Hardware Tech Lead

Role overview

Capture platform and vendors

• Specify and architect a wearable capture platform spanning cameras, IMUs, EMG/biosignal sensors, pose tracking, audio, storage, power, and thermals.
• Set camera requirements and synchronize sensor streams at capture using triggering, shared clocks, and source timestamping.
• Balance data quality with wearability, battery life, cost, and manufacturability; define output interfaces such as MCAP.
• Evaluate vendors and components using scored frameworks and real captured data; recommend build, buy, or partner choices.
• Manage suppliers from pilot and NRE through EVT/DVT/PVT and volume supply, ensuring compliance with specifications, quality, and dates.

Design and technical leadership

• Own or review schematics and PCB layouts; develop and debug embedded firmware for capture, synchronization, and data offload.
• Bring up boards, characterize performance, and build test fixtures, calibration rigs, and incoming-QA tools.
• Identify potentially patentable hardware IP in sensing, synchronization, calibration, and wearable design.
• Set up the hardware lab, tools, BOM management, design reviews, and hardware version control.
• Lead design reviews, break down work, mentor engineers and contractors, and help interview and onboard hardware engineers.

Required technical skills

• Must have mixed-signal schematic design, component selection, power trees, and high-speed signal integrity knowledge.
• Must own or rigorously review multilayer PCB layouts, with DFM/DFT awareness and experience working with fabrication and assembly houses.
• Must understand image sensors, MIPI CSI-2, ISP pipelines, lens/FOV selection, shutter types, and exposure synchronization.
• Must have IMU selection and integration, sensor-fusion fundamentals, calibration, and drift-characterization knowledge.
• Must have hardware triggering, PTP/shared clocks, source timestamping, and cross-sensor offset measurement skills.
• Must have C/C++ embedded firmware experience on MCUs and SoCs, RTOS or embedded Linux, common interfaces, DMA, and buffering.
• Must understand battery management, power budgets, wearable-device thermal limits, and systematic lab debugging.

Additional skills and experience

• Strong capability in Wi-Fi/BLE, high-throughput storage and data offload, biosignal sensing, mechanical collaboration, and relevant product certifications.
• Python test automation and Altium or KiCad, hardware version control, and PLM/BOM tools are listed as strong skills.
• Requires 7+ years in hardware engineering, including at least one device taken from concept through mass production.
• Requires direct ODM or contract-manufacturer management experience, including NRE negotiation, factory audits, and yield issues.
• Requires experience writing product requirements and hardware specifications and making data-supported vendor or component selections.