Hardware Team Lead

Foundation; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Foundation is advancing humanoid robotics and seeks a Hardware Lead to build and manage a cross‑functional team spanning electrical systems, mechanics, and firmware for Phantom body parts. You will drive rapid prototyping, manufacturability, and new architectures to accelerate Foundation initiatives.

You will guide sourcing, design reviews, and qualification efforts while leading the actuator team through technical challenges across mechanical, electrical, firmware, and controls domains.

Qualifications

• Hands-on leadership of hardware systems for robotics or related fields.
• Experience with high-volume manufacturing is a plus.
• Strong electromechanical knowledge and sensor integration.
• Embedded firmware and packaging familiarity.

Responsibilities

• Lead hardware design teams across electrical, mechanical, and firmware.
• Oversee prototyping, testing, and verification activities.
• Coordinate with manufacturing and sourcing for scalable builds.
• Drive new architectures and optimization for Foundation initiatives.

Skills

Hardware leadership

Cross-functional leadership

Robotics hardware design

Electromechanical systems

Embedded firmware

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

3D CAD software

FEA/MATLAB/ANSYS

Job description

Why We Are Hiring For This Role:

• At Foundation, we’re pushing the bounds on Humanoid technology.
• As we rapidly scale to meet demand, we’re looking for a Hardware lead that can build on our existing work and continue to improve efficiency, manufacturability, and other key performance metrics.
• The hardware lead will build and lead a cross‑functional team spanning electrical systems, manufacturing design and build including Phantom’s Body, Legs, Head and Torso.
• This team will not only focus on current design optimization but also create new architectures through rapid prototyping and modeling.

What Kind of Person Are We Looking For:

• A hands‑on technical leader with strong design experience in Hardware systems for robotics, automotive, or aerospace (bonus if done in the context of high volume manufacturing)..
• Robust understanding of electromechanical structures and systems,, embedded firmware, communication protocols, sensor integration, and packaging.
• A leader that is ready to dive into technical details and challenges related to mechanical, electrical, firmware, controls, and sourcing activities.
• Mastery in 3D CAD software, simulation and analysis methodology (FEA, MATLAB, ANSYS, etc), GD&T, tolerance analysis, and technical communication.
• Zeal for agile, startup‑like operations with a bias for action to guide the actuator team in transformative robotics progress across all Foundation initiatives.