Development Technician

Development Technician

Tau is fixing the bottleneck in power conversion technology for data centers, EVs, and energy systems. We're a venture-backed hardtech company in Redwood City, building cutting-edge power conversion technology. 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. Customers are buying, volume is coming, and the people who join now set the standard everyone builds on after.

You genuinely like being useful in the moment something is needed, not after. You move between building, fixing, organizing, and troubleshooting without losing the thread on any of them. Context-switching doesn't drain you, it's part of what makes the job interesting.

You take pride in things being right: the torque spec followed, the bench wired cleanly, the inventory actually matching what's on the shelf. You raise the standard for the people around you, and you fix what's broken instead of waiting for it to be someone else's job.

You reprioritize when requirements shift, without losing momentum. Ambiguity about what's next doesn't bother you, and you enjoy finding the highest-leverage thing and doing it.

Innovation shows what's possible. Disciplined engineering creates products. Creative ideas matter only when they become reliable, manufacturable products that solve customer problems.

Think in systems. Optimize the product before the subsystem. Make tradeoffs that improve the complete system.

Engineering judgment matters. Apply the rigor the risk requires. Decide when enough evidence exists—and change course when better evidence emerges.

Design for reality. Design for manufacturing, validation, reliability, serviceability, safety, and cost from the beginning.

Raise the standard. Leave the products, engineering systems, and people around you better than you found them.

The best labs have someone everyone relies on, and almost nobody has to ask for. The bench is built before it's needed. The tool is where you left it. The fixture works the first time because someone thought it through in advance. That's this role.

You're not a support function bolted onto engineering; you're inside it. You'll build prototypes, build the benches and infrastructure engineers work on, keep the lab in a state where anyone can walk in and get to work, and support validation from setup through teardown. When five things need attention at once, that's a normal Tuesday, not a crisis.

No hand-off delays. No waiting on someone else to get the lab ready. You will not be measured by how busy you are, but by how much engineering moves faster because you're here.

• Build prototype powertrains, subassemblies, fixtures, and test benches from engineering intent
• Support first builds alongside engineers
• Catch assembly issues early and flag practical fixes, not just problems
• Capture build observations that make the next design better

• Prepare hardware for validation: instrumentation, wiring, plumbing, sensors, mechanical integration
• Support commissioning, debugging, and engineering investigations
• Operate lab equipment during development activities

• Keep the lab organized, clean, and safe as a default state, not a cleanup event
• Manage inventory, consumables, fixtures, and prototype materials
• Prepare equipment and work areas ahead of need
• Support purchasing, receiving, and material organization
• Find and fix the small workflow frictions that slow engineering down

• Maintain lab equipment and prototype hardware: routine maintenance, inspection, calibration, minor repair
• Catch equipment issues before they interrupt someone's build
• Improve equipment documentation and operating procedures

• Work directly with Mechanical, Electrical, Test Systems, Manufacturing, and Program Management
• Translate engineering intent into high-quality builds
• Communicate build issues, risks, and observations clearly and early