Senior/Staff Power Electronics Engineer, Power Conversion
Job Description
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.
About the Role
We seek an experienced and highly accomplished Senior/Staff Power Electronics Engineer to join our innovative team at Tau Motors. In this crucial role, you will spearhead the design, development, and implementation of cutting-edge power electronics systems for next-generation electric vehicles and energy storage solutions. As a critical member of our power electronics team, you will drive the modeling, architecture, and validation of advanced power converter topologies, contributing significantly to Tau's technology roadmap and product offerings.
Our Engineering Approach
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.
What You'll Do
Technical Expertise
- Extensive knowledge and hands-on experience in power electronics topologies, semiconductor devices (Si/SiC/GaN), gate driving circuits, and protection circuit design.
- Deep understanding of switching waveforms, semiconductor losses, and proven experience in loss modeling and optimization techniques.
- Comprehensive expertise in device characteristics, gate driving circuit design, thermal design, topologies, modulation schemes, and control strategies for high- and low-voltage power converters.
- Strong proficiency in analog design, digital design, mixed-signal design (ADCs/DACs),and their integration into control system design.
- Solid theoretical and practical understanding of the design and application of magnetics (inductors, transformers) and capacitors (electrolytic, film, ceramic) used in power conversion systems.
Design and Development
- Proven experience in schematic capture and power converter circuit simulation tools, with the ability to analyze and optimize complex designs.
- Expertise in designing analog/digital circuits and microprocessor implementations tailored for power converter control applications.
- Comprehensive knowledge of PCB layout techniques for minimizing stray inductance and capacitance, optimizing component placement for manufacturability, defining power/signal planes, and ensuring EMC compliance.
- Proficiency in hands-on EE tools such as oscilloscopes, network analyzers, signal generators, and other diagnostic equipment for testing and validation.
Power Converter Design and Development
- Lead the end-to-end design and development of power electronics converters for automotive and energy storage applications, from specification to prototyping, validation, and high-volume manufacturing.
Cross-Functional Collaboration and Mentorship
- Collaborate with and mentor cross-functional teams, including mechanical, PCB layout, and firmware engineers, to ensure successful design, validation, and manufacturing of power converters.
Topological Modeling and Intellectual Property
- Architect and model new power converter topologies to achieve superior performance, advancing Tau's intellectual property in power electronic systems.
- Analysis, Simulation, and Benchmarking
- Conduct in-depth analysis, simulation, and benchmarking of power electronics designs, leveraging tools such as PLECS, PSCAD/EMTDC, MATLAB/Simulink, and dSPACE.
Modulation and Control Strategies
- Drive the implementation of advanced modulation techniques and control strategies for highly efficient and robust power converter designs.
*:first-child]:mt-0 [&_>*:last-child]:mb-0"> What You'll Bring
- 5 + years relevant industry experience in power electronics, preferably automotive or EV charging systems.
- Hands-on experience designing Onboard Chargers (OBC), bidirectional chargers, or high-voltage power conversion, including isolation topologies, PFC stages, and DC/DC conversion stages.
- Familiarity with AC/DC, DC/DC, and DC/AC applications and control of variable frequency converters.
- Strong understanding of power electronics topologies.
- Experience with high voltage power semiconductor selection (Si/SiC/GaN MOSFETs,Diodes), gate drive, and protection circuit design.
- Strong understanding of switching waveforms, semiconductor losses, and experience with loss modeling.
- System understanding of device characteristics, gate driving circuit design, thermal design, topologies, modulation schemes, and control strategies in high- and low-voltage power converters.
- Familiar with tools such as PLECS, PSCAD/EMTDC, MATLAB/Simulink, dSPACE.
- Experience with advanced modulation approaches for achieving highly efficient power electronic converter designs.
- Experience designing large state machines for complex power converter implementations.
- Familiar with analog design, digital design, mixed-signal design (ADCs/DACs), and their use in control design.
- Solid understanding of the theory and application of magnetics (inductors, transformers) and capacitors (electrolytic, film, and ceramic) used for power conversion.
- Good experience with designing analog/digital circuits and microprocessors.
Desired Skills
- Masters or PhD degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, mechatronic engineering, or equivalent degree with a focus on power electronics.
- Awareness of UL and CE electrical safety requirements and EMC requirements relevant to the design of power converters.
- Knowledge of environmental, reliability, and safety requirements for Automotive, Industrial, & Residential applications.
- Proven ability to design systems that are resilient to faults and error.
US Salary Information
$120,000.00 - $210,000.00
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.