Senior Manager, Linear Electric Machines Principal

 

Job Purpose

The Senior Manager, Linear Electric Machines Principal is responsible for the Linear Electric Machine (LEM), the permanent-magnet linear motor/generator at the heart of every KARNO™ generator. Each 200 kW KARNO Core uses four LEMs to convert free-piston motion into power on a native 800 VDC bus, and the same machine is the building block for Hyliion’s multi-megawatt U.S. Navy and data center systems. This position is the single technical authority and people leader for the LEM, accountable for electromagnetic and mechanical design, insulation and materials, test and qualification, certification, and supplier and manufacturing readiness across the current production machine and future generations. The role leads the LEM engineering team in the Cedar Park, TX to scale in-house LEM production to volume at target cost, yield, and reliability and partner with the Hyliion R&D team in Cincinnati, OH.

AI at Hyliion

At Hyliion, AI is core to how we work. We equip every team member with leading AI tools and count on you to use them — to move faster, solve harder problems, and help us realize the full potential of KARNO technology for the world.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Design authority: Serve as the single accountable technical owner for the KARNO LEM across its lifecycle (requirements, architecture, design, verification, release, production, and field performance) for both the current production design and future generations.
• Team leadership: Lead, hire, and develop a team of electromagnetic, mechanical, and design engineers; set priorities, run technical reviews, and build the standards, design tools, and processes the team needs to scale with the business.
• Electromagnetic design: Own electromagnetic design and optimization of tubular permanent-magnet linear machines, including topology, magnet and winding design, magnetic circuit, force constant, cogging/detent force, losses, efficiency, and demagnetization margin, using 2D/3D FEA and analytical models correlated to test data.
• Mechanical design: Own translator, stator, and housing mechanical design, including translator structural integrity and fatigue of high-cycle reciprocating components, air-gap eccentricity and radial side load, tolerance stack-ups and GD&T, thermal management, and mechanical interfaces to the KARNO Core and position sensing.
• Insulation and thermal: Own the stator insulation system and thermal design, including insulation materials and processes, temperature sensing, partial discharge and E-field stress under inverter-fed operation, thermal modeling, and thermal aging for long-life continuous duty.
• Machine–drive integration: Partner with power electronics, controls, and systems teams on machine–drive co-design: 800 VDC architecture, inverter interface, position feedback, and transient load-step performance.
• Next-generation roadmap: Define and execute the LEM technology roadmap for higher power density, higher efficiency, and lower cost, including topology and magnet-array studies, coil and core concepts, and scaling for multi-megawatt KARNO systems.
• Manufacturing scale-up: Lead DFM/DFA for the in-house LEM line: define critical-to-quality characteristics and process windows for stator and translator manufacturing and assembly; drive fixtures, tooling, work instructions, travelers, and repair procedures; and improve yield, cycle time, and cost from prototype rates to volume production.
• Test and validation: Define the LEM verification and production test strategy, including end-of-line testing (force constant, back-EMF, resistance, insulation resistance, hipot, surge, partial discharge), test-rig characterization of losses and efficiency across operating conditions and temperature, and qualification and life testing.
• Supply chain: Own technical specifications and supplier qualification for critical LEM materials and components (permanent magnets, soft magnetic materials, conductors and insulation materials, high-voltage interconnects, and sensors); drive second-sourcing, incoming inspection, and cost reduction with Sourcing and Quality.
• Quality and reliability: Lead DFMEA/PFMEA, reliability modeling, root cause analysis (8D), MRB/NCR disposition, and corrective action for build and field issues, using KARNO Cloud telemetry and teardown findings to close the loop into design.
• Certification and configuration control: Maintain LEM certification (UL 1004-series via NRTL, including critical-components list control) and support KARNO-level UL 2200, MIL-STD, and customer requirements; own drawing and ECN release in the PLM system and ensure changes are assessed for certification impact before release.
• Technical representation: Represent the LEM in customer, U.S. Navy, partner, and supplier technical reviews; contribute to invention disclosures, patents, and technical proposals.
• Additional duties and responsibilities as assigned, needed, or required for the business.

Qualifications

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Qualifications include:

• Education, Experience and Certifications
  •    Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, or Electromechanical Engineering or a closely related field required; MS or PhD focused on electric machines, electromagnetics, or power conversion strongly preferred.
  • 12+ years designing, developing, and releasing electric motors or generators, including permanent-magnet machines taken from concept through production (10+ years with an MS; 8+ years with a PhD).
  • 2+ years leading engineering teams, including direct people management and hiring.
  • Demonstrated ownership of both the electromagnetic and mechanical design of an electric machine product, or deep expertise in one with substantial hands-on depth in the other.
  • Track record launching or scaling electric machine production: winding and insulation systems, magnet assembly, end-of-line test, and supplier development.
  • Experience with linear machines (linear alternators, free-piston generators, tubular PM machines, or linear actuators) strongly preferred.
  • Experience with high-voltage (800 V class), inverter-fed machines and insulation system qualification and certification (e.g., UL 1004, UL 1446, IEC 60034-18-41) preferred.
• Skills and Abilities
  • Expert command of electric machine theory: PM machine design, magnetic materials (NdFeB grades and demagnetization, soft magnetic materials), loss mechanisms (copper, core, magnet eddy current), and force ripple and cogging.
  • Expert in 2D/3D electromagnetic FEA (ANSYS Maxwell, JMAG, Altair Flux, or COMSOL) and analytical sizing and optimization in MATLAB/Simulink or Python; proficient with coupled thermal and structural analysis (Motor-CAD, ANSYS Mechanical, or equivalent).
  • Strong mechanical design fundamentals: 3D CAD (Siemens NX preferred), GD&T and tolerance stack-up analysis, and fatigue of high-cycle components.
  • Working knowledge of power electronics and motor control: field-oriented control, inverter-driven insulation stress, and machine–inverter co-design.
  • Hands-on test and measurement: test-rig and fixture design, efficiency mapping, winding analyzers (surge, PD, hipot), data acquisition, and correlation of test data to models.
  • Manufacturing and quality tools: DFM/DFA, DFMEA/PFMEA, SPC and process capability, 8D/root cause analysis, MRB, and supplier qualification (APQP/PPAP-style).
  • Strong knowledge of and hands-on experience applying electric machine standards and certification (UL 1004, UL 1446, UL 2200, IEC 60034, NEMA MG 1, IEEE).
  • Proven people leader who builds teams, coaches senior engineers, and balances hands-on technical depth with planning, prioritization, and resource management in a fast-growing company.
  • Clear communicator with executives, customers, U.S. Navy reviewers, suppliers, and certification bodies; fluent user of AI tools to accelerate analysis, data review, documentation, and design exploration.

Role Classification and Working Conditions

This is a salaried, exempt-level position. This position typically works in a production/assembly/engineering lab environment. 

Physical/Other Requirements

• Ability to lift and/or move up to 20 kg (44 pounds).
• Ability to work safely around strong permanent-magnet assemblies, high-voltage test equipment, and pressurized systems, following Hyliion safety procedures and PPE requirements.
• Ability to travel, as needed, by plane, automobile, etc., including regular travel to Hyliion’s Milford, Ohio facility and to supplier sites (estimated ~20%).

Direct Reports

This position has or may have direct reports.