Hardware Engineering Manager

Mount Indie; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Fuse seeks a Hardware Engineering Manager in San Diego to lead Mechanical and Electrical Engineering teams, shaping people, processes, and practices for rugged, mission-ready hardware.

You will collaborate with Systems, Software, Network, Product, Production, and Program teams throughout the lifecycle—from concept to sustainment—while mentoring engineers, hiring, managing performance, and ensuring design maturity.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or higher degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related discipline.
• 8+ years of experience developing complex hardware or electro-mechanical systems.
• Proven experience leading engineering teams, including hiring, mentoring, performance management, and career development.
• Strong technical foundation with ability to lead across both mechanical and electrical disciplines.
• Experience developing complex electro-mechanical hardware from concept through production.
• Ability to collaborate with Principal Engineers and subject matter experts.
• Experience managing resources across multiple programs/projects.
• Understanding of design reviews, risk management, configuration management, and change control.
• Strong communication with technical teams, customers, suppliers, and stakeholders.
• U.S. Citizen with ability to obtain Secret Clearance.

Responsibilities

• Lead and Grow the Hardware Engineering Team.
• Co-lead Hardware Technical Execution with Principal Engineers.
• Drive Hardware Development and Engineering Excellence.
• Enable Program and Product Success.
• Collaborate Across the Enterprise.

Skills

Leadership

Mentoring

Resource planning

Cross-disciplinary

Communication

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor’s or higher degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

PDM

Electrical design tools

PCB development

Job description

As the Hardware Engineering Manager, you’ll lead Mechanical and Electrical Engineering teams – building and developing the people, capabilities, processes, and engineering practices required to deliver innovative, rugged, mission-ready hardware.You’ll own the functional management and continued development of Hardware Engineering, including hiring, mentoring, performance management, career development, resource planning, and engineering processes. You’ll ensure the team has the people, tools, priorities, and support needed to execute successfully.

Technical execution within Hardware Engineering is a shared leadership responsibility. The Hardware Engineering Manager will co-lead technical execution with Fuse’s Principal Mechanical and Principal Electrical Engineers, combining organizational leadership with deep discipline-specific technical expertise. Together, this team will guide technical direction, manage risk, mentor engineers, and ensure design maturity.

This role requires strong technical breadth across electro-mechanical product development but does not require the Manager to be the foremost technical authority in every hardware discipline. The successful candidate will leverage Principal Engineers and other subject matter experts, recognize risk, ask the right questions, and establish clear technical ownership.

You’ll collaborate closely with Systems, Software, Network, Product, Production, and Program teams throughout the development lifecycle – from early concepts and requirements through detailed design, prototype builds, qualification, production transition, and sustainment.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead and Grow the Hardware Engineering Team
• Lead and functionally manage Fuse’s Mechanical Engineers, Electrical Engineers and Designers.
• Mentor and develop engineers through coaching, performance management, goal setting, and career development.
• Recruit and retain high-performing engineering talent to support Fuse’s continued growth.
• Establish clear roles, expectations, career paths, and development opportunities across Hardware Engineering.
• Identify capability gaps and develop strategies for staffing, training, tooling, processes, and outside technical support.

Co-Lead Hardware Technical Execution

• Co-lead Hardware Engineering technical execution with the Principal Mechanical and Principal Electrical Engineers.
• Partner with Principal Engineers to establish technical direction, engineering standards, design practices, and expectations for technical quality.
• Maintain a clear partnership between functional leadership and technical authority: the Manager owns organizational effectiveness, staffing, priorities, and execution health, while Principal Engineers provide discipline-level technical leadership and mentorship.
• Facilitate technical decisions and escalation when mechanical, electrical, systems, manufacturing, cost, schedule, or program requirements compete.
• Partner with Principal Engineers to identify technical risk early and drive appropriate analysis, testing, trade studies, or design changes.

Drive Hardware Development and Engineering Excellence

• Provide leadership across the hardware lifecycle from concept and requirements through design, analysis, prototyping, integration, qualification, production transition, and sustainment.
• Ensure designs appropriately address performance, reliability, manufacturability, maintainability, environmental requirements, and lifecycle needs.
• Promote effective electro-mechanical integration and early collaboration between Mechanical and Electrical Engineering.
• Drive continuous improvement of engineering processes, tools, CAD/PDM practices, design reviews, configuration management, and documentation.
• Partner with Principal Engineers and Systems Engineering to address applicable military and industry standards.

Enable Program and Product Success

• Align Hardware Engineering resources with program and product priorities in partnership with Program Management and Product leadership.
• Provide engineering inputs to proposals, ROMs, WBS development, staffing plans, schedules, and execution strategies.
• Balance capacity across customer programs, internal product development, sustaining engineering, technical debt, and emerging needs.
• Identify resource constraints, technical risks, and schedule concerns early and drive mitigation with leadership.
• Support NPD/NPI to ensure designs are mature, documented, manufacturable, and ready for Production.

Collaborate Across the Enterprise

• Partner with the Systems Engineering Manager to align system architecture and requirements with mechanical and electrical execution.
• Collaborate with Software, Network, Cyber, Product, Programs, Production, Quality, Configuration Management, and Supply Chain throughout the product lifecycle.
• Work with Production and Supply Chain to ensure designs address manufacturability, supplier capability, first article requirements, and production scalability.
• Represent Hardware Engineering in customer engagements, technical interchange meetings, program reviews, and field integration events.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or higher degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related Engineering discipline
• 8+ years of experience developing complex hardware or electro-mechanical systems
• Proven experience leading engineering teams, including hiring, mentoring, performance management, and career development
• Strong technical foundation in either Mechanical or Electrical Engineering with demonstrated ability to effectively lead and collaborate across both disciplines
• Experience developing complex electro-mechanical hardware from concept through design, prototype, integration, qualification, and production
• Demonstrated ability to lead collaboratively with Principal Engineers, senior technical contributors, and subject matter experts
• Experience managing engineering resources and priorities across multiple simultaneous projects or programs
• Strong understanding of design reviews, technical risk management, configuration management, and engineering change control
• Familiarity with hardware verification, environmental qualification, and applicable military/industry standards
• Strong communication skills across technical teams, leadership, customers, suppliers, and program stakeholders
• U.S. Citizen with ability to obtain Secret Clearance

Nice to Have

• Experience developing ruggedized hardware for defense, aerospace, maritime, or harsh-environment applications
• Background in tactical communications, networking, computing, or command-and-control systems
• Familiarity with MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-704, DO-160, or similar environmental and electrical qualification standards
• Experience with SolidWorks, PDM, and related mechanical CAD environments
• Familiarity with electrical design tools, cable/harness design, PCB development, power systems, structural analysis, or thermal analysis
• Experience with prototype builds, FAI, qualification testing, NPI/NPD, and manufacturing transition
• Experience working in a matrix engineering organization supporting multiple programs
• Active Secret Clearance