Electrical Design Engineer

Senior Electrical Design Engineer – Drive Inverter Reliability Test

This role is on site in Fremont, CA. If you are not local, you would need to be open to relocation.

Job Title: Senior Electrical Design Engineer – Drive Inverter Reliability Test

Job Description

This role focuses on designing and developing advanced electrical test systems and custom electronics that enhance drive inverter reliability testing. You will split your time between approximately 60% design and 40% hands-on testing, working across electronic design, firmware development, system integration, and lab-based high voltage work. Your contributions will enable in-situ monitoring, degradation analysis, and earlier, more accurate failure prediction, while reducing costs and improving test certainty by enabling component-level validation instead of full-system testing wherever possible.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop system-level auxiliary test boards and component-level test equipment to support drive inverter reliability testing.
• Create hardware solutions that enable real-time in-situ monitoring and degradation analysis to improve failure detection and predictive capability.
• Architect test electronics that isolate and validate individual components or subsystems, minimizing the need for full-system re-testing when only specific parts change.
• Perform schematic capture, PCB layout, circuit simulation, and bring-up of custom test boards and fixtures.
• Integrate firmware and software with hardware to support automated testing, data acquisition, and control of high voltage test systems.
• Collaborate closely with reliability, power electronics, and validation teams to define requirements and integrate new test capabilities into existing setups.
• Analyze test data, evaluate hardware performance, and iterate on designs to improve robustness, accuracy, and usability.
• Document designs, test procedures, and hardware configurations to ensure repeatability, maintainability, and long-term reuse of test systems.
• Identify opportunities to reduce cost and improve test certainty through modular, scalable electrical test solutions.
• Provide technical guidance on electrical design best practices and mentor junior engineers and technicians in board design, test methods, and lab practices.
• Support hands-on lab activities, including hardware bring-up, debugging, and safe operation of high voltage test setups.

Essential Skills

• Degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent practical experience.
• 2+ years of hands-on experience in electrical or electronic design, preferably for test systems, power electronics, or reliability hardware.
• Strong proficiency in electronic board design, including schematic capture and PCB layout using industry-standard tools such as Altium or similar platforms.
• High voltage and power electronics knowledge, including a solid understanding of semiconductor devices such as MOSFETs and IGBTs and mixed-signal design principles.
• Experience with circuit simulation tools such as LTspice, PSpice, or comparable simulation environments.
• Proven ability to design test fixtures, auxiliary boards, data-acquisition interfaces, or custom instrumentation for reliability or power electronics applications.
• Proficiency with lab test equipment, including oscilloscopes, digital multimeters, source meters, hipot testers, and related instruments, as well as experience bringing up new hardware.
• Strong firmware and software development skills for hardware interaction, with specific experience in object-oriented Python programming.
• Familiarity with reliability testing concepts, in-situ monitoring techniques, and degradation or failure analysis methods.
• Ability to balance deep technical analysis with practical constraints such as cost, schedule, manufacturability, and reuse.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience designing or supporting test systems for power electronics, drive inverters, or high-power applications.
• Prior exposure to automotive, electric vehicle, or high-power electronics testing environments.
• Experience integrating modular test architectures that support incremental upgrades and reuse across multiple programs.
• Strong communication and documentation skills to clearly capture requirements, design intent, and test results for cross-functional teams.
• Ability to mentor and support junior engineers and technicians in electrical design, lab practices, and test methodologies.

Work Environment

This position operates in a lab-centric engineering environment that combines design office work with hands-on testing. You will work extensively with high voltage systems, custom test fixtures, and power electronics hardware, using tools such as oscilloscopes, digital multimeters, source meters, hipot testers, and other reliability test equipment. The role involves regular use of schematic and PCB design tools, circuit simulation software, and Python-based test and control scripts. You can expect a balance of focused design work at a workstation and active time in the lab performing hardware bring-up, debugging, and reliability testing. Safety-conscious practices and appropriate lab attire and personal protective equipment are required when working around high voltage and power electronics systems.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Fremont, CA.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $55.00 - $70.00/hr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: • Medical, dental & vision • Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital • 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available • Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) • Short and long-term disability • Health Spending Account (HSA) • Transportation benefits • Employee Assistance Program • Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Fremont, CA.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Oct 1, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law. If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email View email address on click.appcast.io for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.