---
title: 'Safety and Abuse Test Engineer at Base Power Company'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/safety-and-abuse-test-engineer-base-power-company-austin-43mpst5v43br'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-27'
---

# Safety and Abuse Test Engineer at Base Power Company

- **Company:** [Base Power Company](https://feeny.ai/companies/base-power-company)
- **Location:** Austin, TX
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-20
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-27
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/base-power/a2915462-a9de-49c7-9062-826f3405210f

## Job description

## About Base

Base is America’s next-generation power company. We’re rebuilding the foundation of modern civilization–electricity–by deploying a vast network of distributed batteries that is transforming today’s fragile, centralized grid into a resilient and abundant system. We are engineers, operators, and creatives solving some of the most complex, interdisciplinary challenges of our time.

## About the Role

We are seeking to grow the safety and abuse team at Base with the addition of a test engineer who will focus on testing our in-house designs up to and past their limits, ensuring the safety of our members and employees is maintained at all times in the product lifecycle.

As a member of the safety and abuse team under hardware at Base, you will review new and existing designs, identify issues requiring test coverage, plan, design, and execute said tests, communicating those results effectively to key stakeholders. Some tests are required by governing bodies which we run in-house or at external labs to achieve product compliance. You will also work on increasing test throughput, quality, and generally optimize the spaces we use to run these tests. You will work closely with other test engineers, technicians, and designers.

Much of the work will be done at a satellite test laboratory designed, built, and operated by Base, less than an hour’s drive from HQ in Austin Texas (transportation provided). This lab is a primarily outdoor space and applicants can expect to be working hands on. The majority of your time will be spent at this satellite lab during sprints, with time spent in the office as well.

## What You’ll Do

- Evaluate systems for safety using DFMEA and similar tools
- Design test setups and execute safety and abuse testing, including but not limited to:
- Thermal runaway testing of batteries
- Short circuit testing of batteries and inverters
- Switch interruption testing (at full voltage)
- Own the safety of safety/abuse test setups
- Find and manage space to execute safety and abuse testing
- Set up data acquisition for all safety/abuse tests, including: thermocouples, voltage or current measurement, accelerometer measurement, etc
- Write world class test reports

## What You'll Bring

- 3 years of designing and running tests on electrical equipment
- Experience with working around lithium ion batteries / high voltage / DAQ systems
- Hands on experience with battery thermal runaway is a plus
- UL 9540 / UL 1973 exposure a plus

Please note: Base is a startup, which means priorities shift and evolve quickly. Your role may expand or change based on the needs of the business at any given time, so the responsibilities listed may not be exhaustive.

## Our Values

- First Principles Thinking: Question assumptions. Principles > rules.
- Operate at Base Pace: Focus on what matters, act quickly, and learn by doing.
- Give & Get Feedback: Be direct, be humble, and maintain a growth mindset.
- Everyone’s an Owner: Follow through on commitments and own results.
- Strong Opinions, Loosely Held: Drive clarity and make calls with imperfect information.
- Committed to the Mission: Rebuilding the grid is a big challenge. We work hard because we care deeply about the impact we’re creating. We work in-person. It’s not a 9-to-5. We are all-in.
- Fun & Optimism Coexist with Grit: Collaboration and celebration coincide with the intensity of building real things.

Do the best work of your life at Base.

## About Base Power Company

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Base Power is a technology-driven energy provider deploying a network of distributed home batteries in Texas to provide reliable, affordable backup power and grid-balancing services.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series C, $1.3B+ raised to date)
- **Headquarters**: Austin, Texas, United States
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Zach Dell (CEO & Co-Founder), Justin Lopas (COO & Co-Founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Energy Technology (Energy-as-a-Service, Grid Storage, Distributed Energy)
- **Target customers**: B2C (Texas homeowners), B2G (grid operators / ERCOT)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: "Build the future of American power." — The company aims to protect American families from outages, strengthen the aging U.S. grid, and move toward energy abundance by deploying a large-scale network of home batteries.

## Products & Services
- **Home Battery + Energy Membership**: A vertically integrated service where Base installs a large battery (25–50 kWh) at a customer's home for a low one-time fee ($695–$995). Customers pay a fixed energy rate (8–4¢/kWh) and a small monthly membership ($19–$29/mo). Base earns revenue from the grid (grid-balancing services), not from customer bills, enabling rates legally guaranteed to stay below market average. The system provides whole-home backup, protecting against 97% of outages.
- **Grid Services Platform**: Proprietary software that orchestrates the distributed battery network — charging when demand is low and discharging when the grid needs support — generating revenue and grid resilience.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (Private company with $1.3B+ total funding)
- **Key Metric (Funding)**:
  - **Series A** (May 2024): $68M led by Thrive Capital
  - **Series B** (April 2025): $200M led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, and others
  - **Series C** (November 2025): $1.0B from 26 investors
  - **Total raised**: ~$1.27B (converted from 1,268,000,000)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Thrive Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz (also key talent source: 42 former Tesla employees, 6 from SpaceX, 4 from Anduril Industries)
- **Growth Signals**:
  - **Headcount**: 266 (as of mid-2026), with **+186.4% YoY growth** and a rapid monthly growth rate of +12.6%
  - Named one of **TIME's 10 most influential energy companies of 2026**
  - Operating in 5 countries (primarily US, with presence in Canada, Philippines, France, India)
  - 100+ active job postings with +104% increase YoY
  - 12,500+ batteries installed; serving thousands of monthly customers
  - CEO cited in the careers page as saying the company has 400+ team members ("400+" likely includes contractors and field installation/service workforce)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Vertically Integrated Model**: Base designs, manufactures, and installs every battery system itself, controlling the full stack from hardware through software to field operations.
- **Unique Business Model / No-Customer-Profit**: Base earns revenue from grid balancing, not from customer energy bills. This allows guaranteed-below-market rates and a low-cost battery membership, making it dramatically cheaper than competitors (e.g., Tesla Powerwall equivalents).
- **Strong Investor and Talent Backing**: World-class VC backing combined with a heavy talent influx from Tesla, SpaceX, and Anduril (companies known for high-velocity hardware/software execution).
- **Massive Capital Advantage**: $1B+ Series C provides a significant moat for scaling hardware production, dealer network, and software.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale distribution in Texas**: Continue deploying home batteries at a rapid pace across Texas, entering new zip codes and neighborhoods.
- **Grid partnership expansion**: Deepen relationships with ERCOT to expand the value of grid-balancing services.
- **Product development**: Improve battery technology (safety, capacity, cost), increase whole-home backup coverage (currently 97%), and develop new hardware/firmware generations.
- **Geographic expansion**: potential to move beyond Texas into other states (currently operating in 5 countries for support functions, but service is Texas-focused).

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as "intense, fast-paced, and deeply mission-driven." The company demands high output, ownership, and a bias toward action. It's explicitly stated as "not for everyone, and that's by design." This is a high-ownership, low-ambiguity environment.
- **Work Model**: **On-site at Base HQ in Austin, Texas.** Proximity to the product and team is central to how they move fast. "Do I need to be based in Texas? Yes."
- **Hiring Speed**: Fast process — aim for 1st conversation to offer in ~2 weeks.
- **Interview Process**: 3-4 hour on-site including technical assessments and behavioral/team conversations. Focus on "how [you] approach problems, communicate tradeoffs, and collaborate."
- **Non-traditional backgrounds**: Explicitly welcome: "We care about what you've built and how you think, not the logos on your resume. Some of our best people came from non-traditional paths."
- **Engineering Culture**: Heavy focus on hardware + software + field operations. Talent sources heavily from Tesla, Anduril, SpaceX — firms known for hardcore engineering and manufacturing excellence. Roles span hardware engineering, firmware, software, manufacturing, field installation/service, operations, growth, and design.
- **Team Composition**: ~29% of employees are in technical roles; ~15% in operations; significant representation of trades workers (11).
- **Notable Perks**: Opportunity to work on physical infrastructure deployed at scale; chance to contribute meaningfully to grid modernization and American energy resilience.

## Sources
1. [Base Power Careers Page](https://www.basepowercompany.com/careers)
2. [Base Power About Page](https://www.basepowercompany.com/about)
3. [Base Power Home Page (Product & Pricing)](https://www.basepowercompany.com/)
4. [Base Power LinkedIn Company Page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/basepowercompany)
5. [Base Power Open Roles (Ashby)](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/base-power)

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