Mechanical Engineer

About Tau 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.

Who you are

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 detail that someone can act on it. Silence is the failure mode here, not an honest "this is behind."

Our Engineering Approach

Innovation shows what's possible. Disciplined engineering creates products. Creative ideas matter only when they become reliable, manufacturable products that solve customer problems.

Think in systems. Optimize the product before the subsystem. Make tradeoffs that improve the complete system.

Engineering judgment matters. Apply the rigor the risk requires. Decide when enough evidence exists—and change course when better evidence emerges.

Design for reality. Design for manufacturing, validation, reliability, serviceability, safety, and cost from the beginning.

Raise the standard. Leave the products, engineering systems, and people around you better than you found them.

About the role

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.

Areas of ownership

Mechanical design

Lead mechanical integration of electric machines and powertrain hardware: rotors, stators, housings, shafts, bearings, cooling systems, structures, enclosures, interfaces

Weigh in on design decisions and specs, not just execute against them

Produce clear models, drawings, and specifications that others can build from without guessing

Analysis and validation

Own DVP/DVP&R that connects requirements, including automotive qualification requirements, to actual evidence

Run or guide structural, thermal, fatigue, and tolerance analysis at the depth the risk actually requires

Contribute to DFMEA and design reviews

Correlate analysis against physical test results

Production scaling

Take designs from prototype toward automotive-grade production: repeatable, qualifiable, manufacturable at volume

Apply DFM and DFA throughout, not as a final check

Produce complete drawings and manufacturing requirements with correct GD&T and tolerancing

Work with suppliers and manufacturing to resolve quality, cost, and assembly issues at production scale

Cross-functional work

Work with Electric Machine Design, Power Electronics, Embedded Software, Controls, Test Systems, Manufacturing, and Program Management

Communicate requirements, risks, and status without being asked

Make tradeoffs and decisions visible to the people who need to know, and explain prioritization in terms of what the program actually needs

Technical foundation

You'll likely have working knowledge of some mix of the following:

Mechanical design of complex electromechanical systems

CAD, engineering drawings, design documentation

GD&T and tolerance-stack analysis

First-principles analysis and FEA

Rotor dynamics, fatigue, or thermal analysis

DVP/DVP&R and validation

Automotive qualification standards (AEC-Q, ISO 16750, or similar)

DFMEA or equivalent risk assessment

DFM, DFA, and common manufacturing processes at volume

Root-cause analysis and structured problem solving

Experience

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.

What success looks like in year one

You've moved at least one design meaningfully closer to automotive-grade production, on schedule, with limited avoidable rework

When something was at risk, you flagged it early enough that it wasn't a surprise

Your team trusts your prioritization because you can explain it in terms of what the program actually needs

The programs you've touched are measurably better off for it

Compensation and Benefits

US Salary Information

$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.

Perks

Become part of an emerging company during a rapid growth phase—within an industry undergoing dramatic transformation for a global imperative.

Work with some of the smartest and most talented experts from different fields to: (1) attack some of the most pressing issues of today while (2) contributing to technically demanding and deeply innovative solutions.

Growth potential—we advance team members who have an outsized impact.

Competitive compensation based upon experience level, including stock options—we believe in capturing value in the future we create together.

Flexible time off and paid holidays.

Centrally located in the Bay Area on the Peninsula in vibrant downtown Redwood City

Blocks from the Caltrain

Walking distance to food and entertainment

Easy access to both the 101 and 280

Excellent medical, dental, vision & life insurance

Comprehensive benefits including 401(k), HSA and FSA benefits, commuter benefits and more

Equal Opportunity Employer

Tau is an equal opportunity employer that guarantees a work environment that respects and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

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