Electrical Engineer

Role

We're looking for an Electrical Engineer to design, build, and test the power electronics, power supplies, and control hardware behind our laser and separation technology, including high-temperature and induction heating hardware. This is a hands-on, iterative design role within our Technology Development group, with a focus on developing reliable, multi-kilowatt power systems for complex experimental environments. Beyond power systems, you'll contribute to instrumentation, diagnostics, and lab controls work across the company.

The ideal candidate has practical experience designing and testing power electronics. They're comfortable around high-voltage hardware and enjoy solving hard problems through hands-on experimentation and close collaboration with scientists and mechanical engineers.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, build, and test power electronics and power supplies, including inverters and their control and protection circuitry
• Iterate hardware from bench-scale prototypes to robust, multi-kilowatt lab systems
• Develop control, feedback, and safety interlock systems for power and thermal processes
• Evaluate, specify, and integrate commercial power equipment alongside in-house designs
• Contribute to instrumentation and diagnostics projects, including sensor signal conditioning and data acquisition (DAQ)
• Own the hardware development cycle: schematic capture, PCB layout, prototyping, bench testing, and iteration
• Work directly with scientists and mechanical engineers to turn requirements into working hardware
• Support installation, commissioning, and troubleshooting of electrical and control hardware

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering or a closely related field (e.g., Engineering Physics, Computer Engineering)
• 3+ years of hands-on electrical hardware design experience
• Hands-on design and test experience in power electronics (inverters, motor drives, power supplies, induction heating)
• Experience with schematic capture and PCB design (Altium, KiCad, Allegro, or similar) and circuit simulation (SPICE, PLECS, or similar)
• Confident with lab test equipment (oscilloscopes, differential and current probes, power analyzers) and with iterative, trial-and-error hardware development
• Able to work safely with high-voltage equipment
• Able to work on-site in Austin, TX
• Candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance
• This role will be exposed to export-controlled information and requires compliance with applicable export control laws and regulations

Preferred Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on electrical hardware design experience
• Experience with induction heating or resonant power converters (series/parallel resonant, LLC, soft switching)
• Experience with IGBT or SiC MOSFET power stages, gate drivers, magnetics design (Litz wire, matching transformers), and water-cooled power hardware
• Electromagnetic or thermal simulation (COMSOL, ANSYS Maxwell, or similar) for coil and load design
• Low-noise analog design: transimpedance or charge amplifiers, lock-in amplifiers, or ion detection and spectrometry electronics
• High-temperature measurement and control (thermocouples, pyrometers, closed-loop temperature control)
• Embedded or lab control experience (microcontrollers, PLCs, LabVIEW, or Python for DAQ)
• Background in a national lab, university research group, or hardware startup
• Currently holds an active DOE Q or DoD TS clearance

Physical Requirements

• Extended periods at a lab bench performing fine-motor tasks (soldering, board assembly, probing) requiring sustained hand-eye coordination and dexterity
• Ability to work near energized high-power and high-temperature equipment and in laser-controlled areas under lab safety protocols (may require laser safety training/certification and PPE use)
• Occasional lifting/carrying of test equipment up to 30 lbs
• Frequent close-vision work (component-level inspection, microscope/magnification use)

Work Environment

• On-site role based in Austin, TX.
• Primarily lab-based, split between electronics benches, high-power test areas, and a controlled laser lab.
• This is an on-site, hands-on role with limited remote flexibility given the equipment and hardware dependencies.
• Work in laser-controlled areas requires lab safety training (LSO-administered), and high-power work follows Hexium's electrical safety procedures.

Benefits

• Stock Options
• Paid Time Off
• 401(k) Matching
• Medical, Dental, Vision insurance
• HSA & FSAs