Senior Engineering Manager

About Mainspring

Mainspring Energy manufactures and delivers fuel-flexible, low-emissions local power solutions that rapidly add new capacity and deliver reliable, affordable, and sustainable electric power. The company began commercial shipments of its Mainspring Linear Generators in 2020 and today has hundreds of megawatts in advanced development and field operations for leading Fortune 500 companies, data centers, and utilities. Mainspring also partners with global energy leaders including AEP, NextEra Energy Resources, Schneider Electric, and more.

The core values that ground our work, guide our decisions, and connect us together:

• Pragmatic Optimism
• Excellence without Ego
• Proactive Collaboration

Job Overview

As a Senior Engineering Manager at Mainspring, you will lead a high-performing team in a fast-paced startup environment to build critical software that integrates our Linear Generators into global energy infrastructure. You will focus on building and enabling commercial-grade site control systems, ensuring seamless integration with Microgrids, Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), and utility-scale power plants. You will act as a bridge between complex software ecosystems including Cloud, Embedded, & Controls and the physical world of mechanical and electrical components. This role is ideal for a leader who thrives on shifting priorities and is eager to immerse themselves in deep technical sessions with multi-disciplinary partners to build the future of the net-zero carbon grid.

Key Responsibilities

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Lead the design and delivery of integrated software solutions, partnering closely with Controls, Cloud and hardware teams to ensure seamless system performance.
• Strong Execution Skills: Navigate a high-velocity environment by adjudicating technical trade-offs, driving delivery accountability, and maintaining focus to meet critical company milestones and product roadmaps while maintaining high technical rigor.
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Participate in deep-dive technical sessions with embedded and hardware engineering partners, fostering a culture of mutual learning and integrated design excellence.
• Product Partnership: Work hand in hand with Product Management to turn requirements into a clear, realistic delivery roadmap.
• Team Development: Recruit, mentor, and scale an engineering team capable of solving complex problems in the Industrial IoT, Energy or Utility sectors.
• Strategic Planning & Alignment: Lead the planning and alignment of software roadmaps, ensuring they are synchronized with broader business objectives.
• Executive Communication: Provide regular, concise updates to executive leadership regarding project status, roadmap milestones, and technical risks.

Qualifications

• Team Leadership: Proven track record of building and leading high-performing, multi-disciplinary teams of full-stack engineers. You have successfully mentored and scaled teams that manage the entire device-to-cloud lifecycle, ensuring robust, scalable, and secure connectivity between edge devices and backend systems.
• Management at Scale: Experience managing multiple scrum teams, including distributed or hybrid workforces across multiple timezones, with a focus on fostering communication and alignment in a complex, multi-site environment.
• Technical Breadth: Strong background in Embedded systems development, SCADA, HMI, industrial controllers (PLCs/PACs, IEC 61131 or IEC 61499), and industrial protocols like OPC-UA, Modbus, MQTT, and DNP3, with rigorous validation methodologies like Controller Hardware-in-the-Loop (CHIL/HIL) and effectively lead cross-functional planning discussions involving edge hardware to cloud software development. Experience in Python will be a plus.
• Industry Experience: Prior Experience working in Industrial IoT and Power Systems in Energy/Power/Utility industries, with a deep understanding of the unique challenges in these sectors.
• Startup Mentality: Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in fast-paced environments with shifting priorities and a focus on high-velocity delivery.
• Educational Background: Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Collaborative Mindset: A proactive desire to learn from and work with hardware disciplines (Mechanical/Electrical) to achieve holistic product goals.

Does your experience not meet all of our posted requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to positions unless they meet every listed requirement. At Mainspring, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, flexible, and collaborative environment, so if you want to help us transition the world to clean and affordable electricity, and don’t meet all posted requirements for a particular role, we’d still love to hear from you. Mainspring can sometimes be flexible enough to shift responsibilities for the right person, or otherwise identify open or upcoming roles that may better fit your professional background.

In more traditional words, Mainspring Energy, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

This compensation and benefits information is based on Mainspring Energy's estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future. We generally do not negotiate on salary once we have made an offer. The level of pay within the range will depend on a variety of job-related factors that may include location, relevant prior experience and/or education, or particular skills and expertise. New hires joining the company tend to be paid within the starting base pay range noted above, with opportunities to increase pay over time based on development of additional skills, competencies, and company-specific knowledge.

This position is onsite at our Menlo Park HQ. The salary will be adjusted to reflect local market conditions based on employee location as well as the experience of the employee. Along with base salary, Mainspring offers pre-IPO company equity through Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) + benefits.