Hardware Engineer - Power Distribution Unit
Shanghai, China
R&D – Hardware /
Full time /
On-site
At Mentee Robotics, we are redefining humanoid automation with an AI-first approach - combining perception, reasoning, and dexterous manipulation into fully autonomous systems that continuously learn and improve. We offer an exceptional opportunity to participate in building next-generation commercial humanoid robots from 0 to 1, alongside competitive compensation and an international engineering environment. We are expanding with a new robotics Engineering Center in China, working hand-in-hand with our engineering teams in headquarters. Its mission: to rapidly develop our next-generation full-size humanoid platform and bring it to production.
We are looking for a Power Distribution Unit (PDU) Hardware Engineer to own the design and development of our humanoid robot’s high-density power architecture, battery management system interfaces, dynamic power distribution, protection circuits, and transient power handling for high-peak-current joint actuation.
Who you are:
- A power electronics hardware expert who thinks in thermal dissipation, transient response, power density, and safety margins under high peak dynamic motor currents.
- Hands-on: you design schematic/PCB layouts, select high-efficiency switches, build test benches, and validate board-level power systems under full dynamic loads in the lab.
- Meticulous about electrical safety, EMC/EMI mitigation, and power fault containment in high-voltage DC mobile robotic platforms.
- A strong collaborator across battery management, joint actuation, harness, and system embedded firmware teams.
Responsibilities:
- Own the full life-cycle design of the Power Distribution Unit (PDU) hardware, including DC-DC conversion, dynamic load switching, power sequencing, and fault protection.
- Design robust transient surge protection, over-current, over-voltage, reverse-polarity, and inrush current limiting circuits tailored for high-torque BLDC joint actuation.
- Execute multi-layer high-current PCB layout (heavy copper, thermal vias, optimized loop inductances) in compliance with strict mechanical footprint constraints.
- Integrate smart power monitoring (voltage, current, temperature sensing) via EtherCAT (main protocol), CAN, or PMBus interfaces for dynamic telemetry feed into the main compute system.
- Perform thermal modeling, derating analysis, and loss calculation for power switches, MOSFETs, and magnetics under continuous and peak burst operating conditions.
- Conduct board-level bring-up, signal integrity measurement, power integrity optimization, and environmental stress testing.
- Collaborate with harness and mechanical teams to define connector pinouts, busbars, pass-through features, and structural thermal interfaces.
- Lead power safety qualification and EMC/EMI compliance testing (ISO 13849, IEC 61508, IEC 61000) for mobile robot power distribution systems.
Requirements:
- B.Sc. or M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, Power Electronics, Mechatronics, or related technical disciplines.
- 5+ years of experience in high-density DC-DC converter design, power electronics, or PDU development for robotics, electric vehicles, or aerospace systems.
- Proficiency in Altium Designer, Cadence Allegro, or KiCAD for schematic capture and multi-layer high-current PCB design.
- In-depth understanding of MOSFET/GaN/SiC power switches, gate drivers, current sensing topologies, and power supervisory ICs, with embedded system capabilities to independently complete full-board hardware and software design.
- Hands-on experience with hardware debugging using oscilloscopes, electronic loads, power analyzers, and thermal cameras.
- Solid knowledge of power system safety clearances, creepage/clearance rules, and thermal dissipation strategies.
- Strong problem-solving skills and experience conducting root-cause failure analysis (8D/FMEA) on power hardware.
- Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment and iterate hardware designs rapidly.
Advantages:
- Direct experience designing PDUs or power electronics for humanoid robots, quadrupeds, or electric vehicles.
- Familiarity with ISO 26262 or IEC 61508 functional safety design requirements for power distribution systems.
- Experience with embedded firmware for power management ICs and communication protocols (EtherCAT as primary, CAN-FD, PMBus, SMBus).
- Comfortable communicating technical topics in English with international teams.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
