Lead Hardware Engineer

TAR; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

TAR is building scalable, off-grid energy infrastructure for AI data centers. The Lead Hardware Engineer will own mechanical, electrical, and systems design of a core robotics subsystem, splitting time between the San Francisco robotics facility and West Texas field trips.

You will lead a small hardware team from prototype through field-hardened production. Join a fast-paced, venture-backed hardware startup focused on GW-scale power delivery, with ownership and end-to-end project responsibility.

Qualifications

• 5–7 years of hardware engineering experience with leading a small team or technical lead role.
• Experience taking a hardware subsystem from prototype to production, with contract manufacturers or suppliers.
• Strong grounding in mechatronics, mechanical engineering, motion control, or rugged field hardware.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical design and execution roadmap for a robotics subsystem.
• Lead day-to-day direction for a small team of engineers and mentor teammates.
• Move subsystem from prototype to higher-volume production with manufacturing partners.
• Make system architecture decisions for mechanical, electrical, controls, and sensors.
• Manage BOM and supplier relationships to reduce costs while ensuring reliability.
• Spend time at the field site to close feedback loops on failures and fixes.
• Collaborate with Head of Hardware on hiring and roadmaps without owning org-wide strategy.

Skills

Hardware engineering

Mechatronics

Mechanical engineering

Motion control

Ruggedized systems

BOM management

Team leadership

Job description

TAR builds the energy infrastructure America needs. Explore our open roles below.

Lead Hardware Engineer

Employment Type

Full time

Location Type

On-site

Department

Engineering Hardware Engineering

Mission

TAR's mission is to power intelligence for the world. We are building the world's first off-grid power plant for data centers powered by renewable technologies.

We firmly believe AI should be built in the US for the benefit of all people. For that, power must be fast, clean and scalable. We are singularly focused on delivering GW-scale power faster than anyone has ever done, by rethinking every layer of the stack.

We vertically integrate to solve every bottleneck, from racking systems to power electronics to dispatch algorithms to on-site construction.

Leave your mark on the future of civilization-scale energy infrastructure.

Company

TAR is both a hardware and software company, we are building out massive, critical, physical infrastructure. TAR is working directly with one of the largest compute providers to scale and deploy 5GWs by 2028.

High ownership. High Agency. Own project end-to-end. Great people don't need to be managed.

Speed. We achieve great things on incredible timelines. We push ourselves to go faster.

First principles. No ego. No hierarchy. Challenge every assumption.

Passion. Solving the energy problem is one of the largest challenges that faces the world now and in the future.

About the role: TAR builds fully islanded solar and storage campuses that deliver clean, firm power directly to AI data centers, with no grid connection and no gas. At GW scale the binding constraint is how fast a crew can put steel in the ground, so TAR builds its own racking system and the robots that install it. As Lead Hardware Engineer, you own the mechanical, electrical, and systems design of a core robotics subsystem — from prototype through field-hardened production — and act as the technical lead for a small team of hardware engineers. You report into the Head of Hardware and work hands-on, splitting time between the San Francisco robotics facility and regular field trips to the West Texas site.

Responsibilities:

Own the technical design and execution roadmap for a defined robotics subsystem (e.g., pile-driving, racking placement, or earth-moving mechanisms), translating org-level priorities into concrete engineering plans.

Lead day-to-day technical direction for a small team of mechanical, electrical, and systems engineers, reviewing designs and mentoring less experienced engineers.

Drive your subsystem from low-volume prototype builds toward reliable, higher-volume production, working directly with manufacturing and supply chain partners.

Make system architecture decisions within your subsystem: mechanical, electrical, controls, and sensor integration; that hold up under dust, heat, and vibration in the field.

Manage BOM and supplier relationships for your subsystem, balancing cost reduction with field reliability.

Spend regular time at the West Texas site closing the loop between field failures and design fixes.

Partner with the Head of Hardware on hiring and technical roadmap input, without owning org-wide strategy.

Qualifications:

5-7 years of hardware engineering experience, including some experience informally or formally leading a small team or serving as a technical lead on a project.

Experience taking a hardware component or subsystem from low-volume prototype to higher-volume production, ideally including work with contract manufacturers or suppliers.

Solid grounding in mechatronics, mechanical engineering, motion control, or ruggedized system design for field or industrial environments.

Some experience managing BOMs and driving costs down without sacrificing reliability.

Comfortable reviewing others' technical work and communicating design trade-offs to a manager or cross-functional partners.

Nice to have:

Experience in energy, industrial automation, or field robotics rather than consumer robotics.

Exposure to regulatory or certification requirements for industrial or field hardware.

Background at a high-growth, venture-backed hardware startup.

Experience on a team that stood up a new subsystem or product line from scratch.