Test Engineer (Power Electronics)

TL;DR

Test Engineer (Power Electronics): Building and operating test infrastructure to validate grid-tied converters with an accent on test bench design, execution, data analysis, and failure isolation. Focus on uncovering design and process failures by running physical tests and building automated equipment and data workflows.

Location: On-site in Scotts Valley

Company

hirify.global is a startup company building cutting-edge power electronics for the 21st-century grid, aiming to de-bottleneck the growth of electricity generation and consumption with scalable, innovative, and less costly hardware solutions, accelerating the electrification of everything.

What you will do

• Design and build electrical reliability test benches for power electronics hardware, including inverters, DC/DC converters, and bi-directional power stages.
• Specify, procure, and integrate lab equipment such as programmable power supplies, electronic loads, DAQ systems, sensors, protection hardware, interlocks, and cabling.
• Build Python-based automation for instrument control and data logging, and define calibration practices to maintain measurement integrity.
• Execute reliability campaigns, including burn-in, power cycling, thermal stress, and abuse tests, evolving them as learning progresses.
• Drive fast debug loops during excursions, isolating, instrumenting deeper, reproducing, and verifying that corrective actions eliminate failures.
• Build data workflows that make results actionable through structured logs, automated plots and summaries, and clear pass/fail reporting.

Requirements

• Pursuing a BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience designing, building, or operating electrical test setups for complex hardware, with power electronics strongly preferred.
• Comfort with bench power equipment and measurement methods, including scopes, DMMs, power analyzers, electronic loads, DAQ, and sensors.
• Ability to design safe test systems for high-power hardware, including interlocks, protection, grounding, and safe operating procedures.
• Strong debugging instincts and ability to drive root-cause closure with engineering partners.
• Programming experience in Python, including instrument control or data automation.

Nice to have

• Experience with accelerated or environmental stress testing (HALT/HASS, thermal/humidity cycling, power cycling).
• Familiarity with failure mechanisms in power electronics and structured root cause/corrective action loops.
• Experience designing repeatable test cells with drawings and instructions to turn scrappy setups into production-quality ones.

Culture & Benefits

• Work in a dynamic environment driven by first principles engineering, solving difficult problems with a strong bias toward hands-on execution and learning by doing.
• Collaborative, enriching environment conducive to personal, technical, and career growth.