Test Automation Engineer - Hardware-in- Loop; HIL

Overview

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.

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.

Tau Motors seeks a Test Automation Engineer, Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) to build and scale our automated test infrastructure across software and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) environments. This role is critical to ensuring the quality and robustness of embedded software controlling next-generation electric propulsion systems.

You’ll work closely with firmware, controls, and hardware teams to design test strategies, develop automated test frameworks, and integrate validation into continuous integration pipelines.

• Design, develop, and maintain automated test frameworks for embedded software validation
• Build and operate hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test systems to validate real-time control software
• Develop test cases for motor control algorithms, power electronics, and safety-critical features
• Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines for continuous validation
• Define test strategies, coverage metrics, and validation plans across system, integration, and unit levels
• Debug complex issues spanning software, firmware, and hardware interfaces
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (controls, firmware, electrical, systems) to ensure testability and coverage
• Drive improvements in test infrastructure, tooling, and processes
• Support validation for safety and reliability standards (e.g., ISO 26262 concepts where applicable)

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related degree
• 3+ years of experience in test automation for embedded systems
• Strong programming skills (Python, C/C++, or similar)
• Experience with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing and real-time systems
• Familiarity with embedded software development and debugging
• Experience with lab equipment (oscilloscopes, power supplies, CAN tools, DAQs, etc.)
• Understanding of control systems, motor control, or power electronics is a strong plus
• Experience with CI/CD tools and automated test pipelines (Jenkins)

• Experience with automotive or safety-critical systems
• Familiarity with CAN, SPI, UART, and other embedded communication protocols
• Experience with simulation environments (MATLAB/Simulink, etc.)
• Exposure to ISO 26262 or similar safety frameworks
• Experience…