Staff Applications Engineer – Power Management

Job Title

Staff Applications Engineer – Power Management

Role Summary

The Staff Applications Engineer provides hands-on customer support and system-level applications engineering for input protection and power management products used in enterprise, data center, AI server, telecom, and industrial power systems. The role focuses on board bring-up, hardware debug, evaluation board and reference design development, and close collaboration with design, validation, marketing, and field teams.

Experience Level

Senior — typically requires 3+ years of relevant applications engineering, validation, or hardware development experience.

Responsibilities

Provide technical support to customers and internal teams and develop validated hardware and documentation that enable successful product adoption.

• Support input protection devices for 48 V and emerging 800 V / ±400 V power systems.
• Perform schematic and PCB layout reviews, component selection, bench debug, issue reproduction, root-cause analysis, and provide corrective design recommendations.
• Design, build, and validate evaluation boards, demo platforms, proof-of-concept hardware, and reference designs for high-current and high-voltage applications.
• Debug hardware, register configuration, PMBus/I²C communication, gate drive behavior, isolation interfaces, and system transients.
• Use lab equipment (oscilloscopes, HV supplies, electronic loads, power analyzers, thermal tools, differential probes) and automated test setups for characterization and validation.
• Create scripts, calculators, GUI utilities, and data-analysis tools to support validation and customer debug.
• Support new silicon bring-up, identify application gaps, and work with design/systems teams to improve product robustness.
• Author and review customer-facing documentation: datasheets, application notes, user guides, test reports, and troubleshooting notes.
• Collaborate across marketing, systems, design, validation, quality, sales, and field teams to support launches and resolve customer issues.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and practical experience required to perform the role.

• 3+ years of experience in applications engineering, field applications, validation, product engineering, or hardware development for analog or power semiconductor products.
• Strong hands-on board and system debug skills, including issue reproduction, waveform analysis, fault isolation, root-cause troubleshooting, and corrective action recommendations.
• Solid understanding of power electronics concepts: input protection, MOSFET gate drive, current sensing, thermal behavior, and protection strategies.
• Experience with schematic capture, PCB layout review, board bring-up, high-current routing, grounding, noise coupling, isolation, and measurement best practices.
• Familiarity with simulation tools such as PSpice, SIMPLIS, MATLAB/Simulink, or similar power/transient/thermal analysis tools.
• Comfortable operating common lab equipment: oscilloscopes, power supplies, electronic loads, power analyzers, thermal cameras, probes, and solder/rework tools.
• Ability to write clear customer-facing documents and work directly with customers and cross-functional engineering teams.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with high-voltage products and HVDC systems (800 V / ±400 V), solid state relays, eFuses, live insertion, or high-power data center platforms.
• Knowledge of PMBus/I²C telemetry, register configuration, fault logging, GUI tools, and lab automation using Python, C/C++, MATLAB, or LabVIEW.
• Experience validating startup into large capacitance, short-circuit behavior, load transients, retry/latch-off behavior, and safe operating area limits.
• Familiarity with isolation interfaces, bias supplies, HV lab safety, EMI, and ESD considerations.
• Experience creating EVMs, reference designs, demo platforms, and training materials; customer-facing work with server OEMs/ODMs, hyperscalers, or telecom customers.

Education Requirements

Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Power Electronics, or a related field preferred. A bachelor's degree in those fields with strong relevant experience is acceptable; equivalent practical experience will be considered.

About the Company

Company: Renesas

Headquarters: Hitachinaka, Japan

Renesas is a global leader in embedded semiconductor solutions, providing high-quality products across automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT sectors. With over 22,000 employees in more than 30 countries, the company focuses on scalable solutions that enhance user experience and drive innovation while committed to sustainability and energy efficiency.