Hardware Engineering Lead, IOT Devices

JJA.CO; Atlanta (GA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

JJA.CO in Atlanta, GA is seeking a lead hardware engineer to own hardware across our underground wireless IoT devices. This hands-on leader will drive from requirements, through schematic and layout, to bring-up and mass production, while shaping system-level firmware architecture.

You'll work with an international hardware partner and our contract manufacturer, inherit a UK-based team, and grow a U.S. devices team to 3–5 engineers over the next year, ensuring rugged operation in harsh

Qualifications

• 7-10+ years of hands-on hardware design experience in Altium or equivalent, including board bring-up firmware.

Responsibilities

• Review schematic capture, PCB layout, component selection, thermal design and ruggedization for new designs and revisions
• Lead hardware bring-up, debug and validation through EVT/DVT/PVT
• Own the development-to-manufacturing handoff, through NPI and production line qualification at our contract manufacturer
• Manage outsourced mechanical and enclosure design partners
• Work with product management to define hardware, firmware and system-level requirements for new underground wireless IoT products
• Turn product and business requirements into architecture decisions that balance cost, power budget, reliability and ruggedization
• Work with the cloud software team on how devices send data, raise alarms and present data
• Evaluate RTOS-vs-bare-metal trade-offs for each device family based on power, reliability and startup-time requirements
• Guide firmware architecture for code reuse and portability, including MCU family selection, peripheral sets and pinout conventions across product families
• Review firmware at the hardware/firmware boundary: bootloaders, low-level drivers, power management and state machines, and timing-critical paths
• Set power budgets and startup reliability targets for battery-backed devices that wake, measure, sleep and alarm asynchronously
• Help set up the system-level test strategy and infrastructure for functional, environmental, reliability and end-to-end testing
• Provide L3/L4 technical support to the customer delivery team on field deployments
• Lead the hardware function technically and help guide firmware decisions with firmware engineering
• Manage and mentor the existing remote team and offshore development resources
• Hire and build a U.S.-based devices team as we scale
• Represent hardware and firmware readiness in cross-functional NPI reviews with test, operations/supply chain, product, commercial and customer delivery

Skills

Altium

Hardware design

Schematic capture

PCB layout

Embedded systems

Product-to-production

Offshore teams coordination

Startup experience

Tools

Altium

Job description

Location: Atlanta, GA preferred (remote considered for an exceptional candidate) · Travel: up to ~25%

About the Company

We're a venture-backed, revenue-generating startup helping electric utilities make their underground distribution networks safer and more reliable. Our ruggedized wireless sensor platform goes into underground vaults in dense urban areas. It uses visual and infrared cameras, combustible gas sensors and electrical sensing to watch conditions that used to be visible only through manual inspection. Data travels over cellular to our cloud platform. There, a growing set of analytics moves utilities from reacting to alarms toward predicting failures, catching problems before they turn into outages, fires or costly emergency repairs.

We're backed by a major utility and a multi-billion-dollar strategic corporate investor. We have tens of thousands of high-risk locations to go after and a new, lower-cost product line designed to ship in the thousands per year. It's an exciting time to join: we're growing our U.S. engineering team and adding new device families to the portfolio.

About the Role

This is the lead hardware role, a true player-coach position. You'll own hardware across our current and next-generation device families, taking designs from requirements, schematic and layout through bring-up and into mass production. You'll also shape firmware architecture at the system level. It's hands-on: you'll be in the schematic and layout reviews, not reading status reports about them.

You'll work in a blended development model with an international hardware development partner and our contract manufacturer, and you'll help build a strong system-level test function. You'll start by inheriting a small UK-based hardware/firmware team. Over the next year you'll help build a U.S. devices team of 3-5 engineers.

Our utility customers expect these devices to run in harsh underground environments for 7-10 years without a false truck roll. Long-term quality, data integrity and ruggedness come first.

Key Responsibilities

Hardware (primary focus)

• Review schematic capture, PCB layout, component selection, thermal design and ruggedization for new designs and revisions
• Lead hardware bring-up, debug and validation through EVT/DVT/PVT
• Own the development-to-manufacturing handoff, through NPI and production line qualification at our contract manufacturer
• Manage outsourced mechanical and enclosure design partners

Requirements & System Architecture

• Work with product management to define hardware, firmware and system-level requirements for new underground wireless IoT products
• Turn product and business requirements into architecture decisions that balance cost, power budget, reliability and ruggedization
• Work with the cloud software team on how devices send data, raise alarms and present data

Firmware (architecture and review, not day-to-day ownership)

• Evaluate RTOS-vs-bare-metal trade-offs for each device family based on power, reliability and startup-time requirements
• Guide firmware architecture for code reuse and portability, including MCU family selection, peripheral sets and pinout conventions across product families
• Review firmware at the hardware/firmware boundary: bootloaders, low-level drivers, power management and state machines, and timing-critical paths
• Set power budgets and startup reliability targets for battery-backed devices that wake, measure, sleep and alarm asynchronously

System Test & Customer Support

• Help set up the system-level test strategy and infrastructure for functional, environmental, reliability and end-to-end testing
• Provide L3/L4 technical support to the customer delivery team on field deployments
• Lead the hardware function technically and help guide firmware decisions with firmware engineering
• Manage and mentor the existing remote team and offshore development resources
• Hire and build a U.S.-based devices team as we scale
• Represent hardware and firmware readiness in cross-functional NPI reviews with test, operations/supply chain, product, commercial and customer delivery

Required Qualifications

• 7-10+ years of hands-on hardware design experience in Altium or equivalent, including board bring-up firmware (bootloaders, low-level drivers)
• Deep, current experience with schematic capture and PCB layout for compact, low-power embedded devices using cellular or other wireless (802.11, BLE)
• Proven track record taking a product from clean-sheet design to mass production
• History of owning or working closely with contract manufacturers/EMS partners, ideally across an international handoff through NPI and factory qualification
• Experience managing or working closely with offshore or outsourced development teams
• Embedded experience controlling multiple external sensors under tight power constraints
• Startup mentality; experience in a venture-backed environment is a strong plus

Nice to Have

• RF/cellular certification experience (FCC, PTCRB, carrier certification) for cellular, 802.11, BT/BLE, LoRa or similar
• Ruggedized, IP-rated enclosure and environmental design for outdoor, underground or similarly harsh deployments
• Environmental/reliability test methods (vibration, thermal cycling, ingress testing)
• Background in utility, energy, metering or industrial IoT, including protocols such as DNP3 or Modbus
• Experience building or scaling a hardware/firmware team from a small base

Why Join

• A leadership seat on a small team (~25 people) where your work shapes the product line
• Meaningful mission: safer, more reliable power in major U.S. cities
• Strong financial backing, real revenue and a clear path to scale
• Stay technical while building and leading your own team