Hardware Expert (MSc. or PhD)

Confidential; United States; Remote; USD 83,000 - 165,000; Part time

Job summary

Zekai is seeking a Hardware Expert (MSc or PhD) for global, fully remote engagement. This contractor role is ~15 hours per week with pay per task, at $60-$120/hour.

You will tackle AI training projects by designing hardware problems, validating models with test data, and developing robust verification approaches. Applicants should have hands-on ownership of hardware developments, from production-ready subsystems to rigorous testing.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Applied Physics, or related field.
• Significant hardware engineering, product development, systems integration, testing, validation, reliability, or failure analysis experience.
• Demonstrated ownership of a substantial engineering problem—production-ready product or subsystem, model validated with testing, or complex failure diagnosed.
• Experience working with Coding Agents is a must.

Responsibilities

• Create technically rigorous, self-contained hardware engineering problems based on realistic industry or research scenarios.
• Develop clear reference solutions using calculations, simulations, scripts, experimental reasoning, or other methods.
• Use Python, MATLAB, Simulink, SPICE, Julia, C/C++, test automation platforms to validate results.

Skills

Hardware engineering experience

Systems integration

Testing & validation

Reliability analysis

Failure analysis

Ownership of engineering problem

Python

MATLAB

Simulink

SPICE

Julia

C/C++

Test automation

Education

Electrical Engineering degree

Mechanical Engineering degree

Mechatronics degree

Systems Engineering degree

Applied Physics degree

Tools

Python

MATLAB

Simulink

SPICE

Julia

C/C++

Test automation platforms

Job description

Hardware Expert (MSc. or PhD)

Pay: $60-$120/hour

Location: Global, fully remote

Job Type: Contractor (~15 hours per week)

Schedule: Flexible- you choose the hours and days you work, including weekends if desired

our partner is engaging experienced Hardware Engineers to contribute to AI training projects built around complex, real-world engineering problems. In this role, you will use your technical expertise to create, solve, and evaluate engineering challenges that require sound judgment, quantitative reasoning, and reproducible answers.

We are looking for engineers who have personally owned meaningful technical work—such as taking a hardware system into production, validating a model against test data, developing a rigorous verification approach, or diagnosing a difficult failure. We value engineers who can connect first-principles reasoning with practical constraints and produce work that can be independently verified.

Scope of Work

• Create technically rigorous, self-contained hardware engineering problems based on realistic industry or research scenarios.
• Develop clear reference solutions using engineering calculations, simulations, scripts, experimental reasoning, or other appropriate methods.
• Use tools such as Python, MATLAB, Simulink, SPICE, Julia, C/C++, test automation platforms, or equivalent engineering software to validate results when relevant.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Applied Physics, or a closely related field.
• Significant professional or research experience in hardware engineering, product development, systems integration, testing, validation, reliability, or failure analysis.
• Demonstrated ownership of a substantial engineering problem—for example, a product or subsystem that reached production, a model validated against physical testing, a test system you developed, or a difficult failure you diagnosed.
• Experience working with Coding Agents is a must

Compensation Structure

Compensation is output-based. Experts are paid per task that meets the project specifications. The time required to complete each task may vary depending on the expert’s experience and workflow.

Minimum submission requirements apply..

Start Timeline & Availability

We typically fill roles within 48 hours and are looking for experts who are ready to begin immediately. If selected, you will be expected to start your first task within 24-48 hours of completing onboarding.

This is a 100% remote contract role, open to applicants worldwide in the countries the employer accepts.