Senior Embedded Controls Engineer, Power Conversion

Tau is a venture-backed advanced technology company based in the Bay Area (Redwood City, CA). We design and develop next-generation products for electrification, constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation. The company was started because we believe the key to a more sustainable future requires modern power conversion systems to increase the security of the world's energy. We have pioneered technologies that leverage software-enabled hardware to provide industry-leading scale, economics, and efficiencies.

Our systems include innovations across electric machines, inverters, controllers, thermal management, simulation, and charging systems.

Tau's team of engineers, scientists, technologists, operators, and industry leaders continues to advance our internal technology roadmap while collaborating with commercial partners to deploy our existing products to market. They are relentlessly pursuing the creation of efficient power conversion systems for a more sustainable future. At our core, Tau is made of exceptionally talented and mission-aligned people. Developing complex electromechanical systems is an interdisciplinary challenge.

We want to expand our team with diverse engineering, scientific, and operational expertise.

About you

We are looking for people who aren't afraid to take on new challenges and are as passionate about energy and electrification as we are:

• You find significant challenges exciting and enjoy discovering and defining problems as much as solving them.
• You deliver. You may enjoy thoughtful conversations about problems and perfecting design, but ultimately, you know that delivering innovative, effective, and reliable solutions matters.
• You are a cross-disciplinary team member. You are excited to work with, learn from, and contribute to technology teams ranging from electromagnetics, power electronics, controls systems, mechanical, materials, software, computational physics, and beyond.

About The Role

Tau Motors seeks a highly skilled and experienced Embedded Controls Engineer to join our embedded software team. In this role, you will lead the design of control systems and embedded software development specifically for unique motor control and high-voltage power conversion systems. Your expertise will enhance our functional performance, safety, and reliability across various applications, including electric vehicles and renewable energy systems.

Collaborating with cross-functional teams, you will integrate critical capabilities and ensure high-voltage systems' safe and efficient operation. This role directly contributes to the success of Tau's innovative power electronics platform.
What you'll do

• Lead Control Systems Design and embedded software for motor control and high-voltage power conversion while maintaining high safety and reliability.
• Implement advanced control algorithms for multiple power conversion topologies, optimizing for system-level efficiency and performance.
• Write high-quality embedded code (C) and execute comprehensive testing plans for control algorithms, including unit tests and HIL simulations to validate system behavior.
• Implement functional safety considerations in your designs, including defining the functional safety goals and concepts for achieving ASIL and ISO 26262 compliance.
• Create revision and release control procedures to enable agile codebase development across growing teams, facilitating rapid iterations and enhancements with high code quality.
• Manage requirements and development backlogs, prioritizing and triaging new features and bug fixes in alignment with project goals and timelines.
• Partner with the validation team to establish and enhance Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) and Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) capabilities, enabling rapid development and validation of hardware and software functionalities
• Develop software verification plans for new intuitive, robust features that meet the highest quality standards.
• Be a technical leader guiding the team through development plans and skill development.
• Organize and triage issues to enable successful delivery of program goals and requirements.
• Define control system architectures that ensure quality execution and set best practices for documenting implementation control system architecture plans.

What you'll bring

• Demonstrated experience in architecting software and control systems design, particularly for motor control and power conversion applications.
• Proficiency in embedded programming, especially in C or C++, with a tight focus on timing requirements and peripheral synchronization like those found in power electronics control applications.
• Ability to design and plan system architectures cross-functionally.
• Comfort developing RTOS and bare metal solutions and implementing best practices and disciplines for software engineering.
• Hands-on experience designing and troubleshooting embedded hardware and complex systems, including distributed controls and communication.
• In-depth knowledge, hands-on experience, and application of functional…