Intern, Electrical Engineering (Compliance) - Spring 2027

Job description

WHAT TO EXPECT Heron Power is a startup company building cutting-edge power electronics for the 21st-century grid. We aim to debottleneck the growth of electricity generation and consumption with scalable, innovative, and less costly hardware solutions, accelerating the electrification of everything. Our first focus goal is to build better converters (inverters & rectifiers) to connect large-scale renewables, storage, and loads to the grid. Heron’s leadership team is made up of seasoned veterans who have designed and shipped gigawatts of power conversion products over the past decade. We understand that no one individual knows everything. We will all learn a lot together and from each other. We strive to build a collaborative, enriching environment conducive to personal, technical, and career growth. You can expect to work in a dynamic and collaborative environment, driven by first principles engineering, solving difficult problems. JOB OVERVIEW As a Compliance Engineering Intern, you will be the bridge between regulatory standards and innovative product design. You’ll identify and interpret compliance requirements, design, develop and execute tests to validate regulatory specifications, and ensure our products achieve certifications to seamlessly enter global markets. HOW YOU WILL CONTRIBUTE EMC - Run conducted and radiated emissions pre-compliance on real power hardware (LISN, spectrum analyzer, near-field probes, current probes) against CISPR 11 / FCC Part 15. - Find where the noise comes from (dv/dt, common-mode paths, parasitic capacitance, cable resonances) and help fix it with filters, layout, grounding and shielding. - Correlate measurements with simulation (LTspice, Q3D/SIwave, HFSS) so we can predict emissions before we build. PRODUCT SAFETY - Apply UL 1741, UL 9540, IEC 62477 and IEC 62109 to real designs: creepage and clearance, insulation coordination, dielectric (hipot), ground fault detection and temperature rise. - Write engineering justifications, and prepare test plans and evidence packages for our certification lab (NRTL). ACROSS ALL AREAS - Automate test setups and data acquisition in Python. - Present results to the design team and help decide what to change in the hardware. WHAT YOU WILL GET - Real ownership: your test results feed directly into design decisions on a product headed to market. - Rare exposure to medium-voltage SiC power conversion, EMC and product safety at the same time. Most EEs get this only years into their career. - Mentorship from engineers who have taken power products through UL and IEC certification. - Visibility into standards development and conversations with certification labs. WHAT YOU WILL BRING We have a short list of must-have requirements. We prioritize candidates with a strong grip on first principles, hands-on skills, and initiative. MUST-HAVE REQUIREMENTS - Currently pursuing an MS or PhD (preferred) or a BS in Electrical Engineering, with coursework or research in power electronics. - Hands-on lab experience with power hardware and test equipment (oscilloscopes, power analyzers, probes, data acquisition). - Comfort turning a written requirement into a measurable test. - Python or similar for test automation and data analysis. - Available to work full time on-site in Scotts Valley, CA, starting January 2027 for the Spring 2027 term (an extension into summer is a plus). NICE-TO-HAVES - EMC/EMI experience: CISPR or FCC testing, LISN measurements, EMI filter design. - Exposure to UL 1741, UL 9540, IEC 62477 / 62109 or IEC 61000-4-x. - Safety design: creepage/clearance, insulation, hipot, HV interlocks (Formula SAE / EV team experience counts). - Medium-voltage (5 to 35 kV) or SiC/GaN wide-bandgap hardware. - EM or circuit simulation: LTspice, Q3D, SIwave, HFSS. - Experience working with an NRTL (UL, TUV, Intertek, CSA). If you are passionate about technology and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment, we would love to hear from you. Join us in accelerating the electrification of everything at Heron Power.