Principal Application Engineer – Low-Voltage GaN Discrete & GaN ICs

Renesas is one of the top global semiconductor companies in the world, delivering world‑leading MCUs, SoCs, analog and power products, and integrated Winning Combination solutions across automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT markets. With 21,000 employees across 30+ countries, we are committed to innovation, transparency, and building a smarter, greener future.

We are seeking an experienced and visionary Principal Application Engineer specializing in low-voltage GaN discrete devices, GaN power stages, and GaN driver ICs. This senior role emphasizes deep technical leadership in application development, reference designs, customer enablement, and system-level performance optimization for low-voltage GaN power systems.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Application Ownership

• Serve as the technical authority for low-voltage GaN discretes and GaN ICs.
• Establish best practices for GaN switching, PCB layout, EMI optimization, thermal management, and reliability.
• Provide system-level guidance across motor drives, robotics, high-current DC-DC converters, and battery-powered platforms.

Reference Design & Evaluation Board Development

• Architect and develop low-voltage GaN-based reference designs including motor drives, inverter stages, and DC-DC systems.
• Lead board bring-up, waveform tuning, thermal optimization, EMI validation, and performance benchmarking.

Product Validation

• Collaborate closely with product engineering teams to define and execute validation test plans for low-voltage GaN discretes, GaN power stages, and driver ICs.
• Validate device performance across switching behavior, safe operating limits, thermal characteristics, layout sensitivity, and reliability conditions.
• Identify corner cases, system-level interactions, and application-dependent behaviors to ensure robust performance in customer use-cases.
• Provide data-driven insights to improve device specifications, packaging, protection schemes, and future-generation design requirements.

Customer Engagement & Technical Advocacy

• Act as a trusted advisor to customers by reviewing schematics, layouts, and system architectures.
• Troubleshoot field issues and guide customers on optimizing GaN devices for high-frequency switching and high-power density operation.
• Deliver trainings, workshops, and technical presentations.

Mentorship & Team Development

• Mentor junior engineers and foster a culture of technical excellence in GaN-based power system design.

Technical Documentation & Thought Leadership

• Develop high-quality collateral including application notes, white papers, design guides, and GaN best-practice documentation.
• Represent Renesas in technical events, customer engagements, and industry forums.

Feedback Integration

• Collect and relay customer insights on performance, integration challenges, and new feature requirements to influence internal improvements.

• Master’s or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering or related field preferred (Bachelor’s required)
• 12+ years of experience in power electronics with strong experience in low-voltage GaN, inverter stages, BLDC/PMSM motor drives, robotics power systems, or high-current DC-DC designs.
• Proven ability to lead complex application development and enable customer adoption of advanced power technologies.
• Hands-on expertise with:
  • Low-voltage GaN FETs and integrated GaN power stages
  • High-frequency switching and GaN gate-driving techniques
  • Motor drives or advanced DC-DC powertrain design
  • PCB layout optimized for GaN high-speed switching
• Strong fundamentals in power electronics, magnetics, protection circuits, and system optimization.
• Excellent communication and customer-facing skills.
• Nice to have: experience with motor control or DC-DC control firmware.
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Skills

• Proficient with schematic capture and PCB layout tools (Altium preferred).
• Experience using PLECS, LTSpice, Simplis, or Simetrix for system simulation.
• Knowledge of magnetic component design (inductors, transformers).

Renesas is one of the top global semiconductor companies in the world. We strive to develop a safer, healthier, greener, and smarter world, and our goal is to make every endpoint intelligent by offering product solutions in the automotive, industrial, infrastructure and IoT markets. Our robust product portfolio includes world leading MCUs, SoCs, Analog and power products, plus Winning Combination solutions that curate these complementary products. We are a key supplier to the world’s leading manufacturers of electronics you rely on every day; you may not see our products, but they are all around you.

Renesas employs roughly 21,000 people in more than 30 countries worldwide. As a global team, our employees actively embody the Renesas Culture, our guiding principles based on five key elements: Transparent, Agile, Global, Innovative, and Entrepreneurial. Renesas believes in, and has a commitment to, diversity and inclusion, with initiatives and a leadership team dedicated to its resources and values. At Renesas, we want to build a sustainable future where technology helps make our lives easier. Join us and build your future by being part of what’s next in electronics and the world.

Renesas is an embedded semiconductor solution provider driven by its Purpose ‘To Make Our Lives Easier.’ As the industry’s leading expert in embedded processing with unmatched quality and system-level know-how, we have evolved to provide scalable and comprehensive semiconductor solutions for automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT industries based on the broadest product portfolio, including High Performance Computing, Embedded Processing, Analog & Connectivity, and Power.
 
With a diverse team of over 21,000 professionals in more than 30 countries, we continue to expand our boundaries to offer enhanced user experiences through digitalization and usher into a new era of innovation. We design and develop sustainable, power-efficient solutions today that help people and communities thrive tomorrow, ‘To Make Our Lives Easier.’     
 
At Renesas, you can: 

• Launch and advance your career in technical and business roles across four Product Groups and various corporate functions. You will have the opportunities to explore our hardware and software capabilities and try new things.  

• Make a real impact by developing innovative products and solutions to meet our global customers' evolving needs and help make people’s lives easier, safe and secure. 

• Maximize your performance and wellbeing in our flexible and inclusive work environment. Our people-first culture and global support system, including the remote work option and Employee Resource Groups, will help you excel from the first day.    

Are you ready to own your success and make your mark?  

Join Renesas. Let’s Shape the Future together.  

Renesas Electronics is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, committed to supporting diversity and fostering a work environment free of discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, military status, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. For more information, please read our Diversity & Inclusion Statement.

We have adopted a hybrid model that gives employees the ability to work remotely two days a week while ensuring that we come together as a team in the office the rest of the time. The designated in-office days are Tuesday through Thursday for innovation, collaboration and continuous learning.