Hardware Engineer

Root Access; New York (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Root Access is seeking a Hardware Engineer to develop electronic products from concept through production in our New York office. You will own circuit design, PCB development, prototype bring-up, and hardware validation to deliver reliable, production-ready systems.

You will collaborate with firmware, mechanical, test, and manufacturing teams; bring-up and debug prototypes; and drive design reviews, DFM/DFT, and regulatory readiness as products mature.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent practical experience.
• 3+ years of hands-on electronic circuit and PCB design experience.
• Proficiency with schematic capture and PCB design tools such as Altium, Cadence, or KiCad.
• Solid understanding of analog and digital electronics, power supply design, and signal- and power-integrity fundamentals.
• Experience designing microcontroller or processor-based systems and common communication interfaces.
• Hands-on experience bringing up and debugging custom hardware using standard lab instrumentation.
• Ability to translate system requirements into practical designs and clearly document engineering decisions.

Responsibilities

• Own hardware development from requirements and architecture through schematic capture, PCB layout, validation, and production release.
• Select components, define footprints, and manage bills of materials with attention to performance, availability, cost, and lifecycle.
• Design analog and digital circuits, power supplies, sensor interfaces, communication interfaces (I²C, SPI, UART, USB, Ethernet, etc.), and microcontroller/processor subsystems.
• Perform circuit simulation and engineering analysis to evaluate power, signal integrity, timing, and thermal performance.
• Bring up and debug prototypes using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power supplies, electronic loads, and other lab equipment.
• Develop validation plans, characterize hardware performance, and resolve issues identified during testing.
• Collaborate with firmware, mechanical, test, and manufacturing engineers throughout the development cycle.
• Prepare design documentation and lead design reviews, supporting Design for Manufacturability (DFM), Design for Test (DFT), and cost reduction.
• Support EMC/EMI, environmental, safety, and regulatory testing as products mature.
• Troubleshoot production issues and implement design improvements to increase reliability and manufacturing yield.

Skills

Electronic circuit design

PCB design

Lab instrumentation

Microcontroller systems

Documentation

Power integrity

Analog & digital electronics

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering

Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium

Cadence

KiCad

Job description

Hardware Engineer

We’re looking for a Hardware Engineer to develop electronic products from concept through production. You’ll own circuit design, PCB development, prototype bring-up, and hardware validation to deliver reliable, production-ready systems. You will work alongside our cofounder / CTO who earned 7 patents for electronics. This role is best suited for a skilled engineer who wants to move fast in a small team.

Key responsibilities

• Own hardware development from requirements and architecture through schematic capture, PCB layout, validation, and production release.

• Select components, define footprints, and manage bills of materials with attention to performance, availability, cost, and lifecycle.

• Design analog and digital circuits, power supplies, sensor interfaces, communication interfaces (I²C, SPI, UART, USB, Ethernet, etc.), and microcontroller/processor subsystems.

• Perform circuit simulation and engineering analysis to evaluate power, signal integrity, timing, and thermal performance.

• Bring up and debug prototypes using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power supplies, electronic loads, and other lab equipment.

• Develop validation plans, characterize hardware performance, and resolve issues identified during testing.

• Collaborate with firmware, mechanical, test, and manufacturing engineers throughout the development cycle.

• Prepare design documentation and lead design reviews, supporting Design for Manufacturability (DFM), Design for Test (DFT), and cost reduction.

• Support EMC/EMI, environmental, safety, and regulatory testing as products mature.

• Troubleshoot production issues and implement design improvements to increase reliability and manufacturing yield.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent practical experience.

• 3+ years of hands‑on electronic circuit and PCB design experience.

• Proficiency with schematic capture and PCB design tools such as Altium, Cadence, or KiCad.

• Solid understanding of analog and digital electronics, power supply design, and signal- and power-integrity fundamentals.

• Experience designing microcontroller or processor‑based systems and common communication interfaces.

• Hands‑on experience bringing up and debugging custom hardware using standard lab instrumentation.

• Ability to translate system requirements into practical designs and clearly document engineering decisions.

Preferred qualifications

• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering.

• Experience with SPICE, signal- and power-integrity analysis, or electromagnetic and thermal simulation tools such as Ansys HFSS, SIwave, Icepak, or CST.

• Experience designing hardware for robotics, autonomous systems, industrial, aerospace, or defense applications.

• Familiarity with DFM, DFT, component sourcing, and manufacturing processes.

• Python or other scripting experience for test automation, hardware characterization, or data analysis.

• Experience with EMC/EMI troubleshooting and environmental or regulatory compliance testing.