate external development partners, including power electronics design firms, OEMs, ODMs, contract manufacturers, labs, universities, and certification partners - Develop technical evaluation criteria for partner selection, including MW-level design experience, SiC/GaN capability, Solid State Transformer experience, controls expertise, manufacturing maturity, certification history, and execution speed - Lead technical due diligence through architecture reviews, capability assessments, reference checks, test data reviews, and risk assessments - Define statements of work, deliverables, milestones, design review gates, validation requirements, and acceptance criteria for joint development programs - Serve as the primary technical owner for external partner execution, ensuring performance, schedule, quality, documentation, and certification requirements are met ### **Test, Validation & Certification Readiness** - Develop system-level test and validation strategies for MW-class power conversion hardware, including prototype bring-up, integration testing, load testing, grid simulation, fault testing, thermal testing, and reliability testing - Define validation plans for electrical performance, efficiency, dynamic response, protection behavior, controls performance, communications, safety, EMI/EMC, thermal limits, and environmental operating conditions - Analyze test data to validate performance against requirements and identify design gaps, control issues, thermal issues, component limitations, or system-level risks - Lead root-cause analysis and corrective actions for prototype failures, test anomalies, performance gaps, and certification issues - Work with certification bodies and test labs to define the pathway toward applicable UL, IEEE, IEC, NEC, NRTL, grid interconnection, EMI/EMC, and safety requirements ### Required Qualifications: - B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Power Electronics, Power Systems, Controls, or a related field - 10+ years of experience in power electronics, high-power converter development, grid-interactive systems, or advanced energy systems - Demonstrated experience with power conversion systems in the hundreds-of-kW to MW range; direct MW-class converter experience strongly preferred - Strong hands-on experience with SiC-based power conversion; GaN experience preferred - Experience leading high-power electrical products from concept through prototype, validation, and certification or production readiness - Deep understanding of converter topologies, semiconductor switching behavior, gate drivers, magnetics, DC link design, busbars, protection, filtering, EMI/EMC, and thermal constraints - Experience developing product requirements, engineering requirements, system specifications, test plans, validation plans, and certification-readiness documentation - Strong understanding of high-voltage and high-power safety, including isolation, creepage/clearance, grounding, fault containment, arc flash considerations, and lab safety practices - Ability to evaluate system-level tradeoffs across performance, cost, reliability, manufacturability, scalability, certification complexity, and time-to-market - Excellent technical communication skills with the ability to influence architecture decisions and align technical and non-technical stakeholders ### Preferred Experience - Experience with Solid State Transformers, multi-port converters, modular converters, medium-voltage power conversion, or high-power isolated DC/DC architectures - Development of MW-class inverters, converters, rectifiers, UPS systems, EV fast charging systems, BESS power conversion systems, solar inverters, wind converters, industrial drives, or medium-voltage power electronics - Experience with grid-tied systems, renewable energy systems, energy storage, data center power, DC microgrids, or hybrid energy systems - Familiarity with grid-forming, grid-following, droop control, black start, synchronization, fault ride-through, harmonic control, and power quality requirements - Experience with SiC MOSFET modules, GaN devices, advanced gate drivers, laminated busbars, high-frequency magnetics, and high-power capacitor banks - Familiarity with simulation tools such as MATLAB/Simulink, PLECS, PSCAD, PSIM, LTspice, SPICE-based tools, or equivalent platforms - Experience with NRTL/certification labs and standards such as UL 1741, UL 1973, UL 9540, UL 2202, IEEE 1547, IEC 62477, IEC 61000, IEC 61800, or related high-power product standards - Experience working in a startup or fast-moving hardware product development environment ### Ideal Candidate Profile The right candidate has real MW-class power electronics experience, not just simulation or low-power design experience. They can compare SiC, GaN, Solid State Transformer, modular, isolated, and transformer-based architectures and make practical tradeoffs across performance, cost, reliability, certification, manufacturability, and schedule. They are comfortable moving from product requirements to engineering requirements, from architecture to prototype, and from test data to root-cause analysis. They also know how to evaluate external partners and hold them accountable while helping Exowatt build strong internal technical capability.