Principal Electrical Engineer - Power Electronics

Principal Electrical Engineer - Power Electronics

New Brighton, Minnesota, United States

What We Do at Verterra Energy

At Verterra Energy, we're on a mission to harness the power in the world's rivers, canals and oceans. To accomplish this, we are commercializing our first device called VOLTURNUS, a pioneering water-power technology that deploys in harmony with the current to capture baseline, zero emission electricity.

Backed by top-tier investors and a multi-year government contract, we are growing our founding team to help achieve key milestones. Partners and collaborators include: NIRON, DoD, DoE, University of Minnesota, WEG Group, Beckhoff, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the US Army Corp of Engineers.

Recent press releases can be found on our website: 

https://www.verterraenergy.com/news

About the Role

Verterra Energy is seeking a Senior to Principal level Electrical Engineer (typically 8-15+ years) with deep, hands-on expertise in power electronics. This role is for a builder - someone who can own real power hardware end-to-end, make practical design decisions, and bring robust power electronics from requirements through manufacturing.

You will work closely with mechanical and controls engineers to develop generator-adjacent power conversion, power management, and internal test platforms. The emphasis is technical leadership, execution, and sound engineering judgment - not over-engineering, and not narrow specialization.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead power electronics design for low-to-mid power systems in the 0.5 kW to 5.0 kW range
• Define architecture and requirements for power conversion solutions connected to small generators and internal test platforms
• Design and develop high-power PCBA solutions (schematics + layout; Altium preferred)
• Design, integrate, and validate converter topologies (buck/boost, isolated and non-isolated DC-DC, inverter/rectifier stages as applicable)
• Own magnetics-related design decisions: inductor/transformer selection or design, core and copper loss considerations, thermal tradeoffs
• Select, characterize, and validate power semiconductor devices (MOSFET, IGBT, SiC, GaN, BJT as applicable), including gate drive considerations and switching loss tradeoffs
• Develop practical protection and reliability approaches (EMI/EMC basics, inrush, transient protection, fault handling, thermal protection)
• Integrate power electronics with MCU/DSP controllers: sensing, feedback loops at a system level, interfaces, and bring-up support (firmware collaboration expected; not a pure firmware role)
• Build, assemble, and bring up prototypes in the lab; debug issues quickly and methodically
• Plan and execute validation testing using oscilloscopes, power analyzers, supplies, loads, thermal tools, and instrumentation
• Drive design-for-manufacturing: vendor engagement, fab/assembly coordination, component sourcing risk, test strategy, and production readiness
• Design for real-world environmental conditions: enclosure integration, thermal management, IP-rated constraints, potting/encapsulation considerations
• Evaluate third-party or consultant designs for simplicity, robustness, safety margin, and manufacturability
• Help maintain and improve the electrical lab environment: tooling, organization, safety, and practical process improvements

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or closely related field (Master’s preferred but not required)
• 8+ years of hands-on power electronics experience (Principal level typically 12+)
• Demonstrated experience designing PCB-based power electronics in the 0.5 kW to 5.0 kW power range
• Strong understanding of magnetics, core and resistive losses, and thermal management in power designs
• Experience selecting and testing power semiconductor devices (MOSFET, IGBT, SiC, GaN, etc.)
• Familiarity with multiple power converter architectures and how they integrate with MCU/DSP-based control systems
• Experience designing for environmental constraints (IP-rated enclosures, sealing, encapsulation/potting, vibration/handling considerations)
• Proven track record bringing power electronics to market: requirements - design - validation - manufacturing handoff
• Strong technical judgment, ability to troubleshoot in the lab, and comfort making tradeoffs under real constraints
• Able to work independently while collaborating tightly with a small engineering team

Nice to Have (Not Required)

• Experience with generator-adjacent systems (rectification, load management, protection, sensing)
• Familiarity with EMI/EMC pre-compliance approaches and practical filtering/layout techniques
• Experience building production test methods/fixtures and defining acceptance tests
• Hands-on embedded familiarity for collaboration (basic bring-up, test scripting, instrumentation integration)
• Startup or small-team engineering experience

Additional Contributions & Growth Opportunities

• Owning and improving internal power and instrumentation platforms (test stands, dynamometer/torque testers, flume instrumentation, custom rigs)
• Providing technical leadership on adjacent platforms (marine systems, coastal energy harvesting, drones, other generator/power platforms)
• Helping build practical lab processes that reduce iteration cycles and increase hardware reliability

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Company-paid life, disability, and basic protection
• 401(k) with employer match
• Unlimited paid time off + 2 weeks sick and safe leave
• 7 company-paid holidays: New Year’s Day (January 1), Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day
• Stocked kitchen