Senior Electrical Engineer - Power ElectronicsStar Catcher Industries, Inc., located in
Jacksonville, Florida, has an opportunity for a
Senior Electrical Engineer - Power Electronics to support the development of space-to-space power beaming spacecraft and the Star Catcher Network, its orbital power grid.
Key Responsibilities- Lead and co-own power-domain architectures across projects with other senior engineering leads; lead power requirements generation and design reviews.
- Serve as subject matter expert for power electronics designs company wide.
- Lead investigation of novel power electronics concepts and technologies.
- Architect, design, and analyze high-power DC-DC converters, regulators, and power conditioning units capable of sustaining multi-kilowatt continuous loads.
- Design and analyze power distribution architectures and EMI filters, and analyze analog/power circuits for stability, efficiency, power draw, and in-rush behavior using SIMPLIS, SPICE, or equivalent simulation tools.
- Design robust interfaces between energy sources and high-power loads, addressing source impedance, inrush, transient demand, protection coordination, and operating limits.
- Design and analyze high-voltage subsystems and laser drive power, ensuring mitigation of corona discharge, arcing, and electrical breakdown in partial and deep vacuum environments.
- Write specifications and test approaches for power supply circuit designs, and select components or modules for discrete power converter and power conditioning designs.
- Create schematics for analog/power circuits and support PCB layout for power electronics hardware.
- Conduct and participate in peer design reviews, design verification testing (DVT) of engineering units, and provide oversight as designs move into production.
- Perform analog and power testing in a laboratory setting for development components and circuit cards.
- Work closely with digital/FPGA, RF, mechanical, and thermal engineering teams to ensure power electronics can survive the extreme thermal dissipation requirements of a continuous, multi-kilowatt load in a vacuum.
- Mentor junior and mid-level power electronics engineers, and manage technical relationships with external contractors and vendors.
- Lead power-switch selection and derating with the radiation-effects consultant, accounting for device-specific destructive single-event effects, application bias and transients, thermal limits, test-data gaps, and verification evidence.
Basic Qualifications- Education: Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related technical discipline.
- Experience: 10+ years of professional experience in power electronics design, specifically with high-power, high-current regulators and power conditioning systems.
Technical Expertise- Deep understanding of switching power supply topologies (e.g., buck, boost, forward, flyback, full-bridge, LLC).
- Demonstrated understanding of high-voltage design rules for space, including creepage and clearance, dielectric material selection, partial-vacuum breakdown behavior (including Paschen-region effects), and other vacuum-breakdown mechanisms relevant to space hardware.
- Proven experience in schematic capture and PCB layout for high-power circuits utilizing advanced EDA tools (e.g., Altium Designer or equivalent), alongside circuit simulation, SI/PI, and thermal analysis suites (e.g., Ansys or equivalent).
- Demonstrated knowledge of AC/DC and DC/DC power converter design, build, and test, including control loops and stabilization analysis.
- Strong background in managing thermals, EMI/EMC, and grounding in high-power systems.
- Demonstrated experience leading or co-owning power system or subsystem architecture from concept through qualification in a demanding environment; spaceflight heritage is preferred.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and tackle unprecedented engineering problems with a rigorous, analytical approach.
Preferred Qualifications- Satellite EPS Architecture: Direct experience designing overall Electrical Power System (EPS) architectures for satellites, including battery management systems (BMS), solar array regulators, and power distribution.
- Laser/Optics Power: Prior experience designing power supplies specifically for high-power lasers, directed energy, or large-scale optical payloads.
- Vacuum / HV Experience: Direct experience testing and qualifying high-voltage systems in thermal-vacuum (TVAC) chambers, with a practical background in preventing multipactor effects and vacuum breakdown.
- Space Flight Experience: Proven track record of designing hardware that has flown in space. Familiarity with radiation-hardened or radiation-tolerant design practices.
- Magnetics: Knowledge of high-frequency magnetics design, development, and manufacturing.
- Aerospace Standards: Strong familiarity with key industry standards for testing, qualification, and manufacturing, including MIL-STD-461 (EMI/EMC), MIL-STD-810, NASA GEVS, or IPC J-STD-001 Space Addendum.
- Advanced Degrees: Master's degree or Ph.D. in Power Electronics or a related field.
Help us deploy and scale space infrastructure that will drive our utilization of space forward! We offer a highly competitive benefits package including access to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k) retirement plan, life insurance, and paid parental leave, in addition to other benefits. 
