Staff Electrical Systems & Sustaining Engineer

About the role

You will own the complete lifecycle management of electrical hardware issues discovered in the field and in test, defining the processes that ensure our generators deliver zero-defect performance to customers. You will serve as the central technical authority for diagnosing and resolving complex electrical faults across power conversion, sensing, and control systems, escalating only when absolutely necessary. You will establish the standard procedures for failure analysis, root cause determination, and corrective action implementation for the Electrical Engineering organization. You will lead cross-functional investigations that require deep coordination with mechanical, software, and manufacturing teams to close the loop on reliability issues. You will build and maintain the sustaining knowledge base, ensuring that every fix, design change, and verification test is documented and reusable for future product generations. You will act as the primary interface with our utility and Fortune 500 customers, translating their field performance data into actionable engineering insights. You will mentor junior engineers on structured troubleshooting methodologies, creating a lasting capability that scales with our business. You will drive the continuous improvement of our hardware verification flows to prevent recurrence and strengthen our market-leading reliability record.

Key facts

What you'll do

Investigate emergent electrical faults in deployed generator systems, utilizing advanced test equipment and data analytics to isolate root causes across power, control, and communication domains.

Define and implement the standard operating procedures for sustaining activities, creating scalable processes for issue intake, triage, diagnosis, and resolution.

Perform detailed electrical and systems-level failure mode analysis, correlating field performance data with bench-test results to validate corrective actions.

Lead the development of diagnostic scripts and test protocols that accelerate problem identification and reduce manual troubleshooting effort.

Collaborate with the manufacturing team to identify and eliminate production-level defects, ensuring that field issues are addressed with permanent design or process fixes.

Own the technical documentation for all sustaining activities, maintaining a clear and actionable knowledge base for current and future engineering staff.

Coordinate with the software engineering group to ensure firmware updates and configuration changes are deployed reliably and their electrical impact is fully characterized.

Partner with our supply chain and procurement organizations to monitor component health, assess risks, and drive qualification of alternate parts when necessary.

Develop and maintain rigorous test procedures that replicate real-world operating conditions, validating that fixes do not introduce new failure modes.

Establish performance metrics and reporting structures to track the health of our product fleet and the effectiveness of our sustaining processes.

Drive the execution of reliability tests that confirm the durability of electrical systems under extreme environmental and load conditions.

Translate complex customer failure reports into precise engineering hypotheses and test plans, ensuring that field issues are resolved efficiently.

Create automated data capture and analysis tools that provide early warnings of electrical anomalies before they escalate to critical failures.

Champion the adoption of best practices from the electrical engineering community, integrating proven methodologies into our sustaining framework.

Requirements

Demonstrated ability to independently own complex electrical system investigations, requiring minimal supervision and strong self-direction.

Exceptional problem-solving skills with a demonstrated history of resolving multi-domain hardware issues in a structured and efficient manner.

Strong proficiency with electrical measurement instruments, including oscilloscopes, power analyzers, and data acquisition systems.

Solid understanding of power electronics, control systems, and sensor interfaces relevant to distributed generation technology.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, enabling clear articulation of technical findings to both engineering and non-engineering stakeholders.

Proven capacity to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic startup environment where priorities evolve rapidly.

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a closely related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

A methodical and disciplined approach to documentation, ensuring that all investigative work is thorough, accurate, and retrievable.

Nice to have

Experience with fuel-flexible or alternative-fuel power generation systems.

Background in data center or critical infrastructure power applications.

Familiarity with AEP, NextEra Energy Resources, Schneider Electric, or similar energy sector partners.

Practical notes

This role is based in Menlo Park, California, requiring presence in the office during standard business hours.

Travel is not expected for this position, though occasional site visits to customer locations may be required.

Employment is eligible for standard company visa sponsorship considerations where applicable.