Senior Test Engineer

Sr. Test Engineer

Location: Mountain View, CA
Team: Power Systems
 

The Impact You’ll Make:

We are looking for a hands-on Senior Test Engineer with 5+ years of experience developing and executing automated tests for power electronics and renewable energy systems. In this role, you will build test capability for solar photovoltaic (PV), battery energy storage systems (BESS), power conversion systems (PCS), inverters, DC/DC converters, and related grid-connected power equipment. You will use LabVIEW and Python to automate complex electrical tests, integrate laboratory instruments, validate product performance, support safety and compliance certification, and drive design verification and reliability testing from prototype through product release.

The ideal candidate combines strong power electronics fundamentals with practical laboratory experience, test automation skills, and a methodical approach to troubleshooting, test documentation, and root-cause investigation.

Key Responsibilities:

Test Development & Automation

• Develop, maintain, and debug automated test systems using LabVIEW and Python for power electronics, solar, and energy storage products.
• Create reusable test frameworks, instrument drivers, sequence control, data logging, reporting, and automated pass/fail evaluation.
• Interface with laboratory equipment through SCPI, VISA, Ethernet, USB, serial, CAN, and other applicable communication protocols.
• Develop repeatable, traceable test scripts and procedures suitable for engineering validation and production use.
• Manage test software revisions, calibration records, test configurations, and measurement-system documentation.

Power Electronics & Renewable Energy Testing

• Develop and execute tests for PV inverters, power conversion systems (PCS), bidirectional converters, DC/DC converters, battery interfaces, and grid-connected power systems.
• Characterize efficiency, power quality, dynamic response, transient behavior, thermal performance, protection functions, and operating limits.
• Test across operating voltage, current, power, temperature, load, and grid conditions.
• Troubleshoot electrical, control, firmware, instrumentation, and system-integration issues in high-voltage laboratory environments.

Laboratory Equipment & Instrumentation

• Configure and operate PV simulators and solar-array simulators, including programmable I-V curves and dynamic irradiance profiles.
• Operate regenerative grid simulators and grid emulators for AC source, grid disturbance, and grid-interconnection testing.
• Use battery simulators, battery cyclers/testers, bidirectional DC sources, and programmable electronic loads.
• Use oscilloscopes, differential and current probes, power analyzers, digital multimeters, data-acquisition systems, and precision current/voltage sensors.
• Work with thermal chambers, thermocouples, infrared cameras, insulation/hipot testers, ground-bond testers, and other environmental or safety equipment as needed.
• Define safe test setups, instrument ranges, grounding, interlocks, emergency shutdowns, and measurement uncertainty considerations.

Design Verification & Validation (DVT)

• Develop and execute Design Verification Test (DVT) plans, test procedures, test matrices, and detailed reports against product requirements.
• Translate requirements into test cases with defined setups, operating conditions, stress levels, sample sizes, and acceptance criteria.
• Perform functional, performance, stress, endurance, environmental, thermal, and fault-condition testing.
• Track failures and anomalies, coordinate root-cause investigations, and verify corrective actions through regression testing.
• Support design reviews and release decisions with objective, traceable test evidence.

Compliance & Certification Testing

• Support product compliance testing for applicable UL and IEC standards for power conversion equipment and battery energy storage systems.
• Support testing and documentation for applicable requirements such as UL 1741, UL 62109, UL 9540, UL 9540A, IEEE 1547/1547.1, and IEC 62477, as relevant to the product and certification plan.
• Coordinate test setups, instrumentation, test samples, procedures, data packages, and issue resolution with compliance engineers and external certification laboratories.
• Support electrical safety, abnormal operation, protective-function, insulation, temperature-rise, and relevant EMC pre-compliance testing.
• Maintain records of test configuration, calibration status, raw data, deviations, and results.

Reliability & Accelerated Testing

• Plan and execute reliability and endurance tests for power electronics and energy storage products.
• Support thermal cycling, power cycling, temperature/humidity exposure, high-temperature operation, vibration, and other applicable stress tests.
• Monitor test articles and log operating conditions, interruptions, degradation, faults, and failures throughout extended-duration testing.
• Analyze trends and failure data to identify weaknesses and recommend design or process improvements.

Data Analysis & Reporting

• Analyze test data using Python and appropriate numerical, statistical, and visualization tools.
• Automate report generation, plotting, data reduction, and comparison against requirements.
• Produce clear test plans, procedures, reports, failure summaries, and engineering recommendations.
• Ensure test results are reproducible, traceable to requirements, and supported by raw data and configuration records.

Laboratory Operations & Collaboration

• • Help maintain a safe, organized, calibrated, and reliable high-voltage power electronics laboratory.
  • Develop equipment checklists, operating procedures, and preventive-maintenance practices.
  • Collaborate with hardware, firmware, controls, systems, reliability, compliance, and manufacturing engineers.
  • Provide hands-on troubleshooting and technical guidance to other engineers and technicians.

The Skills You Bring:

• BS or MS in electrical engineering, Electronics Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of hands-on test engineering experience in power electronics, renewable energy, energy storage, industrial power systems, or a closely related field.
• Strong LabVIEW skills for automated test development, instrument control, data acquisition, and test sequencing.
• Strong Python skills for instrument automation, data processing, analysis, visualization, and test/report automation.
• Practical experience with SCPI/VISA instrument control and integrating multiple instruments into an automated test system.
• Experience testing high-voltage and high-power equipment using appropriate safety practices.
• Ability to read schematics, interpret electrical specifications, develop test procedures, and troubleshoot complex hardware/software interactions.
• Experience with DVT, test documentation, failure tracking, and root-cause investigation.

Nice to Have:

• Experience with PV simulators, regenerative grid simulators, battery simulators/cyclers, and bidirectional DC power equipment.
• Experience with grid-connected inverters, PCS, BESS, DC/DC converters, or utility-scale solar systems.
• Familiarity with UL 1741, UL 62109, UL 9540, UL 9540A, IEEE 1547, IEEE 1547.1, and IEC 62477.
• Experience with reliability testing, accelerated life testing, thermal/power cycling, and environmental chambers.
• Experience with CAN, Modbus, Ethernet, serial communication, Git, and automated test software architecture.
• Experience with power analyzers, high-voltage differential probes, current probes, DAQ systems, and synchronized measurements.
• Experience supporting NRTL certification testing or working with external compliance laboratories.
• Familiarity with battery test safety, high-energy DC systems, and laboratory interlock design.

Benefits and Perks:

• Competitive Compensation Package

• Health Insurance: We offer 100% coverage of employee and 75% of dependent premiums under a Gold-level PPO plan. Dental & Vision Insurance: 50% of employee premiums are covered.

• Retirement Plan: A 401(k) plan with a 6% employer match.

Additional Information:

Minimum salary of $xxx to maximum salary of $yyy + equity + benefits.

The range provided is 1AP’s reasonable estimate of the base compensation for this role. The actual amount will be based on job-related and non-discriminatory factors such as location, experience, training, skills, and abilities. Consult with your Recruiter during the initial call to determine a more targeted range based on these job-related factors.

About 1 Arc Power:

At 1 Arc Power, we are on a mission to deliver simple, fast-to-deploy, customer-centric and intelligent power systems leveraging the abundance of solar to provide inexpensive and reliable clean energy to global customers from data centers to energy starved communities around the world. We envision a future where every community, business, and nation thrives on the limitless potential of clean energy, united in a shared commitment to a sustainable and equitable world.

You will be working with Dr. Tom Buttgenbach, one of the most successful clean energy technology innovators and entrepreneurs who has been a driving force in making solar-based energy solutions the cheapest and most reliable energy option. Tom founded and led Avantus (formerly known as “8minute Solar Energy“), to become one of the largest and most profitable solar and energy storage companies in the United States and the largest in California, including delivering over 17% of Los Angeles’ power.  

When Tom sold his interest in Avantus’ development business  to KKR in mid-2024, it had delivered over $1 billion in profit and secured over $10 Billion in power purchase agreements and project financings with a pipeline of over 30 GW of solar and 90 GWh of energy storage, capable of powering the homes of more than 20 million Americans day and night. 

Tom’s family office investment firm, 1st Avenue Capital, is building teams for the next generation of advanced solar power system architecture and AI to aggressively drive down the cost of and equitable access to clean and reliable energy.[1] 1st Avenue’s advanced large scale power systems are addressing the increasing inadequacy of the grid to meet the massively growing power demands of the digital economy, while its intelligent distributed solar utilities are leapfrogging the grid to provide equitable access to inexpensive, clean and reliable power to underserved communities around the world.

1AI Energy, the employing entity for 1 Arc Power, and 1 Arc Power are committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee based on race (inclusive of traits associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, religion, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding), age, veteran or military status, marital status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, reproductive decision-making, or any other legally recognized protected class under federal, state, or local law.  We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.. Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), and local laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done which will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing undue hardship on 1AI Energy or 1st Avenue Power. Please inform the company's personnel representative if you need assistance completing an application or to otherwise participate in the application process. 

Join our team and make a real difference in the world.

[1: Additionally, 1st Avenue is in the business of acquiring projects where there has been a final notice-to-proceed or financial close.]