Company Overview

Second Order Effects (SOE) is an engineering consulting firm that transforms uncertainty into fully functional hardware and software. We work on projects at all stages of development; we perform analysis, build prototypes, and take products to market. Our team solves high-impact problems across numerous industries, including automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics, industrial automation, biomedical, and green energy. Our designs control rocket engines, manage satellite communications, instrument fusion reactors, and are enjoyed by consumers around the world. The only thing we won’t build is weapons.

Founded in 2016, Second Order Effects has 50+ employees (and counting!) in offices in El Segundo, California and Redmond, Washington. We've worked with >130 clients on > 300 projects as a partner, on retainer, or on demand.

How do we do this? We prioritize others, build the right thing, welcome difficulty, and play the long game. Learn more at soeffects.com!

Team Overview

Electrical engineering is the beating heart of SOE’s technical capability, with power electronics as our newest specialization in that discipline. Power electronics is currently part of the Special Projects team, where we incubate new technical competencies by tackling the programs with the highest degree of novelty, uncertainty, and learning.

Special Projects is designed to be antidisciplinary, including systems engineering, power electronics, firmware, mechanical engineering, and physics. We jump in on the misfit projects and the “what’s possible?” questions. We study and explain the gaps between the first-principles physics, the commercial solutions, and the state-of-the-art research. We move quickly by making assumptions, and focus our efforts by understanding where those assumptions break down. We are voracious learners, and learn with the goal of empowering the rest of the team to solve the problem - not just ourselves.

Responsibilities

  • Support the development of SOE’s most complex power electronics systems (typically <10kW) in the role of architect, subject matter expert, responsible engineer, systems engineer, or or technical lead
  • Work closely with customers to build the right thing in a wide variety of industries such as aerospace, automotive, renewable energy, medical devices, and more
  • Work with organizational leadership to strategically grow SOE’s competency in power electronics and set the standard for excellent electrical engineering
  • Augment the team’s knowledge and passion for learning with your own as both colleague and mentor
  • Support Business Development (BD) by participating in early-stage calls with new customers, building consensus around a vision of project success, creating and reviewing cost and labor estimates

The following lists represent our best guess at a profile of someone who would be successful in this role. Even if this doesn’t perfectly match your background, we encourage you to still apply! SOE is an engineering consulting company unlike any other, requiring a team unlike any other, so non-traditional career paths are welcome.

What You Will Need

  • Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or related
  • 5+ years of experience designing power electronics
  • 2+ years of experience leading teams through power electronics projects
  • Experience in at least one of the following areas: high voltage (100V-1kV) power conversion, digital control for power systems, inverter systems
  • Interest in end-to-end electronics development, including requirements generation ,schematic design, board layout, design verification and acceptance testing
  • Ability to collaborate effectively with an interdisciplinary team working on challenging problems
  • Ability to adapt and learn new things
  • Strong communication skills
  • Ability to work 40h/week on-site in El Segundo, CA
  • Eligible to work on ITAR projects (see below)

What May Be Useful

  • Proficiency with our standard power electronics toolkit: Altium Designer, LTspice, HFSS, FEMM, python
  • Experience with vehicle-level power systems design and/or full electric powertrains
  • Experience owning power converter topology and component trades, implementing and verifying those designs
  • Experience with thermal analysis of power electronics and thermal management systems
  • Experience designing power supplies (including DC/DC switching regulators, isolated supplies)
  • Experience designing load drivers (including motor and solenoid valve drivers)
  • Experience in voltage and current mode control, small signal modeling, compensation design, power factor correction, analysis of stability and noise, design for efficiency, conducted emissions
  • Experience with environmental testing to verify performance and validate assumptions, radiation testing as a bonus
  • Experience developing processes and trainings related to power supply development
  • Experience in a technical project management or customer-facing leadership role in an engineering, production, or R&D environment
  • Familiarity with power transistor technologies other than BJTs and MOSFETS such as GaN, SiC, IGBT, etc.
  • Familiarity with design and test standards for aerospace (MIL-STD-461, SMC-S-016, GSFC-STD-7000A, etc.), grid-tried power systems (IEEE 1547 DER, etc.), consumer electronics (UL, CE, RoHS, etc.)

Benefits

  • Compensation range of $145,140-$186,610 + equity incentive plan
  • Flexible work hours and work from home policy 
  • 100% employer-paid health insurance (Medical, Dental, Vision) for employees + 50% dependent coverage
  • Unlimited paid time off policy, 11x paid company holidays, 12x paid sick days
  • 401(k) retirement account and employer matching (Safe Harbor 4%)
  • Generous paid parental leave
  • Relocation assistance available if 50+ miles away from the office
  • Electric Vehicle (EV) charging ports
  • Daily catered lunches, snacks, and accessible kitchen

Additional Requirements

  • Applicant must be willing to work 40 hours a week on-site in El Segundo, California, USA
  • Applicant must be eligible to work on ITAR projects
  • Job Type: Full-time (Salary)

ITAR Requirements 

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide sponsorship at this time.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Second Order Effects is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SOE is governed on the basis of excellence and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.

Apply for this Job

* Required
resume chosen  
Dropbox Google Drive
(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)
Cancel
cover_letter chosen  
Dropbox Google Drive
(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)
Cancel
When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review
+ Add another education

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Second Order Effects’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.

Enter the verification code sent to to confirm you are not a robot, then submit your application.

This application was flagged as potential bot traffic. To resubmit your application, turn off any VPNs, clear the browser's cache and cookies, or try another browser. If you still can't submit it, contact our support team through the help center.