Principal Systems Engineer

About the role

We are seeking a Principal Systems Engineer to join the Fourth Power Engineering team. You will provide cross-cutting systems engineering support across our technology development programs, ensuring requirements, interfaces, risks, and safety concerns are identified and resolved across disciplines.

This is a full-time, exempt role.

Location: Bedford, MA and Middleton, MA

Your Role

• Own system-level requirements and traceability from top-level targets down to subsystem specs across mechanical, electrical, chemical, and controls domains.
• Identify applicable codes, standards, and regulations (e.g., NEC, NFPA, ASME, OSHA) for evolving system designs and advise engineering leads on compliance.
• Lead formal risk identification and tracking (FMEA, HAZOP, fault tree, or equivalent), maintain risk registers, and drive mitigations to closure.
• Manage interface definitions between subsystems and ensure cross-discipline interactions are captured and conflicts resolved early.
• Support electrical system design reviews with practical knowledge of industrial electrical concerns including grounding, ground fault propagation, fuse coordination, protective coordination, cable routing, and power quality.
• Split time between desk-based analysis and hands-on work on the shop floor, including inspecting hardware, supporting test campaigns, and troubleshooting in a lab environment.
• Synthesize specialist inputs across knowledge domains, ask the right questions, and identify gaps where you are not the subject matter expert.
• Support design reviews, gate reviews, and test planning with structured analysis and clear acceptance criteria.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of systems engineering experience with demonstrated depth in formal requirements management, risk identification, and interface control.
• Experience in extreme environments or with first-of-kind hardware strongly preferred.
• Prior energy, power, or heavy industrial experience strongly preferred.
• Proficient as a technical generalist across mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineering disciplines.
• Proficient in independently determining which codes and standards apply to a new design context.
• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication skills to effectively collaborate with fellow engineers and technicians.
• BS degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Chemical Engineering, or equivalent experience.

Pay and benefits

Fourth Power is committed to offering equitable compensation, stock options, and a competitive benefits package to all employees.