Lab Manager and Electrical Test Infrastructure Owner

Company Overview Driven by our vision of the affordable, reliable, net-zero carbon grid of the future, Mainspring has developed a new category of power generation — the linear generator — that delivers local, scalable, and fuel-flexible power to help accelerate the transition to the net-zero carbon grid.
The unique combination of attributes offered by Mainspring’s linear generator enables applications on both the commercial and utility sides of the meter for the $816B global electricity equipment market.
We serve a wide range of Fortune 500 customers across markets and industries as well as top-tier utilities and other gridside providers.
We are looking to build relationships with people who share our values: Pragmatic Optimism.
Building a new category of world-class power generation requires the optimism of ambition and creativity, balanced with practicality to solve problems efficiently.
The challenges that arise are opportunities for growth.
Excellence without Ego.
We bring expertise and commitment to creating the best customer experience, from sales to deployment and service, just as we apply deep technical rigor to building and delivering world-class products.
We strive for excellence and behave as leaders with the humility to acknowledge our challenges, both collectively and as individual contributors.
Proactive Collaboration.
The integration and cross-disciplinary nature of Mainspring’s business requires intentionally seeking out others who bring different skills, perspectives, and priorities.
Our culture of inclusion and respect extends beyond our team to interactions with our partners and customers.
Mainspring is based in Menlo Park and has partnered with top-tier investors and utilities such as Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, NextEra, and American Electric Power.
More information can be found at www.
mainspringenergy.
com.
Responsibilities The technology that powers Mainspring’s Linear Generator is unlike any other generator technology on the market.
The Linear Generator relies on innovative power and control hardware systems to achieve its best-in-class efficiency while meeting the world’s strictest emissions requirements.
Mainspring Energy is seeking an electrical engineer to manage our R&D lab spaces and pilot manufacturing test stations in Menlo Park, CA.
In this role, you will improve the way we design, build, maintain, and operate our testing infrastructure.
You will operate with a high degree of autonomy and be independently responsible for owning Mainspring’s testing infrastructure.
Your mission is to safely enable R&D testing and pilot manufacturing testing, while supporting a variety of internal customers.
While you may be assigned a desk, you’ll most often be found working in the lab.
You’ll be expected to thrive in scenarios where the plan is only partially defined and you are responsible for figuring out how to take the project to the finish line.
In this role, you will… Design, build, and maintain the infrastructure that enables testing of Mainspring’s Linear Generators Be a champion of safety and proactively ensure it is always the top priority for you and others Specify cables, circuit breakers, and fuses based upon the test requirements Coordinate procurement and installation of electrical equipment Coordinate preventative maintenance plans for standard electrical equipment within test stations Champion facility upgrade projects ranging in complexity, from installing a low power electrical outlet to upgrading test stations capable of 100s of kVA of power Manage and maintain a growing suite of test equipment, including items like load banks, gas analyzers, oscilloscopes, data acquisition systems, power supplies, and more! Support engineering and operations teams in complex debugging and troubleshooting exercises Organize the lab to make it a world-class R&D space This position requires you to be working on-site in Menlo Park, CA.
Qualifications You have… Previous hardware lab management experience involving complex electro-mechanical systems, which may included moving parts, high-voltage, energy storage, power generation, or similar Demonstrated experience fostering a positive safety culture The ability to understand single line diagrams and electrical schematics Experience specifying cables and overcurrent protection devices in a 480V system Hands-on experience with lab equipment instrumentation, like meters, scopes, data acquisition systems, etc.
A “collaborate-first” mindset and have successfully communicated across a range of teams and personalities Nice to Haves A bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering Experience with NFPA 70 / National Electric Code Experience working at a startup or in a fast-paced product development environment Experience with Python and Raspberry Pi The Bay Area salary for this role is $90k-$140k + pre-IPO stock options + benefits.
This position can be hybrid.
The salary will be adjusted to reflect local market conditions based on employee location as well as the experience of the employee.
Does your experience not meet all of our posted requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to positions unless they meet every listed requirement.
At Mainspring, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, flexible, and collaborative environment, so if you want to help us transition the world to clean and affordable electricity, and don’t meet all posted requirements for a particular role, we’d still love to hear from you.
Mainspring can sometimes be flexible enough to shift responsibilities for the right person, or otherwise identify open or upcoming roles that may better fit your professional background.
In more traditional words, Mainspring Energy, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.