Lead Power Electronics Engineer - Solid-State Circuit Breakers

US Citizenship Required

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Design, analyze, and develop power electronic circuits and subsystems for solid-state circuit breaker (SSCB) products and related technologies.
• Develop and optimize switching, protection, sensing, and control circuits utilizing silicon, SiC, and GaN semiconductor devices.
• Perform electrical, thermal, magnetic, and reliability analyses to support product performance, safety, and manufacturability requirements.
• Create schematics, component selections, simulations, and PCB designs for high-power and high-voltage electronic systems.
• Develop and evaluate gate drive circuits, fault detection methods, current sensing solutions, and protection algorithms.
• Conduct circuit simulation and system modeling using tools such as MATLAB/Simulink, PLECS, LTspice, PSCAD, or equivalent software.
• Plan and execute laboratory testing, prototype development, characterization, and validation activities.
• Investigate design issues, perform root-cause analysis, and implement corrective actions to improve performance, reliability, and manufacturability.
• Collaborate with firmware, systems, mechanical, manufacturing, and test engineers throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Participate in technical design reviews and provide recommendations regarding architecture, performance tradeoffs, cost, reliability, and compliance.
• Support product certification, environmental qualification, EMC/EMI testing, safety evaluations, and regulatory compliance activities.
• Document designs, analyses, test results, and engineering decisions according to company standards and development processes.
• Assist in technology research and evaluation of emerging power electronics solutions for future product development.
• Responsible for environmental, health, and safety leadership and maintaining safe engineering and laboratory work practices.
• Model, teach, and apply SEL Values, Principles of Operations, and World Class Manufacturing Principles.
• Understand. Create. Simplify.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• BS degree in Electrical Engineering or a related discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in power electronics design, depending on level.
• Strong knowledge of power semiconductor devices, including MOSFETs, IGBTs, SiC MOSFETs, and/or GaN devices.
• Experience designing high-power, high-voltage, or high-current electronic systems.
• Experience with circuit simulation and modeling tools such as LTspice, PLECS, MATLAB/Simulink, PSCAD, or equivalent.
• Understanding of power conversion, switching transients, protection systems, and control techniques.
• Experience with schematic capture and PCB development.
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills.
• Strong writing, documentation, and communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary engineering team.
• Ability to learn new skills and assume new responsibilities.
• Background check results satisfactory to SEL.
• Negative drug test result(s)

Preferred Qualifications

• MS degree in Electrical Engineering with emphasis in Power Electronics.
• Experience with solid-state circuit breakers, fault current limiting devices, or advanced protection systems.
• Experience with wide-bandgap semiconductor technologies (SiC and GaN).
• Experience with medium-voltage or utility-scale power electronics.
• Experience with gate drive design and high-speed switching applications.
• Experience with thermal management, magnetics design, and EMI/EMC mitigation.
• Experience with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing and real-time simulation.
• Experience with requirements-based development and MBSE methodologies.
• Familiarity with utility, industrial, aerospace, defense, transportation, or microgrid applications.

Location - Pullman, WA

This position is 100% on-site. Pullman, WA is nestled in Eastern Washington, offering an exceptional quality of life. Embrace the charm of small-town living with spacious surroundings, no traffic hassles, and easy access to outdoor adventures in nearby mountains, rivers, and forests. Plus, benefit from excellent schools and universities in the area.

Competitive pay. Superior benefits. Inspiring work.

People are at the core of our company and we hire employee-owners. We welcome you to learn more about how we support employees.

• We’re 100% employee owned. Retirement benefits include an employer funded stock ownership plan (ESOP) and personal 401(k) options.
• We offer top tier medical, prescription, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance.
• We recognize the importance of a healthy life balance and offer: 10 paid holidays, annual vacation accrual starting at 12 days, 9 paid sick days, and paid family and medical leave that covers 90% of your pay.
• We foster growth and development of our employees through avenues such as STEM courses, apprenticeships, tuition assistance, and engineering development programs.  
• Ask our team about other benefits including wellness, fertility, adoption, and flexible spending benefits.

Competitive pay. Superior benefits. Inspiring work.

People are at the core of our company and we hire employee-owners. We welcome you to learn more about how we support employees.

• We’re 100% employee owned. Retirement benefits include an employer funded stock ownership plan (ESOP) and personal 401K options.
• We offer top tier medical, prescription, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance.
• We recognize the importance of a healthy life balance and offer: 10 paid holidays, annual vacation accrual starting at 12 days, 9 paid sick days, and paid family and medical leave that covers 90% of your pay.
• We foster growth and development of our employees through avenues such as STEM courses, apprenticeships, tuition assistance, and engineering development programs.  
• Ask our team about other benefits including wellness, fertility, adoption, and flexible spending benefits.

Pay Range: $107,600 - $161,500 annually

We set starting pay based on job-related factors such as your experience, training, knowledge, and skills. We are looking to fill this position at the Lead Hardware Engineer level, and we welcome applicants with a range of experience. Depending on your background, we may consider you for a different level, with compensation aligned accordingly.

Hardware Engineer: $89,400 - $134,100 annually

Lead Hardware Engineer: $107,600 - $161,500 annually

Communication with Applicants 

We communicate with all applicants. If you do not receive a response about your application, please check your SPAM filter or reach out to us at [email protected].

SEL is an Equal Opportunity Employer: Vets/Disabled.