Engineering Manager

Tactus AI is building the first humanoid mobile manipulators purpose-built for clinical and life sciences laboratories. Our robots don't just move samples between instruments - they stain slides, check microbiology plates, load tissue processors, and perform the hands-on work that keeps labs running. Paired with CORTEX, our intelligent lab orchestration platform, they turn fragmented manual workflows into continuous, traceable automation.

Scientists are doing critical work, and patients are counting on them. We're a team of scientists, engineers, and operators in San Diego who believe labs deserve better. We move with the speed and focus that mission demands. We build with modern tools — LLMs and generative AI are part of our daily workflow, not a slide deck aspiration. We're shipping robots into real partner labs, backed by partnerships with leading diagnostics and life sciences organizations.

We're growing fast and adding engineering leadership to match. This role is hands-on in the codebase and on the lab floor alongside the team — to plan, execute, and lead across hardware, software, and ML.

This is a player-coach role. You'll help shape engineering priorities, keep the team coordinated and unblocked, and still write code 30-40% of the time. Our team spans mechanical design, electrical systems, robotics, ML, and platform software. You need to be credible across those boundaries — not an expert in all of them, but someone who can review a schematic in the morning and a pull request in the afternoon.

What you'll do:

• Partner with the CTO on engineering planning, prioritization, and technical direction

• Drive day-to-day engineering execution — sprints, standups, 1:1s, code review, onboarding

• Write and ship code — our stack runs on Rust, Python, and Next.js, but we care more about your ability to solve problems and iterate fast than your depth in any single language. We use LLMs and AI-assisted development daily to move quickly across all of them.

• Coordinate across disciplines — our robots are mechanical, electrical, and software systems that all need to work together on the lab floor

• Help build the engineering team and culture — hiring, process, and making this a place strong engineers want to stay

• 5-8 years in robotics, mechatronics, or electromechanical product development

• 2+ years managing engineering teams of 5-10 people

• You've shipped a physical product — not just software, not just a demo

• Comfortable managing across hardware and software disciplines

• Startup or small-company experience — you've worn multiple hats and made decisions without a playbook

• Strong technical judgment — you can evaluate an ML experiment, read a schematic, and review a PR in the same week

• Experience with real-time control systems, CAN bus, or custom robotics middleware

• Medical device or regulated environment exposure (ISO 13485, IEC 62304)

• Experience scaling a team through a growth phase

• Build what matters. We're putting robots into real labs that process real patient samples. If it doesn't make the lab better, we don't build it.

• Move fast with modern tools. We use LLMs, AI-assisted development, and generative tools across our workflow. Iteration speed matters more than any single language or framework.

• Science first. We're scientists building for scientists. Every decision is grounded in real laboratory needs, not abstract technology goals.

• San Diego. World-class robotics ecosystem. Sun, surf, and serious engineering.

Tactus AI builds intelligent robotics to accelerate scientific discovery and improve global healthcare. We are an equal opportunity employer.