Hardware Systems Engineer

Decisive Point; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Applied Intuition, Inc. is seeking a Hardware Systems Engineer to own system, hardware, and EE-level requirements for a new strategic product.

You will translate vehicle-level needs into testable requirements, define EE architectures for benches, and establish traceability across the program using MBSE tools. The role emphasizes architecture over hands-on hardware development, with collaboration across hardware, embedded, perception, and autonomy software teams.

Qualifications

• 4+ years in systems or hardware systems engineering, focusing on requirements, decomposition, analysis and verification.
• Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field (Bachelor's or Master's).
• Experience deriving requirements from higher-level vehicle requirements.
• Understanding of EE systems: power, wiring, signal interfaces, instrumentation, DAQ.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, able to bridge deep technical and stakeholder levels.

Responsibilities

• Decompose vehicle-level requirements into system-, hardware-, and EE-level requirements and define system bounds and features.
• Define EE architecture for test benches and rigs, including HIL setups and bench wiring.
• Use MBSE/SysML to build and maintain architecture and manage variant configuration.
• Own validation and verification of requirements at system and hardware levels; ensure traceability.
• Collaborate daily with hardware, embedded, perception, and autonomy software teams; align bench capability with verification needs.

Skills

Systems engineering

Requirements decomposition

Electrical engineering

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's/Master's in Electrical or Computer Engineering

Tools

ASPICE

Polarion

Cameo

Job description

Applied Intuition, Inc. is powering the future of physical AI. Founded in 2017 and now valued at $15 billion, the Silicon Valley company is creating the digital infrastructure needed to bring intelligence to every moving machine on the planet. Applied Intuition services the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining and agriculture industries in three core areas: tools and infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy. Eighteen of the top 20 global automakers, as well as the United States military and its allies, trust the company’s solutions to deliver physical intelligence. Applied Intuition is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices in Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; Ann Arbor, Michigan; London; Stuttgart; Munich; Stockholm; Bangalore; Seoul; and Tokyo. Learn more at applied.co.

We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that full-time employees primarily work from their Applied Intuition office 5 days a week. However, we also recognize the importance of flexibility and trust our employees to manage their schedules responsibly. This may include occasional remote work, starting the day with morning meetings from home before heading to the office, or leaving earlier when needed to accommodate family commitments. This in-office expectation does not apply to contractor positions

About the role

We're looking for a Hardware Systems Engineer with strong robotics and software expertise to own the system, hardware, and electrical/electronics (EE) level requirements for a new Applied Intuition product of strategic importance. Working from vehicle-level requirements, you'll decompose and allocate them into clear, testable system and hardware requirements, and you'll define the EE systems for the test benches and rigs used to validate the product.

This is a requirements- and architecture-focused role - you will not perform hands-on hardware development (no schematic capture, PCB layout, or board bring-up). Instead, you define what the hardware and test infrastructure must do, own the requirements and architecture in a model-based environment, and establish the process, tooling, and traceability foundations - ASPICE, Polarion, and Cameo - that the rest of the program builds on.

At Applied, you will:

Requirements from vehicle-level requirements

• Decompose and allocate vehicle-level requirements into system-, hardware-, and EE-level requirements; define system bounds, capabilities, and functional features.
• Convert customer needs and autonomy/Vehicle OS use cases into system and hardware requirements and operational objectives for the system as a whole.
• Ensure the built system meets its intended requirements, and keep requirements current as vehicle-level requirements evolve.

EE systems for benches & rigs

• Define the electrical and electronics (EE) architecture for the test benches and rigs used to validate the product, including hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) rigs and bench setups.
• Specify power distribution, wiring and harnessing, signal interfaces, instrumentation, data acquisition (DAQ), sensor/actuator emulation, and safety interlocks for benches and rigs.
• Capture bench and rig requirements and interfaces, and partner with the teams that build and maintain them so the infrastructure delivers the coverage needed to verify system and software requirements.

Architecture & modeling

• Use Cameo (MBSE/SysML) to build, maintain, and analyze the functional and logical architecture, and define variant management for Vehicle OS products.

Verification, traceability & compliance

• Own validation and verification of requirements at both the system and hardware level.
• Maintain end-to-end traceability across user journeys, features, system requirements, subsystem/hardware/EE requirements, bench and rig definitions, and test cases - across the full toolchain.
• Define processes for ASPICE Level 2 compliance, partner with the QA team to meet industry standards (e.g., ISO 26262 functional safety), and configure Polarion (requirements management) and Cameo (architecture management) for compliant industry processes.

Cross-functional collaboration

• Work daily with hardware, embedded, perception, and autonomy software teams, providing requirements guidance so the delivered design stays as close as possible to the intended design.
• Coordinate with test, validation, and lab teams to align bench and rig capability with the program's verification needs.

We're looking for someone who has:

• 3+ years of systems or hardware systems engineering experience (5+ preferred) covering requirements, functional decomposition and allocation, analysis, and verification.
• Bachelors and/or Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• Experience deriving and allocating requirements from higher-level (e.g., vehicle-level) requirements.
• Working understanding of EE systems - power, wiring and harnessing, signal interfaces, instrumentation, and DAQ - sufficient to define test benches and rigs.
• Excellent written and verbal communication - able to move fluidly between deep technical detail and stakeholder-level clarity.

Note: this role does not involve hands-on hardware development (schematic capture, PCB layout, or board bring-up).

Nice to have:

• Familiarity with software safety analyses (SW-FTA, SW-FMEA) or software safety case development at the application or platform level — this is a strong differentiator for this role
• Familiarity with software tool classification and qualification activities per ISO 26262 Part 8
• Experience across multiple vehicle domains — ADAS or propulsion or chassis, or body electronics — with an understanding of domain-specific safety challenges
• Exposure to ASPICE (Automotive SPICE) software process assessments alongside ISO 26262
• Experience working with third-party assessors through product assessment or audit cycles

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Applied Intuition is an equal opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor. Consequently, the parties agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-1.4(a), 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and that these laws are incorporated herein by reference. These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. These regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability. The parties also agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of Executive Order 13496 (29 CFR Part 471, Appendix A to Subpart A), relating to the notice of employee rights under federal labor laws.

FOR US-BASED ROLES: Applied Intuition is committed to providing an accessible and inclusive application and interview experience to applicants who are disabled veterans and other applicants with disabilities or medical conditions. Reasonable accommodations are available, requesting an accommodation will not affect your candidacy in any way, and you are not required to disclose the nature of your disability or medical condition in order to make a request. If you require an accommodation please contact [e-mail]. We will work with you!