Employment Opportunities

Plug Power (www.plugpower.com)
Program Manager
Controls and Communication
Position Profile
 
Company Background:
Plug Power is recognized internationally as a market leader and the premier organization in the race to develop an economically viable fuel cell for both residential and non-stationary markets. Since its inception, Plug Power, Inc., a joint venture between Detroit Edison and Mechanical Technology Inc., has experienced dramatic growth and has attracted investment relationships with General Electric and The Southern California Gas Company. Plug recently pioneered the development of the first working PEM fuel cell unit to provide complete electricity requirements to a residential home. This development will undoubtedly reshape the electric utility industry and allow emerging countries to leapfrog into wireless distributed power generation. The technology could provide energy to over 25 million American households and has unlimited worldwide market potential for other fixed and portable applications.
 
Founded in June of 1997 with 22 employees and $9 million in funding, the company currently employs over 500 individuals at its offices near Albany, New York and anticipates continued exponential growth. With a solid research base and very clear business objectives this entrepreneurial organization has the ambition, agility and the financial and business resources to ensure success. In February 1999, GE Microgen, a joint venture company with GE, was created to market, sell, distribute and install all Plug Power branded residential and small business fuel cells worldwide.
 
Plug Power launched a highly successful Initial Public Offering on October 29, 1999 and trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol "PLUG". This well over subscribed offering was led by Goldman, Sachs & Co., and co-managed by Hambrecht & Quist LLC, Merrill Lynch & Co., and others.
 
Location:
Based in New York's Capital Region, Plug Power is located in an area that has continually received high marks for its quality of life and cost of living. Urban centers such as NYC, Boston and Montreal are 2-3 hours away and easily accessible. You will not have to travel far to find culture or the natural four-season beauty of the southern Adirondack Mountain region. The area offers unlimited sports and recreational activities and is home to numerous universities, entertainment facilities and shopping centers.
 
 
Position Overview:
The Program Manager of Controls and Communication will report to the Director of Component Design, Verification, and Reliability, and will be responsible for the overall development of control strategies, hardware development, software design, and implementation, verification and reliability. The ideal candidate will have an extensive understanding of control systems including embedded microprocessor technology. Experience managing supplier relationships is a key responsibility for this position.
 
The controls group is tasked with designing the circuit hardware and programming the software for an embedded control device for both the fuel processing and stack subassemblies. These two circuits will be combined into a single unit in Q4.
 
A critical component to this individuals success will be based on his/her abilities to communicate effectively and manage complex projects under tight timetables. The challenge facing this manager will be to drive discipline within the organization to finalize designs for the first generation product line while staying ahead of the next generation designs. This position presents the successful candidate with the opportunity to prove their capability as a driven manager who gets results through clear project definition, well articulated design approach, effective communication and high energy.
 
Responsibilities:
· Negotiate specifications for the control system that meet mission requirements, while delivering uncompromising safety and reliability, working with all subsystem teams to integrate their control requirements.
· Work closely with the team to produce high-level control designs, develop task lists, and project plans, and execute the designs through the team (present head count is 16).
· Direct the activities of both the hardware and software engineers in producing state of the art embedded control devises.
· Develop suppliers and manage relationships for the acquisition of hardware and selected software.
· Develop and execute verification testing.
· Prove reliability through electrical/thermal stress analyses, accelerated testing, and or combinations of calculation and test.
· Develop manufacturing readiness, including all packaging and cabling issues.
· Manage institutional recognition programs, including UL and government agencies.
· Recruit and develop staffing, as needed, maintain and improve laboratory facilities and perform other related duties as assigned.
 
 
Qualifications:
Our candidate of choice will have a demonstrated record of taking a product from design to implementation in a fast pace environment. He/she will have the self-confidence and poise to effectively interact with various suppliers to help drive designs to completion. He/she might be described as highly self directed, energetic and focused, yet motivated to create a healthy, vibrant and exciting team environment.
 
· BS Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or Computer Systems Engineering. MS preferred.
· Minimum 8 years experience in electronic control system development, with proven capability at the program management level. Experience designing hardware and writing code for embedded controls is preferred.
· Demonstrated ability to move projects from concept to high-volume manufacture.
 
 
 
Plug Power (www.plugpower.com)
Program Manager
Power Electronics
Position Profile
 
Position Overview:
The Program Manager of Power Electronics will report to the Director of Component Design, Verification, and Reliability, and will be responsible for leading a team of professionals toward identifying the optimum design for a power electronic subassemblies at Plug. Driving new designs through the design/build/test cycle and then implementing these designs seamlessly into the core product configuration are primary objectives. The ideal candidate will have extensive understanding of inverter design and topologies and experience managing teams through all phases of new product development.
 
The power electronics group is tasked with sourcing a subassembly that will essentially be a "black box" to the overall system and be capable of grid parallel and grid independent interconnection. The electronics must be designed to include internal and external control mechanisms that interface with other system components. The candidate must therefore have a complete understanding of the problems inherent in distributive generation and with power quality issues in general. Experience managing supplier relationships is a key responsibility.
 
The design of the power electronics subassembly is extremely customer focused. The output of this unit directly impacts customer satisfaction and drives the requirements for other subassemblies and is considered a crucial focal point for Plugs development efforts.
A critical component to this individuals success will be based on his/her abilities to communicate effectively and manage complex projects under tight timetables. The challenge facing this manager will be to drive discipline within the organization to finalize designs for the first generation product line while staying ahead of the next generation designs. This position presents the successful candidate with the opportunity to prove their capability as a successful manager who achieves results through clear project definition, well articulated design approach, effective communication and high energy.
 
 
Responsibilities:
· Manage the daily activities of a group of professionals (presently numbering 8) and assign appropriate project responsibilities.
· Define power conditioning system requirements and develop the appropriate specifications for all fuel cells in development. Identify deliverables and timelines and drive the development process to completion.
· Develop mutually beneficial long-term business relationships with suppliers and leverage these relationships to drive solutions.
· Coordinate all design/build/test activities within the group and manage acceptance testing to verify design quality and manufacturing readiness. Collaborate with other engineering functions and customers to instigate a clear path toward problem identification and resolution. Organize parallel activities to minimize duplication.
· Develop ancillary hardware and operating protocols necessary to integrate power-conditioning units into the full cell systems.
· Present engineering and progress reports to senior management for review and communicate changes in the mission direction to all concerned.
· Recruit and develop staffing as needed, maintain and improve laboratory facilities and perform other related duties as assigned.
 
 
Qualifications:
Our candidate of choice will have a demonstrated record of taking a product from design to implementation in a fast pace environment. He/she will have the self-confidence and poise to effectively interact with various suppliers to help drive designs to completion. He/she might be described as highly self directed, energetic and focused, yet motivated to create a healthy, vibrant and exciting team environment.
 
· BS Electrical Engineering. MS preferred. Concentration in Power Electronics or Electrical Power Engineering. MBA preferred but not necessary.
· Minimum 5 years of experience in Power Electronics, or related field such as power supply or motor drive development.
· Experience with DC to DC battery charging systems, electronic control circuits, circuit board design, cable interconnects, circuit breakers, microprocessors and power conditioning hardware.
· Previous leadership experience as project, programs, or work group leader.
· Demonstrated success using third part suppliers to develop key components.
 
Contact:
Capstone, Inc.
Four Global View, Troy NY 12180
Fax: (518)-285-7467
 
Denise Pritchard, Search Associate John O'Connell, Search Associate
518/285-7361 518/285-7038
denise.pritchard@mapinfo.com john.o'connell@mapinfo.com
 
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These positions are available in Orlando, Jacksonville Florida, Silicon Valley, and Salt Lake City, ParkerVision's Design Centers. E-mail your resume to grawlins@signaltechnologies.com or FAX 407-260-0004.
 
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Updated 07/01/2000