Senior Electrical Engineer

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, Brain Gate, 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…