Lead Power Systems Engineer

Position Title: Lead Power Systems Engineer
Requisition ID: 1803
Position Location: Sterling, VA
Position Reports To: Director, Electrical Engineering
Supervises Others: No

At Trident Systems, we believe that strong engineering principles are fundamental to driving innovation and solving complex problems. We promote a culture characterized by rigorous engineering practices and a commitment to continuous improvement. This is achieved by leveraging our organization's collective expertise through collaborative development processes, which include thorough design and peer reviews. We can deliver innovative, high-performance solutions that meet our customers' evolving requirements by integrating our specialized knowledge in aerospace electronic systems with appropriately scaled development methodologies.

We are a mission partner supporting DoD, Intelligence Community, and Civil space customers. We develop complex, radiation-effects-mitigated, designs that balance competing requirements in modern space programs, delivering cutting-edge solutions that enable our customers to achieve more in space.

Position Summary

The Lead Power Systems Engineer will be the technical leader and decision-maker for a multidisciplinary team of electrical, power, and hardware engineers that design and produce high-performance power systems for satellites. This role requires an experienced spacecraft development engineer who can guide architecture, communicate with customers, and manage top-level requirements and verification. The Lead Power Systems Engineer should have proven skills in designing, debugging, and optimizing DC-DC converters, and should have practical experience with GaN technologies and radiation effects on electronics.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as technical lead and primary decision-maker for power systems design across government, civil, and commercial space programs.
• Define and own power system architectures from concept through CDR, including bus regulation, power distribution, battery charging, and protection topologies.
• Lead a team of electrical and power hardware engineers through all phases of the development lifecycle - requirements capture, design, analysis, fabrication, integration, and test.
• Establish and maintain top-level electrical requirements and drive verification and validation activities including qualification and acceptance testing.
• Serve as primary technical interface to customers, program managers, and external stakeholders; present design status, trade studies, and technical risks at formal reviews.
• Guide circuit design and layout reviews for high-reliability and GaN-based DC-DC converters, EMI filters, power distribution networks, solar array interfaces, and battery management systems.
• Apply radiation hardness assurance (RHA) disciplines including part derating, total ionizing dose (TID) analysis, single event effects (SEE) screening, and lot testing coordination.
• Identify and resolve technical risk early through analysis, simulation (SPICE/LTSpice), worst-case analysis (WCA), and hardware bring-up.
• Mentor junior and mid-level engineers; define best practices and contribute to internal technical standards and IP development.
• Support proposal efforts including technical volume authorship, BOE development, and design-to-cost trades.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering or a closely related field.
• 9+ years of experience in power electronics design, with at least 3 years in a technical lead or principal engineer role.
• Demonstrated expertise in DC-DC converter design across common topologies (buck, boost, flyback, forward, full-bridge) for spaceflight or other high-reliability applications.
• Hands-on experience with GaN FET characterization, gate driver design, and transition to flight application.
• Working knowledge of radiation effects in electronics and RHA methodologies applicable to LEO, MEO, GEO, or deep space environments.
• Experience owning requirements and verification artifacts in a formal systems engineering process (ICD, ICDs, V&V matrices, SRS).
• Proficiency with circuit simulation tools (LTSpice, SIMPLIS, or equivalent).
• Experience with formal design reviews (PDR, CDR, TRR) and direct customer interaction.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-1553, ECSS, or NASA GEVS standards
• Familiarity with space-qualified magnetic component design (custom inductors and transformers)
• Experience with battery management and charge control for Li-ion cells in space applications
• Cadence or Altium PCB design review experience
• Familiarity with EEE-INST-002 or equivalent part screening and derating standards
• Prior work on programs with formal flight heritage

Benefits

Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits including but not limited to:

• Health benefits
  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • Basic life with AD&D
  • Short term disability
  • Long term disability
  • Ancillary (Voluntary life with AD&D, accident, critical illness, hospital, and pet)
  • Spending accounts (HSA, FSA, and DCFSA)
• Paid time off
• Holidays
• 401(k) (including company match)
• Tuition reimbursement
• Leaves (Parental, maternity, and military)
• Annual discretionary bonus (for eligible roles)

Trident Systems reserves the right to change or assign other duties to this position.

Trident Solutions is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. To request reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact recruiting@tridsys.com.

Pay Transparency: The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)