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
Compensation Range: $150K - $200K