Full-Time
Engineering Program Manager
Heron Power
51-200 employees
Develops solid-state transformers for grid modernization
Compensation Overview
$150k - $200k/yr
Santa Cruz, CA, USA
In Person
 Business & Strategy (1) |
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- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering (power electronics focus strongly preferred) or equivalent demonstrated technical depth
- 5+ years leading complex, multidisciplinary engineering programs, ideally involving power electronics, embedded firmware, or tightly coupled hardware-software systems
- Strong technical foundation in power electronics systems, with the ability to understand converter architectures, control strategies, and system-level tradeoffs well enough to guide execution
- Demonstrated ability to work deeply with firmware/software teams, including understanding control loops, timing constraints, interfaces, and hardware-software dependencies
- Experience driving programs from concept through validation and manufacturing launch, including prototype builds and design iterations
- Strong grasp of DFM principles and the realities of building, testing, and scaling power electronics hardware
- Proven ability to distill complex technical programs into clear risks, decisions, and priorities for both engineering and leadership audiences
- Comfortable operating in a fast-moving startup environment, with high ownership, ambiguity, and minimal process overhead
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to influence across engineering, operations, and leadership teams
- Own and drive the end-to-end technical execution of Heron Power’s first product launch, translating system-level goals into structured, engineering-driven milestones across concept, architecture, validation, and launch
- Drive deep coordination between power electronics, firmware/software, and systems integration teams, ensuring hardware and control-software roadmaps are tightly aligned and risks at the interfaces are actively managed
- Lead program planning and execution across hardware design, embedded firmware, controls, test, reliability, compliance, supply chain, and manufacturing, with a clear plan of record and critical-path ownership
- Partner with technical leads to define product requirements, validation strategies, and decision gates, ensuring design tradeoffs are explicitly documented and understood across teams
- Facilitate and contribute to technical design reviews, including architecture reviews, design readiness reviews, and validation readiness reviews, with sufficient depth to surface real risks
- Own engineering BOM strategy and NPI readiness, working closely with power electronics engineers and supply chain to balance performance, cost, availability, and manufacturability
- Establish and track DFMEA-driven risk management, ensuring risks across design, firmware behavior, system integration, and manufacturing are identified, mitigated, and retired
- Be the steward of a “no surprises” culture: proactively surface technical and execution risks early, drive clarity, and ensure issues are addressed before they become program-blocking failures
- Act as a force multiplier across the organization — increasing engineering velocity, reducing ambiguity at interfaces, and raising the bar on execution discipline without slowing innovation
- Hands-on experience designing, validating, or debugging inverters, rectifiers, or other high-power conversion systems
- Experience with power electronics simulation and modeling tools (PLECS, MATLAB/Simulink)
- Familiarity with embedded firmware development for power electronics or control systems
- Proficiency with BOM ownership, PLM systems, change management, and NPI processes
- Experience with UL / IEC compliance for power conversion equipment
- Familiarity with Enovia PLM, CATIA, or similar tools
- Proficiency with Atlassian tools (Jira, Confluence) or similar technical program management platforms
Heron Power modernizes the electrical grid with solid-state transformer technology. Its flagship Heron Link is a modular, megawatt-scale power converter that connects directly to medium voltage, replacing traditional transformers and using wide-bandgap semiconductors for high density and fast voltage/frequency regulation. The system integrates software controls to manage power flows across renewables, storage, and data centers, improving grid stability and reducing equipment footprint. Its goal is to accelerate the all-electric future by delivering scalable, robust grid infrastructure with domestic US manufacturing and pilots starting in 2026.
Company Size
51-200
Company Stage
Series B
Total Funding
$178M
Headquarters
Scotts Valley, California
Founded
2024
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Raised $140M Series B in 2025 from a16z and Breakthrough for 40GW US factory.
- Customer interest exceeds 40GW for 2027 data center and renewable installations.
- DG Matrix and Amperesand's $140M raises validate surging solid-state transformer demand.
What critics are saying
- DG Matrix's cheaper silicon transformers capture data center contracts within 6-12 months.
- Amperesand's $80M accelerates factory ramp, stealing Heron's 40GW share by 2027.
- Wide-bandgap shortages at Wolfspeed delay 2026 pilots by 6+ months.
What makes Heron Power unique
- Heron Link uses wide-bandgap semiconductors for 98.5% efficiency and 70% smaller footprint.
- Integrates SuperBBU for 30-second ride-through in data centers, eliminating legacy UPS.
- Drew Baglino's Tesla team deployed over 80GW power electronics in past decade.
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Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 0%1 year growth
↑ 29%2 year growth
↑ 13%Three startups modernising electrical transformers have recently raised significant funding rounds. DG Matrix secured $60 million in Series A, Heron Power raised $140 million in Series B, and Amperesand obtained $80 million in November. These companies are developing solid-state transformers that replace traditional copper-and-iron devices with power electronics using silicon-based semiconductors. Unlike conventional transformers, the new technology offers real-time monitoring, bidirectional power flow, and software updates whilst handling multiple tasks in a single device. Data centres represent the initial target market, where solid-state transformers can replace several pieces of equipment whilst occupying 70% less space. The technology arrives as existing transformers age — over 50% of US distribution transformers exceed 35 years old — and demand surges from data centres and EV chargers.
Heron Power raises $140M to build 40GW US solid-state transformer manufacturing facility. Energy infrastructure company Heron Power Inc. announced today that it has raised $140 million in new funding to build a 40-gigawatt, highly automated U.S. manufacturing facility for Heron Link, the company's solid-state transformer solution for critical energy and artificial intelligence data center projects. Founded in 2024 by former Tesla Inc. executive Drew Baglino, Heron Power develops solid-state transformer systems designed to modernize electrical grid infrastructure. The company is focused on replacing conventional large-format transformers with power electronics-based systems that are intended to address grid interconnection constraints associated with renewable energy, battery storage and large data center deployments. Heron's approach centers on modular, software-integrated hardware that can be manufactured at large scale and deployed closer to load and generation assets. The company's core product Heron Link is a solid-state transformer that uses high-frequency power electronics to convert and regulate voltage between medium- and low-voltage systems. The design enables bidirectional power conversion and more granular voltage regulation while also supporting distributed energy resources and variable-load environments. Heron's platform, which manages Heron Link, manages interconnection between generation, storage and end-use infrastructure, including providing voltage transformation, frequency management and power conditioning while interfacing with grid control systems. The software layer allows operators to monitor performance and adjust operating parameters and, in doing so, integrate into utility workflows and large-scale energy projects. "Too much of today's electrical infrastructure is passive, clunky equipment designed decades ago," explains Chief Executive Officer Drew Baglino. "At Heron we are manifesting an alternative future, where modern power electronics enable projects to come online faster, the grid to operate more reliably, and scale affordably." The company's deployment targets include utility-scale solar installations, battery energy storage systems and hyperscale data centers requiring high-capacity grid connections, environments that often face long interconnection timelines due to transformer shortages and infrastructure bottlenecks. By using power electronics-based systems with a modular footprint, the technology is designed to fit into existing substations or distributed energy sites, supporting grid expansion and electrification projects. The Series B funding round was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz's American Dynamism Fund and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, with Capricorn Investment Group, Energy Impact Partners, Valor Atreides AI Fund and Gigascale Capital also participating. "Heron Power isn't just making a product that's essential to bring new electricity generation online and support today's data center buildout," said Erin Price-Wright, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. "They are building the technology that will catapult our aging electric grid into the software-defined, AI-native twenty-first century. And they are manufacturing it at scale here in America." The new funding takes the total raised by Heron to approximately $178 million. Image: Heron Power. A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE: Support our mission to keep content open and free by engaging with theCUBE community. Join theCUBE's Alumni Trust Network, where technology leaders connect, share intelligence and create opportunities. * 15M+ viewers of theCUBE videos, powering conversations across AI, cloud, cybersecurity and more * 11.4k+ theCUBE alumni - Connect with more than 11,400 tech and business leaders shaping the future through a unique trusted-based network. About SiliconANGLE Media SiliconANGLE Media is a recognized leader in digital media innovation, uniting breakthrough technology, strategic insights and real-time audience engagement. As the parent company of SiliconANGLE, theCUBE Network, theCUBE Research, CUBE365, theCUBE AI and theCUBE SuperStudios - with flagship locations in Silicon Valley and the New York Stock Exchange - SiliconANGLE Media operates at the intersection of media, technology and AI. Founded by tech visionaries John Furrier and Dave Vellante, SiliconANGLE Media has built a dynamic ecosystem of industry-leading digital media brands that reach 15+ million elite tech professionals. Our new proprietary theCUBE AI Video Cloud is breaking ground in audience interaction, leveraging theCUBEai.com neural network to help technology companies make data-driven decisions and stay at the forefront of industry conversations.
Heron Power, founded by former Tesla executive Drew Baglino, has raised $140 million in a Series B round led by Andreessen Horowitz's American Dynamism Fund and Breakthrough Energy Ventures. The funding values the startup at an undisclosed amount and comes just eight months after its $38 million Series A. The company manufactures solid-state transformers for data centres and the grid. The technology replaces century-old iron-core transformers with smaller, more efficient devices that use semiconductors. Heron Power's transformers can handle 5 megawatts each and eliminate 70% of traditional equipment, potentially reducing costs by an order of magnitude. Customers have expressed interest in purchasing over 40 gigawatts of capacity. The funding will build a factory capable of producing 40 gigawatts annually, with pilot production starting in early 2027.
Heron Power announced the closing of $140 million in Series B financing to accelerate U.S. manufacturing of energy infrastructure....
Heron Power, foundational technology designed to meet complex energy demands, raised $43.25 million of Series A venture funding in a deal led by Capricorn Investment Group.