Director of Product Engineering, Energy Storage (BESS)

TAE Power Solutions•Foothill Ranch, CA

6d•$170,000 - $220,000•Hybrid

About The Position

TAE Power Solutions (TPS) is the electrification spin-off from TAE Technologies, a leader in nuclear fusion technology. The company is leveraging unique power management technology originally developed for nuclear fusion and applying it in adjacent industries including Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and DC Fast Charging for electric vehicles. About the Role The Product team is structured to take TPS BESS products from concept to certification and production, led by a Director of Product who owns end-to-end trade-offs across cost, schedule, performance, and risk. The group is organized into three core functions: Product Architecture and Thermal Management, Product Validation and Testing, and Manufacturing and Production Engineering, each with clear accountability for requirements, test evidence, and factory readiness. This is a hands-on technical leadership role that requires strategic thinking, and strong cross-functional collaboration across engineering, operations, supply chain, quality, and commercial teams. This is not a market-facing product management position. This role requires deep technical expertise in energy storage systems with strong product leadership, experience working with contract manufacturers (CMs), and a proven track record of bringing complex hardware products from concept to large-scale production.

Requirements

10 or more years of experience in product engineering, development, or manufacturing for BESS, power electronics or electrification systems.
Direct experience with large-scale BESS, grid services, or data center applications.
Extensive hands-on experience with UL certifications, including system-level compliance such as UL 1973, 9540, 9540A, and NFPA 855.
Strong background in system architecture, thermal design, and validation testing.
Proven track record of taking complex hardware products from concept through certified production.
Demonstrated hands-on experience leading value engineering for complex hardware systems.
Proven ability to balance design requirements, certification constraints, and cost targets without compromising safety or reliability.
Strong understanding of BOM drivers, manufacturing cost structure, and certification-related cost impacts.
Experience managing cross-functional technical teams or programs.
Strong communication skills and ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or mechanical engineering required.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Define and own product-level system architecture for TPS standard BESS units and roadmap in alignment with business and market needs.
Translate customer and market requirements into clear product specifications and technical design targets.
Establish clear design boundaries that minimize project variation and downstream rework.
Drive architecture level design decisions that balance performance, safety, manufacturability, serviceability, scalability and cost.
Ensure thermal management is treated as a primary design constraint, not an afterthought.
Evaluate and recommend technology choices (cells, modules, thermal management, enclosures, BMS, PCS interfaces, etc.).
Own product validation plans, test strategies, and acceptance criteria.
Lead the end-to-end development and industrialization of BESS products from prototype to mass production.
Maintain clear, documented pass or fail decisions for product readiness.
Lead UL certification efforts including scope definition, test execution, evidence management, and audit readiness.
Ensure validation is designed for speed, repeatability, and credibility.
Prevent late stage redesign driven by avoidable certification gaps.
Ensure designs are robust, compliant with industry standards, and suitable for large-scale manufacturing.
Drive Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Reliability (DfR) practices across the development process.
Ensure test results are properly documented and incorporated into product improvements.
Lead the technical relationship with contract manufacturers responsible for BESS production.
Supervise CM development, tooling, process design, and production ramp-up.
Establish clear manufacturing quality expectations, KPIs, and inspection standards.
Conduct regular technical and quality reviews with the CM to ensure compliance and continuous improvement.
Support troubleshooting and root cause analysis of manufacturing issues.
Lead efforts to ensure all products comply with UL and other relevant safety standards, particularly for BESS and system integration.
Manage and execute the certification process, ensuring all products meet required safety and regulatory standards.
Stay current with evolving industry standards and regulations, proactively updating product designs and processes to maintain compliance.
Own value engineering across the product lifecycle to ensure designs meet functional requirements and certification needs at target cost.
Lead cost versus performance trade studies early, before designs are locked or validated.
Ensure product cost targets are explicit inputs to design decisions, not downstream constraints.
Partner closely with internal supply chain and contract manufacturer to align design choices with sourcing realities, yields, and production cost.
Actively eliminate overdesign that increases cost, complexity, or validation burden without improving system level outcomes such as reliability and faster installation/commissioning.
Establish and enforce configuration control and ECN discipline.
Provide technical oversight of contract manufacturers to ensure build quality and process adherence.
Own unit level build, test, and quality readiness prior to release to execution teams.
Work closely with Controls, Project Engineering, R&D, Operations and Supply Chain, Quality and Business Development and Sales to ensure product units integrate cleanly and predictably.
Partner with Application Engineering to ensure product assumptions align with target use cases and site requirements.
Act as the technical product leader in discussions with customers, partners, and suppliers when needed.
Build and lead a strong product engineering and development team with clear ownership and accountability.
Set technical standards and engineering rigor across the product group.
Mentor managers and engineers toward disciplined, execution focused design thinking.
Stay current on emerging trends in battery technology, BESS design, thermal management, and manufacturing techniques.
Identify opportunities for product differentiation, cost reduction, and performance enhancement.
Foster a culture of technical excellence and continuous improvement within the product and engineering teams.