electronics, bench testing, programming infrastructure teams
mentors: ethan swint, greg stevenson, nick vasquez

tools: python (pandas, numpy, inventree, streamlit), kicad
company website

💡 practical application

Electric vehicles and renewable energy systems rely on high-power electronics to convert battery power into motor motion cleanly and efficiently. This work involved designing, assembling, and testing physical circuit boards for electric vehicle powertrains, as well as building an automated component tracking system that prevented inventory bottlenecks during fast-paced hardware prototyping.

intro

team photo

Tau Motors develops software-defined power conversion systems and rare-earth-free electric powertrains for electric vehicles and industrial motor applications.

pcb design & bench testing

  • KiCad Layout & Debug: Resolved routing and schematic errors for traction power electronics and testbench diagnostic circuit boards in KiCad.
  • Assembly & Soldering: Hand-assembled prototypes using surface-mount (SMD) and through-hole soldering.
  • Dynamometer Validation: Tested PCB system behaviors directly on high-voltage motor testbenches, streamlining component sourcing and fabrication workflows.

inventory management

  • System Architecture: Architected Tau’s centralized inventory management infrastructure by deploying open-source InvenTree backed by custom Python automation (pandas, streamlit).
  • Workflow Optimization: Cataloged hardware stock to eliminate component bottlenecks during rapid prototyping iterations.

acknowledgements

team photo
Tau team photo, August 2023

Thank you to Greg Stevenson, Ethan Swint, Nick Vasquez, Zach Jones, and Wes Pennington for two amazing summers of engineering mentorship, philosophical debates, and El Gru tacos. It was an honor being Tau’s first intern!