Chief Engineer Principal Engineer

This job is posted on behalf of Atlanta Executive Search, LLC. by Top Echelon.

Chief Engineer/Principal Engineer

High Voltage and EV Battery Systems

This is a hands-on Principal Engineer or Chief Engineer who brings production-proven EV battery and high-voltage experience from automotive, powersports, or motorsport and applies it to high-performance applications in our industry.

The person will own the full energy and system (pack architecture, BMS, thermal, high-voltage distribution, and motor/inverter integration) from concept through validation, certification, and production.

The successful candidate will do the design work and build the engineering standards our client scales on.

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Battery systems

· Pack architecture: cell selection (chemistry, format, supplier), module and pack design, voltage and capacity sizing.

· Mechanical design for specific conditions: sealing (IP67/IP68 or better), shock and vibration from wave slamming, corrosion resistance, and mounting in a carbon structure.

· Thermal management, including liquid cooling and heat rejection to raw water or closed-loop systems.

· Safety: thermal-runaway propagation mitigation, venting, fire detection and suppression, isolation monitoring, and emergency disconnect.

BMS and high voltage

· BMS selection or development: state-of-charge and state-of-health estimation, balancing, fault handling, and CAN integration with helm and propulsion controls.

· High-voltage architecture: contactors, pre-charge, fusing, HV interlock loop, isolation, grounding/bonding, and galvanic protection in a saltwater environment.

· Charging strategy: DC fast charge, and onboard charger integration.

Must-have

· 10+ years in battery or high-voltage systems engineering, with at least one EV, powersports, marine, or defense battery program taken from concept to production.

· Prior Chief, Principal, Lead, or Head of HV Battery title, or equivalent end-to-end ownership of a full pack.

· Deep hands-on knowledge across pack mechanical, thermal, electrical, and BMS; can personally run calculations, review CAD, read schematics, and debug on the bench.

· Experience with high-power, high-C-rate duty cycles (performance EV, motorsport, powersports, aviation, or defense).

· Comfortable in a small-company environment: hands-on, resourceful, works directly with suppliers and technicians.

· Willing to be on-site.

· U.S. citizen or permanent resident (needed for defense work under ITAR/export controls; no visa sponsorship).

Strongly preferred

· Experience with functional safety (ISO 26262 or similar) and certification testing.

· Experience with lightweight structural integration (carbon or composite enclosures, structural packs).

· Supplier-side experience with cell makers or BMS vendors.

· Ability to obtain a security clearance.