{"id":749960,"url":"https://alion.io/job/verticalsemi-principal-applications-engineer","title":"Principal Applications Engineer","company":{"id":686229,"name":"Vertical Semiconductor","domain":"verticalsemi.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/verticalsemi","size_band":"51-200","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":75,"open_postings":3,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":null,"computed_at":"2026-10-16T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Somerville, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":108000,"max_usd":220000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":1695},"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-03-10T20:31:19Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-03-10","last_verified_at":"2026-10-16T11:59:34Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":219,"trust":{"level":"stale","repost_count":0,"flags":["stale"],"days_open":219},"description":"Company Description\nVertical Semiconductor, a venture-backed MIT spin-out, is leading the development of vertical gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductors to build the foundational power layer for the next generation of compute and AI.\nRole Overview\nWe’re hiring a Principal Applications Engineer to help commercialize next-generation Vertical GaN power devices (100 V - 2300 V) by translating device performance into system-level wins for customers. This role blends customer-facing technical leadership, hands-on power converter evaluation, simulation/model development, and bench characterization of fast-switching wide bandgap devices. The role offers significant ownership of customer technical engagement, and the development of evaluation hardware, reference designs, and technical content (application notes, trainings, demos). As the company scales, this position has the strong potential to evolve into a team leadership role.\nKey Responsibilities\nCustomer technical leadership / design-in acceleration\nServe as senior technical interface for strategic accounts: translate customer specs into power device requirements; support design in activity including simulations, testing, troubleshooting, and performance optimization.\n\nPresent Vertical Semiconductor technology, products, and roadmap to customers and partners; act as a subject-matter expert for target applications.\n\nSimulation, modeling, and system enablement\nDevelop and own SPICE and/or PLECS simulation workflows for Vertical GaN in realistic converter environments (switching behavior, parasitics, loss/thermal estimation, gate-drive tradeoffs).\n\nBuild reusable solution templates (topology starting points, loop inductance/parasitic models, measurement-informed parameters) to rapidly evaluate customer use cases.\n\nCreate system collateral: application block diagrams, design guidelines, technical notes, and simulation models as part of an enablement roadmap.\n\nEvaluation hardware & reference design leadership\nLead development of evaluation boards, demo boards, and reference designs (schematic/layout, BOM, bring-up plan, test plan, characterization report).\n\nPerform system-level bench testing and debug; drive design optimizations based on measured performance.\n\nHigh-voltage WBG bench characterization\nWhere needed, perform hands-on characterization of fast-switching WBG devices, including switching waveform integrity, parasitic-sensitive measurements, and robustness characterization.\n\nDevelop and publish practical “design rules” for customers: gate drive, layout/loop inductance, protection strategies, and measurement techniques.\n\nTechnical content and technical marketing\nDevelop application notes, design guides, trainings/webinars, and other media that make Vertical GaN easy to adopt.\n\nCross-functional product influence\nProvide structured customer feedback to Device Engineering and Product teams: performance requirements, feature requests, failure-mode learnings, and competitive insights.\n\nRequired Qualifications\n5+ years in applications engineering supporting power semiconductor customers OR 5+ years developing power systems/converters.\n\n5+ years experience developing or working with power converters (e.g., inverters, PFC, isolated DC-DC). Experience delivering reference designs or complete converter hardware is a strong plus.\n\nProven bench characterization experience with high voltage and high current wide bandgap devices.\n\nStrong understanding of high-frequency power converter design (switching loss mechanisms, magnetics implications, layout/parasitics, gate drive).\n\nDeep familiarity applying SiC and GaN devices in real converters (including design-in pitfalls and best practices).\n\nProficiency with SPICE and/or PLECS; ability to develop models and quickly evaluate power circuits.\n\nStrong technical communication skills: clear written application guidance and confident in customer-facing engagement.\n\nExperience with parasitic-aware layouts and EMI-aware design practices for fast-switching power stages.\n\nM.S. or Ph.D. in EE (Power Electronics) or equivalent practical experience.\n\nLocation & Travel\nPreference for candidates who can work in-office in Somerville, MA.\n\nTravel to customer sites and industry events (< 25% of the working time)\n\nValues & Culture Fit\nVertical Semiconductor is seeking an engineer who is not only capable of accelerating the technical vision of the company but is also willing to get involved in the day-to-day execution of a startup. The ideal candidate is someone who enjoys tackling complex engineering challenges, is comfortable with a hands-on approach in a collaborative arena and thrives in a startup environment where they can make an immediate impact. We value integrity, initiative, problem-solving, creativity and a passion for creating transformative technology that can change industries and improve the world.\nCompensation\nWe offer a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package with participation in our stock option program that is commensurable with candidates’ experience and impact.","description_format":"text","description_chars":5056,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"phd","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Power Supplies & Power Electronics","Analog & Power Semiconductors"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-11T15:26:39Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":7,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.248,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":219,"expected_fill_days":30,"reasons":["conf:2","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-10-16T05:45:00Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/verticalsemi-principal-applications-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/verticalsemi-principal-applications-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-16T14:41:22Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":14335,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-17T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":686229},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=686229"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fverticalsemi-principal-applications-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fverticalsemi-principal-applications-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fverticalsemi-principal-applications-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/verticalsemi-principal-applications-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fverticalsemi-principal-applications-engineer"}]}