EE Systems Validation and Automation 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 are looking for an EE Systems Validation and Automation Engineer to own scalable electrical hardware validation and production test infrastructure from prototype bring-up through manufacturing ramp. The primary focus is board-level electrical characterization, power/signal integrity, system debug, automation, and bench-to-factory correlation. This is a hands-on role for someone who enjoys turning ambiguous hardware behavior into clear measurements, practical debug plans, and decision-ready recommendations. Strong candidates may come from either electrical systems validation or manufacturing test backgrounds, with growth into the other areas. We do not expect expertise in every listed area. What you'll do EE Validation, Characterization, and Debug Develop and execute board-level electrical validation plans and characterization procedures for complex PCBA prototypes, engineering builds, and production-intent hardware. Characterize electrical performance across voltage rail tolerances, load transients, power efficiency, temperature, configuration, and operating modes. Perform systematic hardware debug and root-cause analysis for impairments including power supply ripple/noise, signal integrity jitter, cross-talk, ground bounce, thermal throttling, unexpected reset events, and analog/digital noise coupling. Build power budgets, compliance matrices, and concise summaries that connect measured electrical behavior to product-level requirements. Manufacturing Test & Production Support Develop, validate, and optimize electrical test flows for manufacturing, including boundary scan, functional test, calibration, limits, guard-bands, and pass/fail criteria. Support EVT, DVT, PVT, pilot builds, and manufacturing ramp with data-driven yield analysis and issue resolution. Partner with contract manufacturers and operations teams to improve test coverage, cycle time, repeatability, and troubleshooting efficiency. Create factory-facing test documentation, board debug guides, and high-level summaries for recurring hardware issues. Lab Automation, Instrumentation & Data Analysis Automate electrical measurements across lab and production test setups using standard board and hardware debugging instrumentation, including digital storage/mixed-signal oscilloscopes (DSO/MSO), high-bandwidth logic analyzers, protocol analyzers (I2C, SPI, PCIe, USB), programmable DC power supplies, electronic loads, digital multimeters (DMMs), function/arbitrary waveform generators, active/differential/current probes, and thermal cameras. Build test matrices, collect structured datasets, and analyze trends across units, builds, conditions, and configurations. Use statistical methods to set limits, identify outliers, separate measurement artifacts from real failures, and drive yield improvement. Correlate bench measurements with automated test results and production data to close the loop between engineering and manufacturing. Cross-Functional Product Development Work closely with board layout/hardware design, power electronics, firmware, validation, NPI, operations, and manufacturing partners. Provide practical feedback on DFM, DFT, test point access, bed-of-nails fixture strategy, and hardware debug visibility. Communicate complex electrical findings in clear, actionable summaries for both technical and non-specialist audiences. Requirements Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field. 5+ years of experien