--- title: 'Senior/Staff Automation Controls Engineer at Heron Power' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-staff-automation-controls-engineer-heron-power-scotts-valley-x136v893cm16' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-11-07' --- # Senior/Staff Automation Controls Engineer at Heron Power - **Company:** Heron Power - **Location:** Scotts Valley, CA - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-11-05 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-07 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/heron-power/b046bfcf-666d-4359-ab6d-381ff46ede48 ## Job description What to Expect Heron Power is a startup company building cutting-edge power electronics for the 21st-century grid. We aim to debottleneck the growth of electricity generation and consumption with scalable, innovative, and less costly hardware solutions, accelerating the electrification of everything. Our first goal is to build better converters (inverters & rectifiers) to connect large-scale renewables, storage, and loads to the grid. Heron Power’s leadership team is made up of seasoned veterans who have designed and shipped gigawatts of power conversion products over the past decade. We understand that no one individual knows everything. We will all learn a lot together and from each other. We strive to build a collaborative, enriching environment conducive to personal, technical, and career growth. You can expect to work in a dynamic and collaborative environment, driven by first principles engineering, solving difficult problems. Job Overview At Heron Power, we are building the future of scalable power electronics. Our mission is to enable high-volume, capital-efficient manufacturing of advanced energy systems. We believe that robust automation and controls are foundational to achieving this vision. As an Automation Controls Engineer, you will take full ownership of the control systems that power our custom manufacturing equipment. You will define the controls architecture, set the technical trajectory, and ensure our systems deliver precision, reliability, and throughput at scale. This is a hands-on role for someone who holds a high standard for automation performance and safety and is motivated by the challenge of building control systems that are robust, maintainable, and built to last. ## How You Will Contribute - Define controls architecture for Heron Power’s factories, including platforms, devices, safety systems, and communication protocols - Lead virtual commissioning efforts to simulate, test, and validate controls logic prior to deployment - Design, program, and commission in-house control systems for custom manufacturing equipment - Write clean, scalable, and maintainable control code for long-term flexibility and reuse - Set up industrial robots, including programming, safety zoning, and cycle optimization - Conduct risk assessments and hazard analyses to identify potential safety issues and develop mitigation strategies for new and existing automation cells - Troubleshoot controls-related issues and drive resolution on the production floor - Manage supplier controls performance, ensuring alignment with system requirements, quality standards, and safety expectations - Identify and mitigate risks, including compliance gaps, integration challenges, and long-term maintainability ## What You Will Bring We have a short list of must-have requirements. We prioritize a strong grip on first principles, hands-on skills, and a sense of initiative. Domain-specific knowledge and experience will help determine the career level for each hire. Must-Have Requirements - Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Controls Engineering, or a related field. - 7+ years of experience in industrial automation, with a focus on safety systems and controls engineering. - Expert-level proficiency in PLC programming across multiple platforms, specifically: - Siemens TIA Portal - Strong command of programming languages: - Ladder Logic - Structured Text - SFC/GRAPH - Extensive experience with 6-axis robots, gantry systems, and inspection methods - Subject matter expert in evolving safety standards and technologies - Deep experience with risk assessments and functional safety validation - Experience with high volume manufacturing process equipment such as fastening, dispensing, thermal processes, laser welding, material handling, and inspection systems - Willingness to work in a hands-on role - Excellent communication and interpersonal skills - Ability to work independently and as part of a team - Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail Nice-to-Haves - Beckhoff TwinCAT - Functional safety certification - Deep expertise in vision inspection systems - Experience with electrical design follow UL508 NPFA79 - Fanuc robot programming - Established strategic relationships with equipment suppliers across power electronics, battery pack, drive unit, general assembly, and other high-volume, high-tech manufacturing domains If you are passionate about technology and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment, we would love to hear from you. Join us in accelerating the electrification of everything at Heron Power. Heron Power provides competitive compensation (salary and equity) and benefits. The salary for this role ranges from $150,000 to $201,000 per year. ## About Heron Power ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Heron Power develops next-generation medium-voltage power electronics, including solid-state transformers, to modernize the electrical grid for AI data centers, renewable energy, and surging electricity demand. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series B) - **Headquarters**: Scotts Valley, California, United States - **Founded**: 2024 - **Founders**: Drew Baglino ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution; Industrial Power Electronics; Energy Infrastructure - **Target customers**: B2B — hyperscale data center operators, solar and storage developers, utility-scale energy project developers, and the broader electricity sector. - **Mission or purpose statement**: To build power electronics purpose-built for the 21st-century grid, helping the electricity sector grow faster and more affordably with scalable, reliable, and software-integrated infrastructure. ## Products & Services - **Heron Link for Data Centers**: An integrated solid-state transformer + SuperBBU (battery backup unit) solution purpose-built for AI and hyperscale power needs, enabling more efficient, scalable, and reliable power delivery. - **Heron Link for Solar & Storage**: An integrated solid-state transformer and inverter in one infinitely scalable platform, designed to streamline the connection of renewable generation and battery storage to the grid. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed. - **Key Metric**: Total Funding of **$178 million** across two rounds (Series A: $38M led by Capricorn Investment Group in June 2025; Series B: $140M led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz in February 2026). - **Notable Investors/Partners**: - **Investors**: Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz (American Dynamism Fund), Capricorn Investment Group, Gigascale Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Energy Impact Partners, Powerhouse. - **Advisors**: JB Straubel (Tesla Co-Founder), Zach Kirkhorn (Former Tesla CFO). - **Strategic Partner**: LG Energy Solution Vertech (collaboration to integrate Heron Link with U.S.-manufactured battery energy storage systems). - **Growth Signals**: - Headcount has grown **975% year-over-year** to 72 employees, with 58 active job postings. - Awarded **$26.375 million** in tax credit incentives from the state of California to build a 40-gigawatt manufacturing facility and create 600+ advanced manufacturing jobs. - Rapidly scaling from engineering prototypes to early customer deployments with major industry partners. ## Competitive Advantages - **Deep technical moat**: Heron’s core technology is an integrated solid-state transformer (SST) — a fundamental re-architecture of medium-voltage power electronics that is more scalable, software-integrated, and efficient than traditional copper-and-iron transformers. - **Founder pedigree**: CEO Drew Baglino was a 18-year veteran and SVP of Powertrain and Energy at Tesla, where he led development of the 4680 battery cell, Megapack, and built multi-billion-dollar energy and charging businesses. - **Strategic backing**: Backed by a world-class syndicate of climate-tech and deep-tech investors (Breakthrough Energy, a16z, Valor) and advised by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel and former Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn. - **Manufacturing-first approach**: Already planning a 40 GW U.S. manufacturing facility with state incentives secured, signaling a focus on high-volume, cost-competitive production from the start. ## Strategic Focus - **Scale manufacturing**: Building out a large-scale U.S. factory to meet demand from AI data centers and renewable energy projects. - **Commercial deployment**: Moving from engineering prototypes to delivering integrated solutions with strategic partners like LG Energy Solution Vertech. - **Debottleneck the grid**: Targeting the critical infrastructure bottleneck where traditional transformers and grid equipment cannot keep pace with surging electricity demand from AI, electrification, and renewables. ## Why Work Here - **High-impact mission**: Work on foundational hardware that directly enables the energy transition and AI infrastructure — systems that will be deployed and operated for decades. - **Engineering culture**: Values rapid iteration ("build, test, learn"), first-principles reasoning, and cross-functional collaboration across hardware, software, manufacturing, and operations. - **Ownership and autonomy**: Strong emphasis on taking accountability for outcomes, not just tasks, and working across team boundaries to deliver an impeccable product. - **Transparent and direct**: Culture prizes clear communication, honest feedback, and progress over posturing — "no defensiveness, no ego." - **Location and flexibility**: Based in Scotts Valley, California (near Santa Cruz/Silicon Valley), with a presence in Canada. The work is highly hands-on (hardware, lab, factory), so on-site presence is expected for engineering roles. - **Growth trajectory**: Explosive headcount growth (975% YoY) and 58 open roles across electrical, mechanical, manufacturing, software, and supply chain disciplines — offering significant career acceleration for early hires. - **Notable perks**: Opportunity to work alongside a team with deep expertise from Tesla, Meta, and KKR, with direct mentorship from a proven founder. ## Sources 1. [heronpower.com](https://heronpower.com/) 2. [heronpower.com/about](https://heronpower.com/about) 3. [heronpower.com/careers](https://heronpower.com/careers) 4. [linkedin.com/company/heron-power-electronics](https://www.linkedin.com/company/heron-power-electronics) 5. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/heron-power](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/heron-power) ## Other roles at Heron Power - [Material Planner](https://feeny.ai/job/material-planner-heron-power-scotts-valley-xr8q6af4zz5x) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Logistics Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/logistics-manager-heron-power-scotts-valley-tkxfm3nypady) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Power Electronics Controls Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/power-electronics-controls-engineer-heron-power-scotts-valley-6dq80q3tn0wg) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Senior/Staff Embedded Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-staff-embedded-software-engineer-heron-power-scotts-valley-cd7y4mazz2nf) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Senior/Staff Hardware Design Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-staff-hardware-design-engineer-heron-power-scotts-valley-tqn8rrmhpfp7) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Hardware Applications Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/hardware-applications-engineer-heron-power-scotts-valley-kfxvw2cs0bwy) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Product Test Engineer, Energy Storage Applications](https://feeny.ai/job/product-test-engineer-energy-storage-applications-heron-power-scotts-valley-jpvdhkdth144) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Power Electronics Test & Validation Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/power-electronics-test-validation-engineer-heron-power-scotts-valley-nmstx1yamf2z) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Systems Integration Engineer, SST & BESS Applications](https://feeny.ai/job/systems-integration-engineer-sst-bess-applications-heron-power-scotts-valley-vgbkn6jhna14) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Senior/Staff Hardware Applications Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-staff-hardware-applications-engineer-heron-power-scotts-valley-j87zqh31qfc9) — Scotts Valley, CA