Needl is hiring: Hardware Engineer (founding) (San Francisco) in San Francisco
Needl, San Francisco, CA, US
This range is provided by Needl. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience talk with your recruiter to learn more.
Base pay range
$250,000.00/yr - $380,000.00/yr
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Needl Owner - Helping tech startups scale
Founding Hardware Engineer (Stealth Robotics Startup)
About Us
Were a tiny, fast-moving team building autonomous systems for heavy industrial machines. We retrofit existing equipment with a plug-and-play autonomy kit that taps directly into machine controls and layers on a full perception + connectivity stack: multi-sensor vision, LiDAR, high-precision GNSS, IMU, and a low-latency tele-operation network.
In just a few months, weve gone from first prototype to real machines operating on active job sites, with early recurring revenue and a growing pipeline of paid pilots. Were backed by top-tier early-stage investors along with a group of founder-operators who know what it takes to build in the real world.
Our founding team has built and shipped hardware, software, and robotics systems before. We thrive where physical machinery, harsh environments, and rapid iteration collide.
Why Join Us
- You want to work on problems that actually matter fixing how the world builds things. Construction is the backbone of civilization, and its currently broken. Were here to change that.
- You dont want a cushy robotics lab job. You want to build robots in the mud, on real sites, under real constraints. Youd rather spend a week living out of a dusty RV next to a machine youre debugging than polishing a slide deck.
- You want to see your designs move 2050 tons of real hardware. You want to feel the stakes.
- You want teammates who operate at founder-level intensity and ownership.
About You
- Youre a hacker at heart the kind of person who gets a prototype working before most people finish their planning doc.
- Youve built something from scratch: a company, a product, a robot, a system success not required, agency absolutely required.
- You work extremely hard, laugh often, and dont mind chaos. You prefer figure it out now to wait for perfect requirements.
What Youll Own
As a founding Hardware / Mechatronics Engineer, youll design and build the core systems that enable remote operation, sensing, and autonomy assistance on industrial machines. Youll work across mechanical, electrical, and embedded disciplines, often all in the same day.
System Design & Prototyping
- Architect and build tele-operation hardware systems, including power, compute, and control modules for machine retrofits.
Sensor Integration
- Integrate and calibrate cameras, LiDAR, radar, GNSS, IMUs, and other sensors using interfaces like GMSL, CAN, and Ethernet.
Electrical & Mechanical Integration
- Design robust wiring harnesses, brackets, mounts, and enclosures that survive real-world abuse.
Communication Interfaces
- Implement and validate CAN, LIN, J1939, Serial, and Ethernet connections with both existing ECUs and custom control hardware.
Manufacturing & DFM
- Work with vendors to bring designs from scrappy prototypes to reliable production, including DFM, testing, and validation.
Testing & Validation
- Lead machine bring-up, HIL testing, and on-site debugging alongside software and autonomy engineers.
Documentation & Design
- Produce schematics, harness drawings, CAD models, assembly docs, and anything else needed to build and scale the hardware.
Compensation & Support
- Base: ~$250380k
- Equity: ~13%
- Full health/dental/vision, relocation + visa support, downtown SF workspace with full electronics/mech prototyping tools, 401(k), high-spec laptop, and budget for any gear you need.
Seniority level
Mid-Senior level
Employment type
Full-time
Job function
Engineering and Information Technology
Industries
Construction
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