Who We Are:
PowerLight Technologies is the leading developer of safe, long-distance laser power beaming solutions to transmit kilowatt-level power remotely, making energy accessible to new and increasingly mobile distributed digital assets on and off planet Earth. Laser power beaming delivers energy to digital infrastructure, enabling power to be delivered when and where it is needed, including in hard-to-reach places or at high altitudes, with or without human access, and without the tether to today’s battery- and power-cord power distribution environment. At PowerLight Technologies we seek to hire contributors who exhibit three special traits: the hands-on skill to create hardware and software; a commitment to teamwork; and a track record of high achievement ideally with startup experience growing into a larger organization. The most successful members of our team exhibit
all of these qualities, wrapped with genuine niceness and respect for others.
Successful team members are undeterred by extremely challenging, first-of-their-kind problems to solve. They experiment, fail-and-learn quickly, and lock in the mastery of their explorations alongside like-minded innovators.
We hire professionals who know their craft; we look for those who can design boards, assemblies, optical chains, code, and processes with an eye toward successful, field-ready, secure, nicely documented products and systems. We also value academic chops, people who love embrace physics, analysis, and technical progress.
Our culture is one of urgency, accountability, teamwork, and a healthy sense of fun, along with a passion for science. We show up prepared, engage in healthy debate, embrace deadlines, and work hard to maintain a workplace environment that is energizing.
A career here means you will interact with the world’s leading scientists, engineers, and builders. Join our team – bring your skills, experiences, and determination to make a difference. This is a unique opportunity for a skilled professional and thought leader to work in the emerging field of long-distance power beaming.
Power Beaming Video
Power Over Fiber Video

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE AND ABILITIES:

• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Top Secret security clearance.
• Demonstrated self-starter for all things software.
• Hands-on experience coding and testing prototype systems.
• Ability to plan projects, be accountable for deliverables & schedules, and lead others.
• Strong sense of accountability and curiosity.
• Experience with relevant computer programming languages such as C/C++, Python, other.
• 5+ years designing real-time embedded software applications (audio, video, control, etc.)
• Embedded Linux, RTOS’s and NO OS.
• FPGA (Xilinx in particular) development experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in software engineering, data science or related field.
• Humble, hungry and curious.

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES :

• Embedded microcontrollers firmware & IDE experience (STM32, etc.)
• Experience designing IoT systems.
• Power quality characterization/compensation experience.
• Experience with comms, especially ethernet & USB.
• UI development experience.
• Data analytics experience.
• Experience with AI applications.
• Experience with GIT revision control.
• Start-up experience a plus.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

Prolonged periods sitting or standing at a desk and working on a computer, as well as setting up and adjusting laser power beaming equipment for testing, both indoors and outdoors. Must be able to occasionally lift up to 20 pounds (e.g. computer, printer paper). Repeating motions that may include the wrists, hands and/or fingers using a computer, keyboard, mouse, writing.

• Select appropriate HW/SW platforms and architectures to achieve real-time data acquisition and control of complex systems including beam tracking, power management, and safety interlocks.
• Develop embedded code to perform system telemetry and control for these complex systems in real-time.
• Develop database and post processing software to support system troubleshooting, development and analysis.
• Create graphical user interfaces for real time system telemetry and control panels.
• Maintain high quality documentation of code base and architectures.
• Help to build our software engineering team and our software products and strategies as we grow.
• Develop code on various embedded and physical platforms including FPGAs and ARM controllers for free space laser power transfer systems and power-over-fiber solutions; develop embedded code to perform system telemetry and control for these complex systems in real-time.
• Lead development using demonstrated proficiency including C, C++, Python, and Rust.
• Lead the full software development lifecycle, from concept and design through testing and deployment, for the product portfolio.
• Develop device drivers, protocols, and APIs for autonomous platforms considering distributed communication networks and message standards.
• Bring to the team a familiarity with machine learning and AI applications in robotics / autonomy.
• Design and develop secure software architectures, incorporating security requirements, standards and controls throughout the software development lifecycle; lead processes identifying potential vulnerabilities and facilitating risk assessments.