Posted:
8/3/2026, 6:24:00 AM
Location(s):
California, United States ⋅ Redwood City, California, United States
Experience Level(s):
Junior ⋅ Mid Level ⋅ Senior
Field(s):
Mechanical Engineering
Workplace Type:
On-site
Pay:
$91k–$214k/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're practical, not precious about your own ideas. You'll defend a design decision with data, and drop it just as fast when better data shows up.
You understand that automotive standards aren't a formality. Qualification, reliability, and durability requirements exist because failure in the field is expensive and dangerous, and you treat them as real constraints, not checkboxes to satisfy on the way to the interesting part.
You communicate problems before they become surprises. If a program is off track, you say so immediately with enough details that someone can act on it. Silence is the failure mode here, not an honest "this is behind"
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.
This role is about taking mechanical designs to automotive-grade production. The bar is qualification: will this pass, will it hold up over the life of the vehicle, will it manufacture repeatably at volume. The schedule is real, and so are the consequences of missing it.
You'll understand the spec, including automotive qualification requirements, deliver against it, and say something the moment it's at risk. If a design won't hold up under vibration testing, or a supplier is slipping, we want to know at week one, not week six.
Good design and fast delivery aren't in tension here. We just don't reward cleverness that doesn't serve the spec. You'll have real input into design decisions and pushback rights when a spec seems wrong; this isn't execution-only. But if you'd rather defend your own solution than hit what the program actually needs, this isn't your seat.
We're open to a range of seniority, including someone who could eventually run the team. Seniority isn't the bar. Competence is: do you consistently deliver what you said you would, communicate clearly the moment you can't, and stay focused on what the program needs over what's interesting to you personally.
You'll likely have working knowledge of some mix of the following:
A bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related field, or equivalent demonstrated experience. Several years developing complex electromechanical, powertrain, rotating-machinery, or similarly demanding hardware, ideally including exposure to automotive qualification or production scaling.
Electric-machine or powertrain experience is a plus but not required. Strong backgrounds may also come from transmissions, aerospace, industrial machinery, energy systems, robotics, or any product where mechanical decisions carried real performance and reliability consequences.
$91,000 - $214,000
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