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, BrainGate, 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 insurance

• Company size: 20-30 people

• Unlimited PTO

• Visa sponsorship

• 4% 401k matching