Senior Electrical Engineer

Tacit

  • San Francisco, California
  • 30+ days ago

    Highlights

    As a key member of our growing hardware team, you will own major portions of the electrical system from early architecture through production and play a critical role in bringing complex consumer electronics to life. Design high-density, multi-layer PCBAs using HDI techniques, fine-pitch BGAs, and controlled-impedance routing.

    Numbers & Facts

    LocationSan Francisco, California
    Websitehttps://tacit.ai/

    Description

    About Tacit

    We are an early-stage, deep tech startup based in San Francisco, developing innovative hardware that rethinks human-computer interaction. We are backed by General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, and Greylock Partners, with a founding team from Stanford, BrainGate, Oculus, and Tesla. While we can’t reveal too much just yet, our team is tackling cutting-edge engineering challenges to bring revolutionary products to life.

    About the role

    We’re looking for a Senior Electrical Engineer to help architect, design, and ship next-generation neurotech hardware products. As a key member of our growing hardware team, you will own major portions of the electrical system from early architecture through production and play a critical role in bringing complex consumer electronics to life.


    What you'll do

    • Electrical System Architecture & Product Development

      • Lead electrical architecture and board-level design for mixed-signal consumer hardware systems from concept through production.

      • Own schematic design and guide development through EVT, DVT, PVT, and mass production.

      • Define system partitioning, interfaces, and component selection across compute, sensors, connectivity, and power subsystems.

      • Drive rigorous design reviews and help establish strong electrical design and manufacturing standards.

      • Collaborate closely with mechanical, firmware, and software teams to optimize performance, size, thermal behavior, and reliability.

      • Operate effectively in a startup environment where engineers own large portions of the hardware stack.

    • High-Speed & High-Density Hardware Design

      • Design high-density, multi-layer PCBAs using HDI techniques, fine-pitch BGAs, and controlled-impedance routing.

      • Implement high-speed digital interfaces such as USB, Quad-SPI, MIPI, CSI/DSI, DDR, or similar buses.

      • Design analog and mixed-signal circuits including amplifiers, filters, sensor interfaces, and ADC/DAC connections.

      • Optimize PCB layout for signal integrity, power integrity, and low-noise performance.

    • Power Electronics & Battery Systems

      • Define system-level power architecture for battery-powered consumer and wearable devices.

      • Design and integrate high-efficiency DC-DC converters (buck, boost, and related architectures).

      • Optimize power consumption, battery runtime, and quiescent current across active and standby modes.

      • Design and integrate battery charging and power management solutions for Li-ion/Li-poly systems.

      • Consider thermal constraints and power density in compact or sealed wearable devices.

    • Validation, Bring-Up & Debug

      • Lead board bring-up and electrical debugging across analog, digital, and power domains.

      • Use advanced lab instrumentation including oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, spectrum analyzers, and high-speed probes.

      • Define and execute validation plans including signal integrity, power integrity, and environmental testing.

      • Perform root-cause analysis and resolve hardware issues discovered during development or production.

    • Manufacturing & Production (DFM / DFT)

      • Design hardware with strong Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Test (DFT) principles.

      • Support EVT, DVT, and PVT builds and ramp hardware to mass production.

      • Work with contract manufacturers and suppliers to resolve manufacturing and yield issues.

      • Develop or support manufacturing test infrastructure, including programming, calibration, and test fixtures.

    Requirements

    • 5+ years of experience in electrical or hardware engineering.

    • Experience shipping at least one consumer electronics product, preferably compact or wearable devices..

    • Strong experience designing high-density, multi-layer PCBs with controlled impedance and fine-pitch components.

    • Solid understanding of analog and mixed-signal circuit design.

    • Experience implementing system power architecture for battery-powered products.

    • Experience designing or integrating DC-DC converters and power management circuits.

    • Experience with high-speed interfaces such as USB, Quad-SPI, MIPI, DDR, or similar.

    • Strong hands-on experience with board bring-up, debugging, and lab validation.

    • Understanding of signal integrity and power integrity in high-density electronic systems.

    • Experience working cross-functionally in fast-paced product development environments.

    Strong candidates may have

    • Experience designing wearable or body-worn devices with tight power, size, and thermal constraints.

    • Strong experience with Altium Designer or equivalent PCB tools.

    • Experience supporting EVT, DVT, and PVT builds and ramping hardware to mass production.

    • Experience designing manufacturing test fixtures or automated test systems.

    • Familiarity with thermal analysis for compact electronics.

    • Experience with embedded firmware development (C/C++).

    • Experience with Python for lab automation or instrumentation control.

    • Familiarity with EMI/EMC pre-compliance testing and mitigation.

    • Deeper power electronics experience including converter loss analysis and control loop analysis and compensation design

    Compensation Range

    $150,000 - $200,000/year


    Benefits

    • Competitive equity package

    • Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance

    • Company size: 20-30 people

    • Unlimited PTO

    • Visa sponsorship

    • 4% 401k matching

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