---
title: 'Director of Optical and Mechanical at Taara'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-optical-and-mechanical-taara-sunnyvale-xrh63xxgm2nd'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-12'
---

# Director of Optical and Mechanical at Taara

- **Company:** Taara
- **Location:** Sunnyvale, CA
- **Compensation:** $210k–$260k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-04-14
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/taaraconnect/c118470a-d8f4-4aa1-b9d9-d856098005c3/application

**Skills:** Optical design, Mechanical design, Modeling and simulation, Hardware engineering, System integration, Hardware testing, Photonics, Wireless communication technologies, Outdoor/harsh environment hardware design and testing

> Lead the development of advanced wireless optical communication systems from concept to market-ready products. Manage a multidisciplinary team of optics, opto-mechanical, and mechanical engineers, driving system integration, hardware testing, and technical direction to impact global internet access.

## Job description

About the Team: Born at X, Google's Moonshot Factory, Taara is on a mission to connect billions of people lacking abundant and affordable internet today by pioneering the way we use light to deliver faster, cheaper, and more reliable connectivity. We are a small, dynamic team with a passion for solving challenging problems that lead to high-impact advances in technology. Join us to light the way for bridging the digital divide and illuminating the future. About the Role: As our Director of Optical and Mechanical at Taara, you will play a pivotal role in a mission to connect billions of people who lack affordable and abundant internet access today. Your work on our wireless optical communication systems won't just advance technology, it will directly impact lives by providing access to information, education, and economic opportunities. You will spearhead the development of our advanced wireless optical communication systems from concept to market-ready products. This position centers on leading a multidisciplinary optics, opto-mechanical and mechanical team and driving comprehensive system integration and hardware testing initiatives. Working closely with cross-functional leaders, you will architect cutting-edge wireless optical communication systems that push the boundaries of current technology. Our Culture & Your Growth: We operate with the agility and passion of a startup. Our culture is built on first-principles thinking, moving fast, and a supportive environment where you'll work alongside brilliant, mission-driven engineers and industry thought leaders. We have a strong growth culture where we believe in building great people as much as great products. This role offers a unique opportunity to not only lead a team but also to grow as a technical and strategic leader. You'll be instrumental in developing next-generation technology, and your experience here will give you unparalleled expertise in wireless optical communication and systems integration. You'll have the opportunity to mentor others, shape a team, and build a career at the forefront of a groundbreaking field. How you will make a 10x impact:

- Lead and manage the optics, opto-mechanical and mechanical team developing next-generation wireless optical communication technologies
- Own the optics, opto-mechanical and mechanical design roadmap and drive technical direction across hardware initiatives
- Provide strong cross-functional leadership with proven team management, execution, and stakeholder influence capabilities
- Mentor and develop team members to build deep technical expertise and leadership capabilities
- Drive end-to-end hardware system design, integration, and comprehensive testing protocols
- Build and expand lab capabilities to support advanced hardware development and validation
- Develop robust optical test processes and infrastructure to ensure product reliability and performance including test setups emulating environmental channel conditions such as motion, precipitation and atmospheric disturbances
- Coordinate optical assembly hardware validation testing including thermal, shock, vibration, and environmental stress testing
- Establish testing methodologies that validate system performance under diverse operational scenarios

What you should have:

- Education: Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Optical Engineering or related technical discipline.
- Experience: 10+ years of industry experience in hardware engineering with demonstrated progression in technical leadership.
- Leadership: Proven experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams in complex hardware development projects.
- Technical Expertise: Deep technical expertise in optical and mechanical design, modeling and simulation.
- Ability to work in the Sunnyvale office at least 3 days onsite per week

It’d be great if you also have:

- Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or related field.
- Experience in photonics, or wireless communication technologies.
- Background in outdoor/harsh environment hardware design and testing.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $210,000 - $260,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process.

## About Taara

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Taara uses invisible beams of light to deliver high-speed, low-latency wireless internet connectivity, acting as a fiber alternative for hard-to-reach areas.
- **Entity Type**: Private (spun out from X, Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory in March 2025; backed by Series X Capital, with Alphabet retaining a minority stake)
- **Headquarters**: Sunnyvale, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2025 (spin-out); predecessor Project Taara began in 2017
- **Founders**: Mahesh Krishnaswamy

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Telecommunications technology / Free-space optical communications
- **Target customers**: B2B – mobile operators, wireless ISPs, fiber operators, enterprises, smart city operators, government/emergency response, and innovation partners (satellite operators, photonics companies)
- **Mission**: “Bringing high-speed, affordable and abundant connectivity to people everywhere using beams of light.”

## Products & Services
- **Taara Lightbridge**: Free-space optical terminal delivering up to 20 Gbps over line-of-sight distances up to 20 km with carrier-grade availability. Used for backhaul, fronthaul, and mesh.
- **Taara Lightbridge Pro**: Enhanced version offering “five nines” (99.999%) availability for mission-critical networks.
- **Taara Beam**: First product built on Taara's Integrated Photonics Platform, designed for expansion with flexibility in a smaller form factor.
- **Integrated Photonics Platform**: Silicon photonics chip that uses light to transmit data through the air, enabling miniaturized terminals and reduced mechanical complexity.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding – undisclosed round led by Series X Capital at spin-out (2025); Alphabet retains minority stake
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Series X Capital, Alphabet (via X Development); strategic partners include T‑Mobile, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Econet Group, Digicomm International
- **Growth Signals**: Deployments in over 20 countries across Africa, India, North America, and Southeast Asia; recognized as TIME Best Invention of 2024 and Fast Company World Changing Ideas Award; successful live events connectivity (Coachella, Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta with T‑Mobile)

## Competitive Advantages
- **No trenching or spectrum licensing**: Light beams travel through air, avoiding costly fiber deployment and radio spectrum constraints.
- **Rapid deployment**: Can be deployed in hours instead of months – ideal for disaster recovery and temporary capacity.
- **Silicon photonics platform**: Proprietary chip technology that shrinks hardware and lowers cost, enabling mass scalability.
- **Fiber-class performance**: Delivers symmetrical 20 Gbps+ with ultra-low latency, competing directly with fiber in capacity.

## Strategic Focus
- **Expand photonics-based connectivity** beyond telecom into data centers, industrial campuses, and satellite communications.
- **Scale manufacturing** of its Integrated Photonics Platform to serve global demand.
- **Deepen partnerships** with mobile operators, internet service providers, and government entities to close the digital divide.

## Why Work Here
- **Innovation pedigree**: Born inside X (Google’s Moonshot Factory) – a culture of tackling world-scale challenges with ambitious technology.
- **Mission-driven impact**: Work directly on bringing affordable internet to underserved communities and disaster zones.
- **Cutting-edge tech**: Hands-on with advanced photonics, optical engineering, and system-level hardware/software design.
- **Growth phase**: Recently spun out as an independent company – opportunity to shape engineering culture and processes from an early stage.
- **Hybrid/office**: Based in Sunnyvale, CA; roles range from hardware engineering (optical, mechanical, FPGA) to software (backend, Linux, cloud) and go-to-market (sales, customer success). Per company careers page: open roles include Principal Optical Engineer, Director of Product Management, Senior Backend Software Engineer, etc.
- **Perks & culture**: Described as “a new technological era” with a focus on collaboration, rapid iteration, and global impact.

## Sources
1. [taaraconnect.com](https://www.taaraconnect.com/) – Homepage product details
2. [taaraconnect.com/careers](https://www.taaraconnect.com/careers) – Open roles and engineering focus
3. [taaraconnect.com/about](https://www.taaraconnect.com/about) – Leadership, history, milestones
4. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taara_(company)) – Company overview, spin-out, funding, deployments

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