Posted:
8/6/2026, 5:57:36 AM
Location(s):
California, United States ⋅ Redwood City, California, United States
Experience Level(s):
Junior ⋅ Mid Level ⋅ Senior
Field(s):
IT & Security
Workplace Type:
On-site
Pay:
$91k–$239k/yr
Power conversion is the bottleneck between the compute, energy, and mobility industries and the future they're trying to build. Most of the industry is still solving it with decades-old approaches. Tau is fixing that. We're a venture-backed hardtech company in Redwood City, building power conversion technology for data centers, EVs, and energy systems. Several products are already moving into production.
We hire people who own problems end-to-end: power electronics, embedded software, controls, test and validation, mechanical design. We solve from first principles, not legacy playbooks. We're past "promising technology." Customers are buying, volume is coming, and the people who join now set the standard everyone builds on after.
You think in systems, and you build for reality. You'd rather ship the simplest reliable answer to an engineering question than the most sophisticated one. You know the difference between complexity that earns its keep and complexity for its own sake.
You default to structure without needing to be told to. You see a recurring issue and build the fix that prevents it from recurring, not just the fix for today. You document because someone else needs to be able to run this without you in the room, not because you were asked to.
You have real judgment about risk. You know when "good enough" is actually good enough, and when it isn't, and you're comfortable being the person who says so even when it's inconvenient. High-voltage safety, interlocks, fault handling: you don't treat these as boxes to check, you treat them as the reason the job matters.
You want ownership over a domain that's core to how the whole engineering org performs, and you want to be measured on the capability you build, not just the hours you put in.
Solve customer problems, not engineering puzzles. Great technical work becomes exceptional when it creates reliable products, enables meaningful new capability, and solves real customer problems.
Think in systems. Understand how your work affects the complete product and the people who build it. Make tradeoffs that improve the whole, not just your direct area of ownership.
Exercise judgment. Apply the engineering rigor the risk requires. Make timely decisions with the available evidence, communicate uncertainty, and balance technical excellence with program needs.
Raise the standard. Deliver quality work on time, improve how the team works, and leave the products, systems, tools, and people around you better than you found them.
The lab is where every engineering claim gets checked against reality. If the data's untrustworthy, every downstream decision, design, program timeline, and customer commitment inherits that risk without anyone noticing until it's expensive.
This role owns that. You're responsible for the test infrastructure, the standards it runs on, and the judgment call on what's good enough to trust. You'll work across Mechanical, Power Electronics, Controls, Embedded Software, Manufacturing, and Program Management, and you'll have real authority to say a system isn't ready, a result isn't credible, or a process needs to change, and make that stick.
We want someone who biases toward structure: documented, repeatable, built to outlast any one person's memory of how it works. Not because process is the point, but because at 40-50 people and growing, tribal knowledge is a liability. At the same time, this isn't a role where you build the org chart and step back. You're in the lab. You're commissioning systems, debugging with the team at 6pm, mentoring technicians on measurement methods. Player-coach, not dictator. You set the standard by being good enough at the work that people want to follow suit, not standards by decree.
Because our success depends on collaboration, we expect new employees to work onsite five days a week to build strong working relationships with the team.
You'll likely have depth in some of these and working knowledge across most:
Three years developing, commissioning, or improving complex test systems. A bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics, Controls Engineering, or a closely related field, or equivalent demonstrated experience.
Relevant backgrounds: electric powertrains, dynamometers, aerospace test, automotive test, industrial automation, robotics, energy systems. Anywhere measurement quality and equipment reliability were treated as non-negotiable.
$91,000 - $239,000
Tau is committed to paying competitive compensation that is fair and equitable. Your experience, qualifications, training, critical skills, and/or business considerations determine your compensation. We also offer a comprehensive benefits package that may include an annual performance bonus, equity, and other incentive compensation plans considered part of Tau’s total compensation package. To learn more about our top-tier benefits, please visit www.taumotors.com. The level will depend on the candidate’s experience. Our ideal candidate exhibits a can-do attitude and approaches his or her work with vigor and determination. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate excellence in their respective fields and possess the ability to learn quickly within a fast-paced environment.
Website: https://www.taumotors.com/
Headquarter Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Employee Count: 1-10
Year Founded: 2017
IPO Status: Private
Industries: Automotive ⋅ Electric Vehicle ⋅ Manufacturing
Visa Sponsorship: Sponsors work visas