Senior Application Engineer – Low Voltage GaN Digital Power (Firmware & Hardware)

Job Summary

We are seeking a Senior Application Engineer with strong hands-on firmware development experience for digitally controlled low-voltage power converters, combined with practical power electronics hardware design and validation skills.

This role is ideal for an engineer who enjoys working across firmware, hardware, and lab validation, and who can independently develop, debug, and validate low-voltage GaN-based power converter solutions such as DC-DC regulators, AC-DC front-end converters, and low-voltage motor drive inverters.

Given the lean team structure, the candidate is expected to personally own firmware development, hardware bring-up, and lab testing, from concept through validated reference designs.

Key Responsibilities

Firmware Development & Digital Control

• Design, implement, and debug embedded firmware for digital control of low-voltage power converters.
• Develop and tune control algorithms such as:
  • Digital voltage/current control loops (PID, Type II/III digital compensators)
  • Current-mode and voltage-mode control
  • Motor control algorithms (e.g., trapezoidal control, FOC for low-voltage BLDC/PMSM)
• Implement real-time firmware features including:
  • Fault protection (OCP, OVP, OTP)
  • Soft-start, sequencing, and system state management
  • Telemetry, sensing, and digital communication (PMBus, UART, SPI, I²C)
• Optimize firmware for fast switching, low latency, and real-time performance in GaN-based systems.

Power Hardware Design & Hands-On Testing

• Design and develop low-voltage power converter hardware using GaN FETs, including:
  • Non-isolated and isolated DC-DC converters
  • AC-DC auxiliary or front-end supplies
  • Low-voltage motor drive inverters
• Perform hands-on hardware bring-up, debugging, and validation in the lab.
• Execute measurements related to:
  • Switching behavior, efficiency, and losses
  • Gate drive performance and dead-time optimization
  • Thermal performance and power density
  • EMI/EMC pre-compliance testing
• Actively iterate hardware designs based on lab results and firmware interaction.

Hardware–Firmware Integration

• Validate and optimize closed-loop system performance of digitally controlled power converters.
• Debug complex issues spanning:
  • Control-loop instability
  • Noise coupling between power stage and control electronics
  • Timing interactions between firmware and power hardware
• Ensure robust interaction between GaN power stages, gate drivers, sensing circuits, and control firmware.

Reference Design & Evaluation Platform Development

• Develop evaluation boards and reference designs highlighting low-voltage GaN solutions.
• Deliver complete solutions including:
  • Schematics and layouts
  • Embedded firmware
  • Test results and performance reports
• Support internal and external design enablement using these platforms.

Customer & Field Support

• Provide deep technical support to customers designing low-voltage GaN-based power systems.
• Assist customers with:
  • Firmware adaptation and tuning
  • Hardware debugging and system optimization
• Participate in design reviews, customer discussions, and technical workshops.

Technical Documentation & Knowledge Sharing

• Create high-quality application notes, design guides, and firmware documentation.
• Document best practices for digital control of low-voltage GaN power converters.
• Contribute to internal knowledge sharing and training.

Education

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field

Experience

• 5+ years of experience in:
  • Embedded firmware development for power electronics and
  • Hands-on power converter hardware design and validation
• Proven experience personally owning firmware + hardware + lab testing.

Technical Skills

• Strong understanding of low-voltage power electronics, including:
  • DC-DC topologies (buck, boost, buck-boost, resonant)
  • Motor drive inverters for low-voltage systems
• Solid grasp of digital control theory applied to power converters.
• Embedded C/C++ programming for real-time systems.
• Experience with microcontrollers or DSPs commonly used in digital power and motor control.
• Proficient with lab equipment: oscilloscopes, power analyzers, current probes, signal generators.
• Schematic capture and PCB design experience (Altium or equivalent).

Additional Hardware Design Capability

• Hands-on experience creating power electronics schematics and reviewing component selection for low-voltage GaN-based converters.
• Practical experience with PCB design and layout for high‑speed, low‑voltage GaN power stages, including:
  • Gate drive and power loop optimization
  • Current sensing and feedback routing
  • Noise mitigation and grounding best practices
• Comfortable performing PCB bring-up, rework, and debug, including probing fast-switching GaN nodes and resolving layout-related issues.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience with low-voltage GaN-based power converters.
• Experience with high-frequency switching optimization and layout-sensitive designs.
• Familiarity with simulation tools (PLECS, MATLAB/Simulink) for control and power-stage modeling.
• Experience supporting customers or field applications.

Soft Skills

• Comfortable working in a small, hands-on engineering team.
• Strong debugging mindset and system-level thinking.
• Clear communication skills for customer-facing and internal collaboration.
• Ability to independently drive projects from concept to validated solution.

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.