Principal Electrical Engineer
Helion Energy
Everett, WA · Posted November 2, 2026
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Where Everett, WA ranks
Where Everett, WA placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #1Best cities for energy and utilities pay after cost of living$186k · of 18
- #2Best cities for mid-career professionals in the Pacific Northwest61% · of 17
- #4Best cities for entry-level jobs that want AI skills in the Pacific Northwest4% · of 12
- #5Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Pacific Northwest19 jobs · of 8
- #7Cities where the biggest share of jobs do not need a four-year degree in the Pacific Northwest13% · of 12
- #7Best cities for software and engineering jobs in the Pacific Northwest80 openings · of 14
Rankings about engineering jobs
- Best cities for software and engineering jobs #1 San Francisco (3,412 openings)
- Best cities for engineering pay after cost of living #1 San Mateo ($216k)
- Most requested AI skills in engineering jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (6.1%)
- AI tools named most often in engineering jobs #1 Claude (1.7%)
- Employers with the most engineering jobs #1 Amazon (2,992 roles)
Pay compared with the market
This listing does not state pay. Across 101 open principal electrical engineer listings that state pay, the middle half runs $156,000 to $197,500 and the median is $175,000.
Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.
Principal Electrical Engineer salaries by state · Check your own pay
How AI is used in this kind of work
AI use among electrical engineers is little observed so far. Measured exposure for electrical engineers: 6% (little observed).
Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.
About the job
About Helion
We are a fusion power company based in Everett, WA, with the mission to build the world's first fusion power plant, enabling a future with unlimited clean electricity. Our vision is a world with clean, reliable, and affordable energy for everyone.
Since Helion's founding in 2013, we have raised $1.5 billion from long-time investors such as Sam Altman, Mithril, and Capricorn Investment Group as well as new investors including Thrive Capital, LightSpeed Venture Capital, SoftBank, and others to propel us forward. Our current prototype, Polaris, has reached record-breaking plasma temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius (13 keV). Helion is continuing to iterate and on the path to the world's first fusion power plant, Orion.
This is a pivotal time to join Helion. You will tackle real-world challenges with a team that prizes urgency, rigor, ownership, and a commitment to delivering hard truths – values essential to achieving what no one has before. Together, we will change the future of energy, because the world can't wait.
WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS
Fusion happens in the power electronics, and at the frontier of what Helion is building, the hardest problems don't have textbook answers. As a Principal Power Electronics Engineer, you'll own those problems — the highest-risk, least-defined pulsed-power and power-conversion challenges the program faces — and set the technical direction that the rest of the electrical organization builds on. Your judgment will shape the architecture that determines whether Polaris and Orion can put fusion electricity on the grid, and your depth will raise the whole team's ceiling.
WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING
- Own the most complex, ambiguous, high-impact power electronics problems across pulsed power, power conversion, and the control and protection of high-energy systems.
- Set technical direction and standards for the electrical organization — architectures, design methods, and the "golden standard" for how demanding hardware gets built and validated.
- Generate and negotiate requirements at the org and program level, and use schedule and technical risk to shape the broader roadmap toward Orion and mass production.
- Be the go-to technical authority in one or more core areas (pulsed power, high-voltage design, power conversion, device application), and the person others bring their hardest problems to.
- Multiply the team: mentor senior engineers, lead the hardest design reviews, and influence senior leadership on where the real technical risks are.
REQUIRED SKILLS
- A degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field, or equivalent experience, with extensive (typically 12+ years) power electronics design experience.
- Recognized depth in one or more core areas — pulsed power, high-voltage design, power conversion, magnetics, or high-power device application.
- A track record owning complex, under-defined electrical systems end-to-end and setting technical direction that others follow.
- Deep experience with high-voltage or pulsed-power systems, or with comparable high-energy power electronics (for example, utility-scale, traction, aerospace, or defense power systems).
- The ability to influence senior leadership on technical and schedule risk, and a demonstrated record of mentoring and elevating experienced engineers.
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Benefits
Our total compensation package includes benefits, including but not limited to:
- Medical, Dental, and Vision plans for employees and their families
- 31 Days of PTO (21 vacation days and 10 sick days)
- 10 Paid holidays, plus company-wide winter break
- Up to 5% employer 401(k) match
- Short term disability, long term disability, and life insurance
- Paid parental leave and support (up to 16 weeks)
- Annual wellness stipend
Helion is an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the interview process, please let us know.