Applications Engineer

TAR•Austin, TX

10d

About The Position

TAR is seeking an Applications Engineer to own technical qualification for sites and deals that fall outside its standard approach to renewable-powered, off-grid data center infrastructure. The role builds and maintains the framework for determining whether an opportunity is technically and operationally viable, and makes final technical fit/no-fit recommendations. Those recommendations have direct commercial implications for cost per megawatt, capital expenditure, and deployment schedule. This is a judgment and qualification role rather than a detailed-design role. The Applications Engineer supports development, business development, and partner teams on non-standard opportunities such as edge sites, distributed energy assets, co-located industrial facilities, and first-of-kind configurations. The role includes visiting sites, assessing incomplete field information across electrical, thermal, and civil disciplines, and producing clear recommendations quickly, with assumptions, risks, and conditions to proceed. Detailed design and construction execution remain with engineering and project delivery teams. The role also evaluates TAR’s ability to execute, considering equipment lead times, supply chain, construction capacity, and partner capabilities. Findings from sites and deals are fed back into TAR’s standard designs, equipment standards, and execution playbook. Regular travel for site visits and partner meetings is required.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering degree backed by deep, hands-on electrical power experience.
10+ years of engineering experience, including significant experience in applications, solutions, or pre-sales engineering, owner’s engineering, or project development for data centers, power, or other critical infrastructure.
Strong electrical power systems background, including MV/LV distribution, single-line diagrams, utility service, protection and redundancy topologies, and applicable codes and standards such as NEC and IEEE.
Working fluency in adjacent disciplines, including thermal and cooling, civil and site work, and construction and deployment, sufficient to identify fatal flaws and assess cost and schedule impact.
Demonstrated business judgment translating technical conditions into capital expenditure, cost-per-megawatt, and schedule impact, and making or shaping go/no-go decisions on deals or projects.
Ability to make sound decisions quickly with incomplete information and clearly state assumptions, risks, and confidence levels.
Clear written and verbal communication with engineers, developers, commercial teams, partners, and executives.
Ability to travel regularly for site walks and partner meetings.

Nice To Haves

Experience with data center electrical and mechanical infrastructure, including liquid cooling or modular and prefabricated deployments.
Background in solar, battery storage, behind-the-meter generation, microgrids, or off-grid power systems.
Experience qualifying edge, co-located industrial, or other non-traditional sites.
EPC, construction, or project delivery experience that informs judgment about what can be built and how quickly.
Experience building qualification frameworks, screening tools, or cost models used by commercial teams.
Professional Engineer (PE) licensure.

Responsibilities

Build and own TAR’s technical qualification framework for non-standard opportunities, including criteria, screening tools, and decision gates across power, civil, and deployment constraints.
Make final technical fit/no-fit calls on sites and deals, often with incomplete information, and provide defensible recommendations quickly with assumptions, risks, and conditions to proceed clearly stated.
Connect technical recommendations to commercial consequences, including cost per megawatt, capital expenditure, and deployment schedule.
Act as the technical escalation point for development, business development, and partner teams working on opportunities outside the standard playbook; define the requirements and costs beyond TAR’s standard approach.
Visit sites with development teams and translate field conditions—including power availability, land and solar resource, heat rejection and water, soils, access, and permitting constraints—into technical and execution requirements.
Assess electrical fit from generation, storage, and islanded operation through MV/LV distribution, power quality, redundancy, and protection, alongside relevant thermal and civil interfaces.
Assess execution feasibility, including equipment lead times, supply chain, construction capacity, and partner capabilities, and identify when execution rather than engineering is the binding constraint.
Feed field and deal learnings into standard designs, equipment standards, and the execution playbook; identify recurring gaps affecting deals, margin, or schedule and drive resolution with engineering and project delivery teams.