Hardware Engineering Technician
$75,000–$115,000 year
On-siteSan Francisco, California, United States
Job Summary
Build custom electromechanical systems through wire harness fabrication, electrical cabinet assembly, and mechanical fabrication in our prototyping lab and field. Install and integrate hardware onto heavy forestry equipment at OEM factories and dealer lots, requiring up to 50% travel. Debug prototype issues by running engineering tests and troubleshooting electrical, mechanical, and integration failures using bench tools like multimeters and oscilloscopes. Maintain the lab environment and tools to ensure readiness for the team. Your craftsmanship directly shapes prototypes into field-deployed products for remote forestry operations.
Required Qualifications
- Hands-on experience building and debugging electromechanical hardware — you've soldered, crimped, and assembled real systems, not just touched them once in a class.
- Comfort with bench debug tools — multimeter and oscilloscope — to troubleshoot from first principles.
- Wire harness fabrication: crimping, connectorization (e.g., Deutsch, Molex), and building to a drawing.
- Electrical panel / cabinet assembly, including the ability to read and follow electrical schematics and wiring diagrams.
- Mechanical fabrication fundamentals: hand and power tools, drilling, tapping, fastening, and basic shop work.
- Willingness and ability to travel to factories and dealer lots, and to work in field and shop environments. Expect up to 50% travel.
- Able to occasionally lift and carry up to 50 lbs, work on your feet, and work around heavy equipment and outdoor conditions.
Desired Qualifications
- Soldering proficiency, including through-hole and ideally surface-mount work.
- Experience with heavy equipment, agriculture, automotive, off-road, or other rugged field-deployed systems.
- Familiarity with low-voltage DC systems (12V/24V/48V), automotive-grade wiring, and CAN bus.
- Basic CAD literacy (we use Onshape) — enough to read drawings and propose fixes.
- Comfort with a Linux command line, SSH, and basic embedded/robotics tooling.
- Prior work in a startup or fast-moving prototyping environment.
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