Hardware Technical Program Manager
About the job
- Personally carried a physical product from prototype to volume production, with thousands of units or more rather than a pilot run.
- Technical ability to read electrical schematics and mechanical drawings, understand engineering trade-offs, and challenge proposals credibly.
- Direct ownership of manufacturing and supply chain elements, including cost, tooling, quality, and capacity.
- Working knowledge of hardware testing campaigns for performance and reliability validation.
- Strong preference for hands-on, in-person collaboration and time on the factory floor.
- Build the hardware program plan, run program reviews, and maintain accountability for the schedule and critical path.
- Drive hardware from prototype through engineering, validation, industrialization, and volume production.
- Own build plans, part readiness, and design maturity down to the part number.
- Coordinate sourcing of tier 1-3 components, qualify vendors, and plan tooling capacity.
- Hold internal and external teams accountable for program cost targets, quality requirements, and delivery schedules using quantitative measurable metrics.
- Own the bill-of-materials cost and defend it.
- Lead production line bring-up, throughput, and yield, then hand off to field installation teams.
- Communicate bad news to leadership early and provide defined recovery options.
- Engineering background.
- Experience with high-volume consumer electronics, automotive, electric vehicle, or aerospace new product introduction.
- Experience with power electronics, battery systems, or grid hardware.
- Experience with data center, server, or networking hardware, including racks, power distribution, or cooling.
- Experience standing up a new production line or supplier from zero.
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
In August 2026 we launched Base Core, a 39.2 kWh home battery designed and built in America, alongside a $1 billion Series D at a $13 billion valuation. Core installs in under an hour, keeps a house running for up to 36 hours, and is coming off the line at Base Factory 1 in Austin at thousands of units a month.
Core is not the last thing we build. We're starting our next major hardware program, a new class of large-scale infrastructure hardware, far bigger than anything we've built for a single home, drawing on the same muscles: power electronics, thermal design, high-volume manufacturing, and a supply chain we control end to end. We're not discussing it publicly yet, but you'll hear the whole thing in your first conversation. We're looking for the person who owns that program from first prototype to volume production.
What You'll Do
The program. One schedule, one critical path, one person accountable for the date. You build the plan, run the reviews, and force the decisions that keep the plan honest.
Design through production. Drive the hardware from prototype through engineering, validation, and industrialization into volume production. Own build plans, part readiness, and design maturity down to the part number.
Suppliers and contract manufacturers. Coordinate the sourcing of tier 1-3 components, qualify vendors, plan tooling capacity, and hold both internal and external teams accountable to our program cost targets, quality requirements, and delivery schedule with quantitative measurable metrics. Own BOM cost and defend it.
The ramp. Lead line bring-up, throughput, and yield, with a clean handoff to the teams who install in the field.
The truth. Leadership should hear bad news from you first, early, with recovery options already defined.
What You'll Bring
You've personally carried a physical product from prototype to volume, thousands of units or more, not a pilot run. This is the bar.
You're technical enough to arbitrate. You can read a schematic and a mechanical drawing, understand the trade-off an engineer is proposing, and push back with credibility instead of relaying status.
You've owned elements of a manufacturing and supply change directly, including cost, tooling, quality, and capacity.
You have a working knowledge of hardware testing campaigns to validate performance and reliability. You build a structure where none exists.
You'd rather be on the factory floor than in a status meeting. Strong bias for hands-on / in person collaboration.
Preferred Qualifications
Engineering background
High-volume consumer electronics, automotive, EV, or aerospace new product introduction
Power electronics, battery systems, or grid hardware
Data center, server, or networking hardware experience, racks, power distribution, or cooling
Standing up a new production line, or a new supplier, from zero
About the Team
Base is a 100% in-person team in Austin. We build physical products that serve real people, and proximity to the product and to each other is how we move fast.
Base's Hardware team designs, builds, and ships the physical product that makes Base's mission real - most recently Base Core, taken from first prototype to a production line at Base Factory 1 now running thousands of units a month. We don't outsource the hard parts: this team owns power electronics, thermal design, and the supply chain end to end, in-house. The next program applies those same muscles at a scale the team hasn't built at before, on hardware that's still being defined internally. Whoever takes this role shapes that program from its first prototype, backed by a company that just closed a $1B Series D to build it.
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 the company
Base Power installs and owns a network of backyard batteries to provide home backup power and to deliver grid services. It uses a subscription model: customers pay an upfront install fee plus ongoing monthly and per-kWh charges, while Base Power sells the stored electricity back to the grid during peak demand. The company operates in Texas and Illinois and has deployed hundreds of MWh of storage, with a latest product, Base Core, a 39.2 kWh home battery built in its Austin factory. Its goal is to give homeowners reliable backup power and monetize distributed storage by supplying energy to the grid to balance demand.
Company Size
201-500
Company Stage
Series D
Total Funding
$2.3B
Headquarters
Austin, Texas
Founded
2023
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Base raised $1 billion in August 2026, giving it massive manufacturing and hiring firepower.
- Fleet deployment topped 500 MWh and roughly 100 batteries daily, proving strong demand.
- Texas outages and grid stress drive subscription backup demand, while Base monetizes peak prices.
What critics are saying
- Palmetto’s 25-state battery subscription pressures Base’s pricing and customer acquisition starting now.
- PJM won’t open aggregated distributed-market access until February 2028, delaying Illinois wholesale upside.
- Base’s economics depend on recruiting thousands of homes; utility underperformance kills contract capacity quickly.
What makes Base Power unique
- Base owns batteries, sells electricity, and monetizes grid dispatch, not hardware margins.
- Base Core’s 39.2 kWh pack dwarfs Powerwall-sized systems and installs in under an hour.
- Austin manufacturing plus utility contracts with Austin Energy, CoServ, and El Paso Electric create scale.
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Benefits
- Flexible Work Hours
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
1%1 year growth
5%2 year growth
16%Base Power announces first utility partnership outside Texas. Homeowners served by Central Georgia EMC will be able to sign up to host batteries for a one-time fee of $95. The program will offer 50 MW of battery capacity to help the electric co-op respond to peak demand events. Oct 14 2026 Base Power has announced a residential battery program in collaboration with Central Georgia Electric Membership Corporation (Central Georgia EMC), under which the Texas company will provide the co-op with 50 MW of dispatchable battery capacity, located at customer homes throughout its territory. Homeowners served by the electric co-op will be able to sign up to host a Base Power battery at their site. There is a one-time setup fee of $95 for homeowners, and no ongoing monthly costs. The first installations are scheduled for 2027. "We're excited to launch this partnership with Central Georgia EMC to bring affordable capacity to the utility and affordable resiliency to their members," said Tim Pianta, head of utility partnerships at Base, in comments to pv magazine USA. "We think the Atlanta region is a great fit for our technology and couldn't ask for a better partner than CGEMC." In exchange for hosting the battery, these customers receive a battery capable of backing up their whole home energy usage, but on most days, the batteries' collective capacity will be dispatched to the grid to help the co-op meet its needs for energy and capacity. The deal represents Base Power's first utility partnership outside Texas, where it has already inked several such partnerships. Central Georgia EMC is a small member cooperative serving more than 61,000 residential customers across a 16-county territory located between suburban Atlanta and Macon. "As the energy industry continues to evolve, Central Georgia EMC is committed to pursuing innovative solutions that provide value to our members," said the co-op's president, George L. Weaver, in a statement. "By partnering with Base Power, we can add flexible local capacity to support our electric system while giving participating members greater peace of mind through dependable backup battery power. This program reflects our commitment to meeting today's needs while preparing for tomorrow's opportunities." The partnership with Central Georgia EMC is the first inked by Base Power since the company announced the launch of its new Base Core battery and the closure of a $1 billion Series D funding round in August. Base Power has confirmed with pv magazine USA that the Central Georgia EMC program will include 2,500 Base Core batteries, equal to about 100 MWh of energy storage. In total, Base Power says its fleet now totals more than 750 megawatt-hours across 30,000+ homes. This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with PV Magazine Group and would like to reuse some of its content, please contact: [email protected]. More about
Now available: Base Power home backup from Good Faith Energy. A new way to get whole-home battery backup without the upfront cost of a traditional battery system. Good Faith Energy is proud to be the first solar installer in Texas to partner with Base Power to install their home battery system and bring another home energy option to Texas homeowners. Through this partnership, eligible Texas homeowners can get ~40 kWh of battery storage without the significant upfront investment that typically comes with purchasing a traditional home battery system. A different way to get home Base battery backup. With Base, you get: * ~40 kWh of home battery storage * Automatic backup during outages - no generator to start or fuel to store * Lifetime maintenance covered at no cost * No fuel, fumes, or engine noise * No solar required - although Base works seamlessly with solar and offers buyback in eligible areas * ~15% typical electricity savings in eligible Texas markets Instead of purchasing the battery system outright, Base provides the battery as part of its electricity service giving homeowners access to substantial backup capacity at a much lower upfront cost. What is Base Power? Base Power is a Texas electricity provider offering home battery backup as part of its electricity service. Instead of purchasing the battery system outright, homeowners pay an installation fee and receive a professionally installed home battery system while enrolling in Base's electricity plan. The result? You get backup power for your home while Base can use the battery to help support the Texas electric grid when it's needed most. How Base Power works. The concept is simple: 2. Install your home battery Good Faith Energy professionally installs the Base battery system at your home. 3. Get whole-home backup When the grid goes down, the battery can automatically provide backup power to your home. 4. Help support the Texas grid When you're not experiencing an outage, Base can use available battery capacity to help balance the grid. You get the benefit of home backup without having to purchase a traditional battery system outright. Why Good Faith Energy + Base Power? Good Faith Energy is proud to be the first solar installer in Texas to partner with Base Power for installations. Good Faith Energy has spent over a decade designing and installing advanced energy systems across Texas, including solar, battery storage, electrical upgrades, EV charging, and smart energy technology. Its partnership with Base gives homeowners another path to energy resilience. For some homeowners, owning a solar and battery system may still provide the best long-term value and energy independence. For others, Base offers a compelling alternative with a much lower upfront investment. Its job is to help you understand which option makes the most sense for your home. Base Power vs. Owning your battery. The biggest difference comes down to access versus ownership. With a traditional battery installation, you purchase and own your home energy storage system. This can provide greater control over how your battery is used and can be paired with solar to create a more comprehensive home energy system. With Base, the battery is included as part of your electricity service, significantly reducing the upfront cost of adding whole-home backup power. Unlike a traditional home battery designed primarily around a solar system, Base is built first for outage protection and offers roughly three times the storage capacity of a typical home battery. That larger capacity also makes it a strong complement to solar, providing enough storage to capture and use a full day of solar production. Base also integrates with solar and offers energy buyback options, giving homeowners additional flexibility in how they use and manage their energy. Neither approach is automatically better for every homeowner. Your energy usage, existing solar system, backup goals, budget, and long-term plans all play a role in determining the right solution. Is Base Power right for your home? Base may be worth considering if you: * Want whole-home backup without the upfront cost of purchasing a traditional battery system * Live in an eligible Texas service area * Live in an area where Base partners with your utility to offer the system with additional savings. * Want additional protection during grid outages * Are comfortable enrolling in Base's electricity service * Want a professionally installed home energy system If you're also considering solar or purchasing your own battery system, its team can help you compare your options. Explore your home backup options. Home energy isn't one-size-fits-all. Whether you're considering Base Power, solar + battery storage, or a standalone battery system, Good Faith Energy can help you understand the costs, benefits, and tradeoffs of each approach. Good Faith Energy'll evaluate your home, energy needs, and goals and help you determine the solution that makes the most sense. Ready to see if Base Power is a fit for your home?
Zach Dell, son of Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell, has built Base Power into a $13 billion home battery business. The company aims to install battery systems in backyards across America. Base Power is positioning itself to meet what it describes as unprecedented energy demands in the US. The venture recently secured $1 billion in funding as it competes with established players like Tesla in the home energy storage market. The younger Dell's company focuses on residential battery systems as demand for home energy solutions grows alongside increasing electrification and grid reliability concerns.
Michael Dell's son Zach Dell aims to install a Base Power home battery system in every backyard in America; and follows what is called Costco model. TOI Tech Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Aug 07, 2026, 17:22 IST 6 Comments Michael Dell's son is expanding its battery business. Zach Dell, the co-founder of the home battery company Base Power, says he wants to install a battery system in neighbourhoods across the US. In an interview with Fortune, he said: "We want to bring Base to every neighbourhood in America over time." The company follows what Dell describes as a Costco model, offering low upfront installation costs and a monthly membership instead of selling high-priced battery systems. The expansion comes as Base Power announced a $1 billion Series D funding round, valuing the company at $13 billion, up from $4 billion in less than a year. Alongside its US expansion plans, Zach Dell said the company also has ambitions to enter markets including the UK, Germany and Australia, with its business model centred on low upfront installation costs and monthly membership fees rather than large one-time equipment purchases. Zach Dell's Base Power to replace high upfront battery costs with a membership model. Founded in 2023, Base provides electricity services alongside home battery systems that act as backup power during outages. Instead of selling customers a battery system costing around $15,000 or more, the company charges an installation fee of up to $695 and a monthly membership fee of $19. You May Like Dell described the approach as similar to the Costco model, in which recurring memberships, rather than high product margins, support the business. "Our business model, which is very unique, is that we're really an infrastructure company. We own and operate the assets in the wholesale power markets. That's really where we make our money, not by trying to sell the consumer something at a really high-margin upfront cost," Dell said. According to the company, the batteries also return electricity to the grid when demand is high, which it says can help lower customers' overall electricity costs. Customer base and manufacturing expansion. Base said it has grown from installing one battery system per day to more than 100 daily, serving over 30,000 customers. Earlier this year, the company opened its first battery manufacturing facility, Base Factory 1, in Austin, while a second, larger factory is expected to be completed in 2027. The company initially launched in Texas and has since expanded into Illinois. Dell said Base plans to enter additional US states next year by either operating in deregulated electricity markets or partnering with monopoly utilities. The Series D funding round was co-led by Ribbit Capital, Addition, Valor Equity Partners and JPMorgan Chase's Strategic Investment Group. Existing investors, including Thrive Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Lightspeed, Trust Ventures, and CapitalG, also participated. Batteries designed for homes and the power grid. Before opening its own manufacturing facility, Base relied on third-party battery systems. The company now produces batteries designed specifically for residential backup power and grid support rather than electric vehicle charging. "This battery is designed to be a grid resource. It's bigger, it installs faster, it switches over cleaner, it's more powerful, it has more duration," Dell said. Base currently offers one- and two-battery systems. According to Dell, the company's latest battery stores 39.2 kilowatt-hours of electricity, allowing homes to continue receiving power during outages that last up to two or three days, depending on usage. Dell said the batteries are charged when electricity prices are low and supply power back to the grid when demand and prices increase. To support expansion in Illinois, Base has also introduced promotional installation pricing for some customers, reducing the installation charge from the standard $695 to as low as $95 in selected cases. Dell said the company expects to continue adjusting pricing as it enters additional markets. The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. TOI Tech Desk's news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more; TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity. End of Article
Base Power raises another US$1 billion in Series D financing for US residential BESS. August 5, 2026 Residential energy storage startup Base Power has announced a US$1 billion Series D financing at a US$13 billion post-money valuation, and the launch of its new home battery in production in Austin, Texas, US. Announced 3 August, Base Power is launching its 39.2kWh residential battery energy storage system (BESS) dubbed Base Core, in production at Base Factory 1 in Austin, Texas. By comparison, Base Core's capacity more than doubles the Tesla Powerwall 3's 13.5kWh capacity. Additionally, Zach Dell, CEO and co-founder of Base Power, claimed, "It installs in under an hour, switches over seamlessly, is built to handle extreme weather, and delivers extended outage protection at a price Americans can afford." Since that time, the company has been growing at an impressive pace. In February 2026, Base and utility El Paso Electric Company (EPE) announced a residential distributed energy resource (DER) pilot programme, seeing Base deploy a fleet of networked residential batteries in EPE's service region. In June, the company expanded to Illinois, installing BESS for customers in utility ComEd's service area. Base claimed that through its partnerships in Texas and Illinoi, it has expanded its fleet to over 500MWh. The Series D was led by VC and investment firms Ribbit, Addition, Valor Equity Partners, and JPMorganChase's Strategic Investment Group, part of the firm's Security and Resiliency Initiative, with participation from Altimeter, D1 Capital Partners, Sands Capital, Coatue, Layer Global, and Energy Impact Partners. Base's major existing investors are re-investing, including Thrive Capital, a16z, Lightspeed, Trust Ventures, CapitalG, and more. The company stated that the newly raised capital will be used for expanding the company's footprint, Base Core, and hiring. Market research firm Wood Mackenzie's Q2 2026 US Energy Storage Monitor, released on 23 June reported that the national attachment rate for residential BESS reached 45% in Q1 2026, up from 38% in Q1 2025 but unchanged from Q4 2025. California, Texas, Hawaii, and Arizona saw the largest quarter-over-quarter increases in deployed storage capacity during the first quarter. However, the national residential storage market is projected to contract 5% in 2026, driven by US residential solar installer Freedom Forever's bankruptcy, tax equity constraints, and updated permitting data indicating a sharper decline in capacity additions. Last month, residential renewable energy solutions company Palmetto launched its Palmetto Energy Backup Plan residential battery subscription in 25 states. The plan has no upfront payment and a fixed US$150 monthly fee for 12 years. It targets an estimated 4 to 4.5 million homes that have rooftop solar but no BESS. 8 September 2026 Barcelona, Spain Battery & Energy Storage Tech Europe (BESTE) is Europe's industrial scaling platform for stationary and industrial battery applications - not EVs. Taking place 8-9 September 2026 at Fira de Barcelona, BESTE brings together utilities, IPPs, energy-intensive industries, data centres, ports, rail, maritime, defence and aerospace OEMs - all deploying or integrating battery storage at scale. Over 100 companies already confirmed - including EDP Renewables, Acciona, Endesa, Naturgy, Neoen, Galp, Basquevolt and Veolia - alongside 40+ expert speakers and international institutional support from BEPA, BVES, LDES and Volta Foundation. Where Europe's battery & ES ecosystem turns projects into reality. 15 September 2026 San Diego, USA You can expect to meet and network with all the key industry players again in 2025 from major US asset owners, operators, RTOs and ISOs, optimizers, software and analytics providers, technical consultancies, O&M technology providers and more. 15 September 2026 Berlin, Germany Launching September 2026 in Berlin, Energy Storage Summit Germany is a new standalone event dedicated to Germany's energy storage market. Bringing together investors, developers, policymakers, TSOs, manufacturers and optimisation specialists, the Summit explores the regulatory shifts, revenue models, financing strategies and technology innovations shaping large-scale deployment. With Germany targeting 80% renewables by 2030, it offers a focused platform to connect with the decision-makers driving the Energiewende and the future of utility-scale storage.