About the job
Tacit is an early-stage deep-tech startup in San Francisco, backed by General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, and Greylock Partners. The team draws on backgrounds from Stanford, BrainGate, Oculus, and Tesla. The company is developing new hardware to advance human-computer interaction, with project details still confidential. The focus is on solving complex engineering challenges that could change how people use technology.
Role overview
The Head of Hardware will lead Tacit's transition from research prototypes to a consumer-ready product. This senior leader shapes the technical architecture and builds the team responsible for delivering reliable hardware at scale. The position works directly with company leadership, driving hardware strategy, resource planning, and execution. The main objective is to establish a high-performing hardware group that consistently ships quality consumer products.
What you will do
- Lead the move from research prototypes to a production-ready consumer hardware platform.
- Own the hardware roadmap and system architecture, overseeing progress from early builds to mass production.
- Design the hardware organization, define team roles, and set hiring priorities in collaboration with leadership.
- Establish and uphold standards for product readiness, with attention to quality, reliability, manufacturability, and testing.
- Shape and execute the hardware hiring strategy, including role definitions, sequencing, and technical requirements.
- Build and lead a multidisciplinary hardware team spanning electrical, mechanical, RF, firmware, testing, and manufacturing.
- Encourage open technical discussion, clear ownership, and a product-driven approach within the team.
- Make key system-level trade-offs across performance, power, cost, reliability, and timelines, balancing immediate needs and long-term growth.
- Enhance design quality through DFM/DFA, manufacturing test planning, and strong quality processes.
- Collaborate closely with product, industrial design, and software/ML teams to translate product requirements into hardware specifications.

