Pulsed Power Engineer

Pulsed Power Engineer

Our Directed Energy team in Albuquerque is looking for an experienced Pulsed Power Engineer to contribute to the research and development of game changing, next-generation technologies. This is an exciting opportunity to work with modern equipment in cutting-edge laboratories at the Air Force Research Laboratories (AFRL) on Kirtland AFB, where you will see designs and ideas transformed into state-of-the art pulsed power devices and high power microwave (HPM) sources and systems. Working alongside our scientists, engineers, and technicians, our successful candidate will be afforded the satisfaction of building and testing new and novel creations in both laboratory and field settings.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, test, and characterize novel pulsed-power devices and high-power microwave (HPM) sources and systems, including pulsed-power generators, trigger systems, high-voltage switches, field coils, nonlinear transmission lines, HPM amplifiers, and antennas.
• Plan and execute laboratory and field tests, including defining test objectives, developing test procedures, configuring experimental systems, conducting tests, analyzing data, and documenting results.
• Design and develop high-speed diagnostic and data-acquisition systems required to characterize pulsed-power and HPM devices and systems.
• Develop and implement measurement techniques for high-voltage, high-current, high-frequency, and fast-transient systems.
• Analyze experimental data to characterize system performance, identify failure modes, and guide subsequent design iterations.
• Work closely with electrical, mechanical, RF/microwave, and test engineers to integrate and troubleshoot complex pulsed-power systems.
• Support laboratory and field operations, including experimental setup, system checkout, troubleshooting, and test execution.
• Document designs, test procedures, results, and technical recommendations through engineering reports and presentations.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field with 4+ years of relevant experience, or Master's degree with 2+ years of relevant experience.
• Hands-on experience designing, testing, or operating pulsed-power devices and systems.
• Experience with high-voltage and/or high-current pulsed systems, including one or more of the following: pulse-forming networks or lines, Marx generators, high-voltage switches, trigger systems, pulse transformers, pulsed magnetic-field systems, or related technologies.
• Experience with laboratory testing and characterization of pulsed-power and/or HPM systems.
• Experience with high-speed data acquisition and analysis of transient electrical signals.
• Proficiency with data acquisition and analysis tools such as oscilloscopes/digitizers, MATLAB, Python, LabVIEW, or equivalent tools.
• Ability to develop experimental methods, troubleshoot complex hardware, interpret test data, and independently drive technical investigations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a laboratory environment with engineers, managers, technicians, and other technical personnel.
• Must be a U.S. citizen.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with high-power microwave (HPM) sources, amplifiers, antennas, or microwave measurement systems.
• Experience with nonlinear transmission lines (NLTLs).
• Experience with high-voltage/high-current switching and triggering.
• Experience with pulsed-power diagnostics, including voltage/current probes, D-dot/E-field probes, B-dot/H-field probes, Rogowski coils, or equivalent diagnostics.
• Experience designing systems for low-jitter synchronization and timing.
• Experience with high-voltage insulation, energy storage, pulse transmission, or high-power RF systems.
• Experience conducting outdoor or field testing of pulsed-power or HPM systems.
• Experience analyzing fast transient data and correlating experimental results with circuit, electromagnetic, or system-level models.

About Our Team

Our Directed Energy team in Albuquerque consists of approximately 100 scientists, engineers, technicians, drafters, fabricators and support staff with backgrounds in advanced physics, electrical and mechanical engineering, electromagnetics, lasers, and high-power microwaves. For over three decades our team has worked with government laboratories to push the limits of the state-of-the-art in several high-tech fields, and continue to do so on several programs.