Head of Hardware (Robotics)

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. We operate on… - 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 no longer equipment, it is how fast a crew can put steel in the ground, so TAR builds its own racking system and the robots that install it, and each campus gets faster and cheaper to build than the last. As Head of Hardware, you own the robotics hardware organization: the mechanical, electrical, and systems engineering behind machines that drive piles, set racking, and move earth across the West Texas desert. You take these robots from low-volume prototype builds to reliable, higher-volume production, and you hire and lead the team that designs, builds, and field-hardens them. This is a senior role with a seat on the leadership team, based at our San Francisco robotics facility, with regular field time at our West Texas site. RESPONSIBILITIES - Define and own the hardware strategy and technical roadmap for TAR's construction robots, aligning engineering priorities with the campaign to build GW-scale power campuses on a hard schedule. - Build and lead the hardware engineering organization across mechanical, electrical, and systems, hiring, structuring, and mentoring the team as the robot fleet and its scope grow. - Drive hardware from low-volume prototype builds to reliable, higher-volume production, partnering with manufacturing and supply chain to hit cost and quality targets without giving up field reliability. - Own system architecture decisions across mechanical, electrical, controls, and sensor integration, making design choices that hold up under dust, heat, and vibration in the field. - Manage BOM complexity and supplier relationships, driving real cost reduction while protecting the performance and durability the mission requires. - Serve as the senior hardware voice on the leadership team, shaping investment decisions, roadmap trade-offs, and deployment timing alongside engineering, product, and executive leadership. - Represent hardware externally with customers, partners, and investors when technical credibility is what earns trust. - Establish field-feedback and continuous-improvement loops so lessons from deployed robots feed directly back into design. QUALIFICATIONS - 10+ years of hardware engineering experience, including 5+ years in a leadership role (Director, Head of, or VP level) at a robotics or complex electromechanical systems company. - Demonstrated success taking a hardware product from low-volume prototype to higher-volume production, including work with contract manufacturers or Tier-1 suppliers. - Deep expertise across mechatronics, mechanical engineering, motion control, and ruggedized system design for field or industrial environments. - Experience managing complex BOMs and driving cost down without giving up reliability. - Track record building and leading multidisciplinary hardware teams across mechanical, electrical, and controls disciplines. - Strong communicator, comfortable representing hardware decisions to executive leadership, customers, and investors. NICE TO HAVE - Experience in energy, industrial automation, or field robotics rather than consumer robotics, at companies such as Anduril, Built Robotics, or Tesla. - Familiarity with regulatory or certification requirements relevant to industrial or field hardware. - Background at a high-growth, venture-backed hardware startup. - Experience standing up a hardware organization from an early stage, rather than scaling one that already exists. SALARY AND BENEFITS - Up to $15K relocation bonus - Unlimited PTO - Health, Dental, Vision insurance - $1K monthly stipend for meals