Head of Hardware Engineering — Equity + Field-Ready Systems

Roadrunner Venture Studio; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Significant equity

Frequent travel

Job summary

Roadrunner Venture Studios is seeking a Head of Hardware Engineering for a portfolio company building rainfall enhancement technology. You will lead the deployment system from architecture through production-scale manufacturing and work with external engineering firms, fabricators, and suppliers.

This is an early-stage startup with equity and a hands-on role spanning mechanical, thermal, combustion, and control systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in mechanical, aerospace, systems engineering, or related field.
• Experience leading hardware from concept through prototype builds, qualification, and production planning.
• Proficiency with CAD software such as SolidWorks or NX; PLM familiarity.
• Experience with design for manufacturing and assembly for high‑reliability hardware.
• 3+ years leading hardware development and mentoring engineering talent.
• Ability to move quickly in a startup environment and own outcomes.
• Experience with CFD for combustion/thermal/ fluid systems.
• Experience taking hardware from prototype builds to first-article or low-rate production.
• Experience with aerospace, defense, energy, automotive, robotics, or similar high-reliability programs.

Responsibilities

• Own system architecture across mechanical, thermal, combustion, structural, fluid, gas-handling, controls, and instrumentation.
• Lead hardware development from design through prototypes and production planning.
• Design & qualify combustion hardware, fuel/gas handling, flow, pressure, and thermal systems.
• Define verification methods, lead shop tests, field qualification, and failure reviews.
• Turn engineering concepts into CAD models, drawings, BOMs, supplier packages, and build instructions.
• Lead design for manufacturing to mature prototypes into production-ready hardware.
• Manage engineering, procurement, and external partners/firms and ensure supplier alignment.
• Use data, field observations, and supplier feedback to drive design improvements and readiness.
• Own hardware schedule, budget, qualification timeline and production plan.
• Recruit and mentor a small hardware engineering team.
• Collaborate across science, field operations, and business teams to mitigate technical risks.

Skills

System architecture

Hardware development

Combustion & thermal systems

Qualification & field operations

Manufacturing & external partners

Business & team management

Team building

Startup leadership

CFD experience

Design for manufacturing

Vendor management

Education

Bachelor’s degree or higher in mechanical, aerospace or systems engineering

Tools

SolidWorks/NX

PLM systems

Data acquisition / test instrumentation

Job description

Roadrunner Venture Studios is seeking a Head of Hardware Engineering for a portfolio company building rainfall enhancement technology. You will lead the deployment system from architecture through production-scale manufacturing and work with external engineering firms, fabricators, and suppliers.

This is an early-stage startup with equity and a hands-on role spanning mechanical, thermal, combustion, and control systems.