Senior Hardware Engineer

Vellox Group; Auckland; Hybrid; NZD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hardware ownership

Small senior team

Hybrid working

KiwiSaver contributions

Job summary

Spidertracks in Auckland seeks an experienced hardware engineer to own the next-generation aviation tracking devices. You’ll drive PCB design, RF work, and certification readiness, bringing prototypes to volume production with our contract manufacturer.

You’ll collaborate with firmware, compliance and operations, mentor juniors as the team grows, and report to the CTO. A hands-on, ownership-driven role with meaningful impact on safety-critical hardware.

Qualifications

• 6+ years designing electronics shipped to customers, with FCC/CE certification experience.
• Strong mixed-signal and power design: USB-C, power-path, eFuse, DC/DC, backup.
• RF board design: 50 Ω layout, matching networks, multiple radios in one enclosure.
• Fluent in Altium Designer with stack-up & impedance planning.
• Lab skills: spectrum analyser, VNA, signal generator, pre-compliance EMC scans.
• Experience introducing a product at an external contract manufacturer.
• Embedded C/C++ to bring up a new board (STM32 a plus).
• Clear writing and the ability to explain design decisions.

Responsibilities

• Own PCB designs in Altium: schematics, impedance-controlled layout, libraries, ECNs & production release.
• Bring up and verify new board revisions: power, USB-C, MCU rails, backup power.
• Lead RF & antenna work: coexistence, matching, tuning, field/flight trials.
• Certify with compliance lead and labs (FCC, CE, aviation standards).
• Run NPI with contract manufacturer: DFM, first-article inspection, supplier management.
• Design production test fixtures and collaborate on test software.
• Support firmware bring-up & secure device provisioning.
• Document decisions for future engineers.

Skills

Hardware design

RF design

Altium Designer

Embedded C/C++

FCC/CE cert

STM32 MCU

Technical writing

Lab instrumentation

Tools

Altium Designer

STM32 MCU

Job description

About Spidertracks

Spidertracks is part of Vellox Group and builds aviation fleet management technology. Operators use our Fleet Manager platform, Spider X trackers and Spidertxt satellite messaging for real-time tracking, safety event reporting, flight data monitoring and cockpit-to-ground communication. The goal is simple: total visibility of fleet performance, less manual work, and risks caught early.

Our hardware is the foundation of that platform, and we’re growing the team that designs it.

The role

You’ll own the hardware design of our next-generation aviation tracking devices. These are multi-radio products combining satellite, cellular, GNSS and short-range wireless, and you’ll take them from prototype through certification and into volume production with our contract manufacturer.

This is a hands-on role with real ownership. You’ll make the hardware decisions, work closely with our firmware, compliance and operations teams, and see your designs fly. As the team grows, there’s room to step into leading our IoT engineering team. You’ll report to our CTO.

What you’ll do

• Own our PCB designs in Altium: schematics, impedance-controlled multilayer layout, part libraries, ECNs and manufacturing release packs.
• Bring up and verify new board revisions, from power and USB-C input to MCU rails and backup power.
• Lead RF and antenna work: multi-radio coexistence, matching and tuning, antenna selection, and field and flight trials.
• Take products through certification with our compliance lead and external test labs, including FCC, CE and aviation standards.
• Run new product introduction with our contract manufacturer: DFM, first-article inspection, golden samples and supplier management.
• Design production test-fixture hardware and work with the team that builds our test software.
• Support firmware bring-up and secure device provisioning.
• Write down your decisions so the next engineer can follow them.

What you’ll bring

• 6+ years designing electronics that shipped to customers, including at least one product you took through FCC or CE certification.
• Strong mixed-signal and power design: USB-C power, power-path and eFuse protection, DC/DC conversion, battery or supercap backup.
• RF board design experience: 50 Ω controlled-impedance layout, matching networks, and getting several radios to work in one enclosure.
• Fluency in Altium Designer, including stack-up and impedance planning.
• Confidence in the lab with a spectrum analyser, VNA and signal generator, and with pre-compliance EMC scans.
• Experience introducing a product at an external contract manufacturer.
• Enough embedded C/C++ to bring up a new board (STM32 a plus).
• Clear writing and the judgement to make a call and explain it.

Nice to have

• Aviation hardware experience, especially RTCA DO-160.
• Satellite (e.g. Iridium) or cellular carrier certification.
• GNSS, cellular or Bluetooth LE module integration.
• Production test fixtures, or device security (TPM, secure boot, code signing).

What we offer

• Ownership of hardware that pilots and operators rely on every day.
• A small, senior team where your decisions ship.
• Competitive salary, KiwiSaver employer contributions, and flexible hybrid working.