Electronic engineering expert

ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING EXPERT

Power Electronics · Space Hardware | Montreal, QC

About the role

Volta is a deep tech space start-up developing space photonics and laser power beaming systems. As our Electronic Engineering Expert, you will own the power electronics behind our space hardware: laser drivers, power conversion and distribution, battery integration, and the photovoltaic receiver electronics that turn beamed laser light into usable power.

This role sits at the heart of our Montreal R&D team, at the junction of our laser, optics, mechanical/thermal and spacecraft systems work. You will work hand in hand with engineers and lab technicians to take designs from first concept to proto-flight hardware, often on tight schedules.

Success in this role looks like flight-worthy power electronics delivered on time, designs that clear qualification without surprises, test data the whole team can trust, and a smooth transition from prototype to small-series production.

Responsibilities

• Design, simulate and validate high-power laser drivers and precision current sources (CW and pulsed), from schematic to flight-representative hardware

• Design spacecraft power conversion and distribution: isolated and non-isolated DC-DC converters, point-of-load regulation, PDU/PCDU with LCL/FCL protection, telemetry and telecommand

• Integrate batteries: cell and pack selection, charge/discharge regulation, cell balancing, battery management and protection

• Develop photovoltaic receiver power electronics for laser power beaming: MPPT, power conditioning and bus regulation

• Design power stages and magnetics using Si, SiC and GaN devices, along with control loops, input filters and EMC compliance

• Perform worst-case circuit analysis, derating (ECSS-Q-ST-30-11 or equivalent), FMECA, reliability and radiation analyses, and select flight EEE parts

• Design high-current, high-voltage PCBs for vacuum operation, working with the mechanical/thermal team on conduction cooling, creepage/clearance and corona

• Assemble, bring up, test and debug prototypes, and lead root-cause analysis of failures

• Take designs from concept through breadboard and engineering model to proto-flight model (PFM) on tight schedules

• Oversee small-series production of flight and ground units: build documentation, supplier coordination, inspection and acceptance testing

• Guide lab and assembly technicians through procedures, training and troubleshooting

• Contribute to environmental test plans and reports (thermal vacuum, vibration/shock, EMC, radiation) and support test and launch campaigns

• Program microcontrollers for power control and telemetry, and interface test equipment, power supplies and lasers (Ethernet, RS-422, CAN, I2C, USB)

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical or electronics engineering or equivalent; a graduate degree in power electronics is an asset

• 5+ years of power electronics design experience, including at least 2 years on space programs

• Delivered at least one space power electronics unit (EM/QM/FM) through design and qualification

• Spacecraft electrical power subsystem (EPS) architecture experience: solar/PV input, battery, regulated or unregulated bus, PDU

• Working knowledge of ECSS standards (E-ST-20, Q-ST-30-11, Q-ST-60) and/or NASA/MIL equivalents (EEE-INST-002, MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-1540)

• Radiation-tolerant design and part selection for power devices

• Small-signal modeling, loop compensation and stability analysis; circuit simulation (LTspice, SIMPLIS, PLECS or equivalent)

• Schematic capture and PCB layout tools; knowledge of IPC-6012 Class 3 / space addendum

• Strong hands-on lab skills: soldering and rework, high-voltage/high-current debugging, oscilloscopes, electronic loads, loop analyzers

• Experience transferring designs to production (DFM/DFT, configuration control, non-conformance handling)

• Python and C/C++; FPGA (Verilog/VHDL) is an asset

• Leadership, autonomy and a solutions-oriented mindset

• Clear technical writing and communication; comfortable in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary team

• Assets: Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ) membership or eligibility; kW-class laser driver experience; battery safety standards (NASA JSC-20793, ECSS-E-ST-20-20); IPC J-STD-001 space certification; IST coupon design

• Bilingual French/English is an asset; willingness to learn the other language is required

Eligibility

• This position involves access to technical data controlled under Canada's Controlled Goods Program and the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The successful candidate must be eligible for registration or exemption under the Controlled Goods Program and for access to ITAR-controlled technical data, or eligible to obtain the required authorisations.

• Legally entitled to work in Canada

• Travel to test facilities, the satellite provider and the launch site in Canada, the United States and possibly elsewhere, sometimes for several weeks at a time during test and launch campaigns. Test campaigns can require shift work.