Controls & Electrical Systems Manager

About POWERTECH

POWERTECH is a center of excellence for propulsion technologies, specializing in the design, engineering, and manufacturing of combustion engines, expendable turbojet engines, and turbofan engines for a wide range of aerospace, defence, and autonomous applications, including fixed- and rotary-wing UAVs and other advanced platforms.

Position Summary:

The role combines deep technical expertise with team management, project coordination, and cross-functional collaboration. The Controls and Electrical Systems Manager will lead the design, development, and integration of power electronic and software subsystems critical to advanced gas turbine engine control. This includes rectifiers, motor/generator interfaces, fuel and plasma driver circuits, and RPM sensing/control electronics. Since aviation is moving towards electrification and/or hybridization, electric motors development and integration will be part of the team workscope in near future. The role demands expertise in high-reliability power conversion, real-time control integration with ECUs, and validation against aerospace and defence requirements. Apart of technical domain knowledge this role requires soft skills as well. Manager will be responsible to build the team and expand its capability. This includes but is not limited to: hiring top talented engineers, apply appropriate growth plan consist of trainings, courses, on the job and hands on trainings. It is estimated that manager will dedicate 50/50 of his/her time for technical work and team development and supervision.

The team will be directly responsible for ensuring safe and efficient energy flow between the motor/generator, pumps, ignition systems, and the ECU while guaranteeing robust performance in harsh operational environments.

Key Responsibilities:

Design & Development

• Design and develop DC-DC converters, motor drivers, ignition systems, and power supply circuits for embedded control and actuation systems.
• Select appropriate topologies (e.g., buck, boost, flyback, full-bridge) based on application-specific power requirements.
• Size and select power components (FETs, IGBTs, transformers, inductors, gate drivers, capacitors) considering derating, thermal limits, and lifecycle.
• Architect and implement plasma ignition driver circuits, ensuring reliable high-voltage pulse generation under thermal and EMI constraints.

• Conduct circuit simulation using tools like LTspice, PLECS, or PSIM to validate power stage behavior and switching performance.
• Build and validate prototypes of rectifiers, drivers, and control circuits for lab and rig testing.

• Perform power integrity testing, thermal analysis, and EMI/EMC evaluations of power systems.
• Collaborate with test engineers to define and execute qualification plans (e.g., surge, conducted emissions, thermal soak, vibration).
• Support integration of power modules with ECUs and other electrical subsystems.

• Ensure compliance with MIL-STD-704, MIL-STD-461, DO-160, and other relevant standards for defense and aerospace platforms.
• Create and maintain detailed design documentation, including schematics, BOMs, test procedures, and failure analysis reports.

Collaboration

• Work closely with the Embedded Systems, Control Hardware, and Wiring Design Engineers to ensure power subsystem compatibility and performance.
• Provide input into system-level power budgets, connector selection, and thermal dissipation strategies.
• Work closely with ECU software and control engineers to align hardware with digital control strategies.
• Work closely with Technology Program Manager as well as counterpartying teams: Advanced Engine Architecture Team, Testing Team and Productlines to ensure proper technology meets business needs and market expectations.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Controls, Electrical Engineering or equivalent.
• 5-7 years of experience in electrical or power electronics design, ideally in aerospace, defense, or automotive industries.
• Strong knowledge of motor/generator design, switching power supply design, motor control (BLDC, brushed), and high-reliability ignition circuits.
• Experience with thermal design, PCB layout for high power, and electromagnetic interference mitigation.
• 3 years of experience in leading a team dedicated for R&D
• Additional advantage is proven experience in project management

Desired Skills:

• Experience with high-altitude or high-temperature applications.
• Familiarity with starter/generator systems in aerospace.
• Knowledge of digital control integration (PWM generation, ADC sampling, fault handling in microcontrollers/ECUs).
• Familiarity with hardware fault protection schemes (OVP, UVLO, OCP, OTP).
• Working knowledge of design for manufacturability and PCB assembly constraints.
• Familiarity with battery systems, ultracapacitors, or hybrid power systems is a plus.

Behavioural Attributes:

• Ability to deal with people of different experience, culture and attitude.
• Ability to provide constructive feedback to co-workers and team members.
• Proactive, hands-on problem solver.
• Strong attention to detail with a focus on safety and reliability.
• Excellent cross-disciplinary communication skills.
• Comfortable working in a small, fast-paced R&D team.