Pulsed Power Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

Zap Energy is looking for a Pulsed Power Engineer to join our team in San Diego. The San Diego Zap team is a small, highly experienced pulsed power group, focused on component development for power plant-relevant scale fusion systems. As part of the team, you will work closely and directly with principle pulsed power architects and designers to safely and effectively implement testing, collect test data, and provide results and suggested improvements. Office and labs are in San Diego and San Marcos. This is a full-time, on-location position. Hybrid and remote arrangements are not available for this role.

Responsibilities:

• Maintain excellent safety environment and complete all safety training on time.
• Design and implement high voltage pulsed power components, test fixtures, and assemblies that are manufacturable, professional, and commercially applicable.
• Test high voltage pulsed power components and systems safely and effectively.
• Participate in engineering development process including conducting design reviews, and team/project meetings.
• Follow established development processes and workflows and use industry best practices.
• Participate in Review and Planning (R&P) activities supporting company, team, and personal periodic milestones and goals, and have regular 1:1 discussions with manager.
• Communicate effectively using various tools including email, Slack, Confluence, Jira, Microsoft Office.

Qualifications:
Required:

• BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Engineering Physics, Applied Physics or similar
• 4-7 years experience with Pulsed Power/High Voltage Electronics design and testing
• Experienced with high voltage pulsed power systems (20kV+, 100kA+, 10’s ns – 100us’s) and architectures including marx generators, LTD, high energy capacitor banks
• Familiar with typical pulsed power components such as spark gap switches, thyristors, capacitors,
• Understands pulsed power diagnostics such as rogowskis, high voltage probes, b-dot / magnetic probes
• Familiar with 3D FEA modeling tools for Electrostatic, transient dynamic, and circuit modeling
• Proficient with Ansys Maxwell 3D
• Experienced with high voltage safety equipment and procedures such as safing capacitor banks, discharge and grounding sticks, high voltage energy dump systems
• Enjoys working in the lab, has good lab housekeeping habits, comfortable developing, assembling, and using test fixtures for high voltage systems
• Knowledgeable in various insulating systems including vacuum, pressurized insulating gas like SF6, breakdown in air, and insulating materials like polymers and ceramics
• Experienced with hi-potting and high voltage power supplies
• Good communication skills developing project plans and providing status and reporting to management and stakeholders
• Strong testing and troubleshooting skills. Competent with typical electronics bench tools such as oscilloscopes, probes, signal generators, power supplies, impedance analyzers
• Decent soldering and rework skills

Preferred:

• Familiar with PCB development and tools such as Altium or KiCad, PCB manufacturing, and PCB testing
• Experience with control systems
• Programming in Python, C, or NI Labview
• Familiar with power electronics and switch mode power supplies
• Experienced using solid modeling tools like Solidworks

Travel:

• 12%- 25% (Once every 4-8 weeks) to headquarters in Seattle and various other locations for vendor visits, professional conferences, and similar

Benefits of joining Zap Energy - While doing meaningful work is rewarding in itself, we also offer the following programs and benefits for all employees: 

• Competitive salary and benefits  
• Premium medical / dental / vision insurance  
• Flexible vacation and paid company holidays  

The estimated salary range for this position is $110-160k. Candidates may be considered for other positions at Zap Energy and actual salary will be based on relevant education, experience, and other qualifications. Range is published in accordance with Washington Equal Pay and Opportunity Act.

Zap Energy is building a low-cost, compact, and scalable fusion energy platform that confines and compresses plasma without the need for expensive and complex magnetic coils. Zap’s sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch technology provides compelling fusion economics and requires orders of magnitude less capital than conventional approaches. Zap Energy has approximately 150 team members in multiple facilities near Seattle and is backed by leading financial and strategic investors.

Zap Energy Inc. is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws and regulations.

Questions on this position can be sent to View email address on us.fitly.work.

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