Senior Control Panel Designer

Location: Berkeley, CA or Weirton, WV

Work Arrangement: Onsite strongly preferred; remote work may be considered during the contract period. Must relocate to Berkeley, CA or Weirton, WV upon conversion to a permanent position.

Job Type: long term contract

Experience: 5+ years with a Bachelor’s degree or 3+ years with a Master’s degree

Industry: Battery Energy Storage Systems / Electrical Engineering / Power Systems

Job DescriptionAbout The Role Form Energy is seeking an experienced Senior Control Panel Designer to join its BMS Hardware & Electrical Systems team and support the development, validation, and deployment of next-generation battery energy storage systems.

This role will lead the end-to-end design of industrial control panels, including electrical schematics, panel layouts, wiring diagrams, power distribution architecture, component selection, and production release. The ideal candidate will have strong hands-on experience with EPLAN, industrial control panel design, UL 508A compliance, NEC standards, and high-voltage electrical systems.

The Senior Control Panel Designer will work closely with Electrical Engineering, PCB Design, Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, and Test teams to ensure safe, reliable, and manufacturable control panel solutions.

A key area of responsibility will be supporting the Auxiliary Management Unit (AMU), which interfaces with board-level electronics across Form Energy’s battery systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Industrial Control Panel Design
• Design and develop industrial control panels in compliance with UL 508A and NEC (NFPA 70) requirements.
• Create detailed electrical schematics, panel layouts, wiring diagrams, and interconnection drawings using EPLAN.
• Develop panel-level electrical architecture for battery energy storage and industrial power applications.
• Ensure designs meet electrical safety, reliability, manufacturability, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Electrical Power Distribution and Component Selection
• Design power distribution and control circuits for systems operating at voltages up to 600 VAC and 2000 VDC.
• Perform wire sizing, current calculations, branch circuit protection, and component coordination.
• Select and integrate electrical components, including circuit breakers, fuses, transformers, rectifiers, drives, connectors, wire harnesses, relays, and related hardware.
• Develop grounding, wiring, and protection strategies to support safe and reliable system operation.
• Controls Integration and System-Level Electrical Design
• Integrate control panels with PCB assemblies (PCBAs), sensors, control electronics, and system-level hardware.
• Support electrical interface design and integration for the Auxiliary Management Unit (AMU).
• Collaborate with electrical and systems engineers to resolve interface issues and ensure compatibility across subsystems.
• Support hardware integration, troubleshooting, and design improvements throughout the product development lifecycle.
• High-Voltage Testing and Validation
• Develop and execute electrical validation procedures for control panel assemblies.
• Support high-voltage testing, including hipot testing, insulation resistance testing, and functional validation.
• Ensure compliance with applicable electrical safety procedures during testing and commissioning.
• Investigate test failures, identify root causes, and implement corrective actions.
• Vendor Management and Manufacturing Support
• Coordinate with third-party control panel fabrication vendors to communicate design requirements and manufacturing specifications.
• Review vendor drawings, fabrication plans, wiring implementations, and assembly documentation.
• Support prototype builds, design reviews, factory acceptance testing, and production release.
• Resolve manufacturing and assembly issues while ensuring quality, cost-effectiveness, and design consistency.
• Reliability, Risk Assessment, and Continuous Improvement
• Participate in Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (DFMEA) and panel-level failure analysis.
• Identify potential electrical, thermal, and integration risks and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Support root-cause investigations and corrective and preventive actions.
• Improve panel designs for reliability, serviceability, safety, and ease of manufacturing.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Partner with Mechanic…