Head of Hardware Engineering - Onsite in San Francisco, CA

Roadrunner Venture Studio; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Roadrunner Venture Studios is seeking a Head of Hardware Engineering for an early-stage portfolio company focused on rainfall enhancement technology. This hands-on leadership role covers architecture, prototyping, and production planning across mechanical, thermal, combustion, and instrumentation systems.

Expect significant equity, travel, and a dynamic startup pace with frequent priorities shifting. You will own the hardware schedule and budget, recruit and mentor a small hardware team, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in mechanical/aerospace/systems engineering or related field.
• Experience leading hardware from concept to production planning in high-reliability domains.
• Proficiency with CAD tools (SolidWorks/NX) and PLM processes.

Responsibilities

• Own system architecture across mechanical, thermal, combustion, structural, fluid, and controls systems.
• Lead hardware development from design through prototypes, field-ready hardware, and production planning.
• Design, qualify, and manage combustion and thermal hardware, fuel/gas handling, flow, and thermal management.
• Define verification methods, supervise tests, and lead field qualification and failure review.
• Drive design for manufacturing and manage external engineering partners and suppliers.
• Own hardware schedule, budget, qualification timeline, and production readiness; mentor teammates.

Skills

System architecture

Hardware development leadership

Design for manufacturing

Project management

Technical leadership

Problem solving in startup

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical/aerospace/systems engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

NX

PLM systems

Job description

About Roadrunner Venture Studios

Roadrunner Venture Studios is the nation's leading platform for founding breakthrough ventures in frontier technology. We partner with scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to turn deep technology into real companies. Our work spans energy, manufacturing, semiconductors, quantum computing, aerospace, advanced materials, artificial intelligence, and high performance computing.

About the Role

Roadrunner Venture Studios is recruiting a Head of Hardware Engineering for a portfolio company developing rainfall enhancement technology.

You will lead the deployment system from architecture and prototyping through operational qualification and production-scale manufacturing.

You will apply aerospace rigor to industrial hardware that must operate reliably in the field and support repeatable manufacturing at automotive scale. The work spans mechanical, thermal, combustion, fluid, structural, controls, and instrumentation systems.

This is a hands-on role. You will work with internal science and field teams and lead external engineering firms, fabricators, suppliers, and manufacturing partners.

This role includes significant equity.

This is an early-stage startup building something that has not been built before. Expect weeks of 50 to 60 hours, sometimes more, with frequent travel and regular weekend work. Priorities will change quickly. If this working environment does not excite you, this job is probably not for you.

What You Will Do

Technical Leadership

• System Architecture: Own requirements and architecture across mechanical, thermal, combustion, structural, fluid, gas-handling, controls, and instrumentation systems.

• Hardware Development: Lead the system from early design through prototypes, integrated builds, field-ready hardware, and production planning.

• Combustion and Thermal Systems: Lead the design and qualification of combustion hardware, fuel and gas handling, flow and pressure systems, and thermal management.

• Qualification and Field Operations: Define verification methods and lead shop tests, integrated system tests, field qualification, troubleshooting, and failure reviews.

Manufacturing and External Partners

• Turn engineering concepts into computer aided design models, drawings, bills of materials, supplier packages, build instructions, and acceptance criteria.

• Lead design for manufacturing and assembly so prototypes can mature into reliable production hardware.

• Manage engineering, procurement, and construction firms, fabricators, suppliers, contract manufacturers, and other external partners.

• Use test data, field observations, supplier feedback, and failure analysis to drive design improvements and production readiness.

Business and Team Management

• Outcome Ownership: Own the hardware schedule, budget, qualification timeline, technical quality, partner deliverables, and production plan.

• Team Building: Recruit, mentor, and manage a small team of hardware engineers.

• Work across science, field operations, business, and external partners to resolve technical risks and keep the hardware program moving.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, systems engineering, or a related field.
• Experience leading complex hardware from concept through prototype builds, operational qualification, and production planning.
• High proficiency with computer aided design software such as SolidWorks or NX and product lifecycle management systems.
• Experience with engineering release processes, configuration control, drawings, bills of materials, and supplier documentation.
• Experience with design for manufacturing and assembly for industrial, aerospace, automotive, robotics, energy, or other complex hardware.
• Experience with combustion hardware, thermal systems, fluid systems, gas handling, pressure systems, large field equipment, or power systems.
• Experience with test instrumentation, data acquisition, controls interfaces, inspection methods, qualification plans, and operational readiness reviews.
• Experience managing engineering firms, fabrication shops, suppliers, contract manufacturers, or engineering, procurement, and construction partners.
• Experience supporting field tests or deployments and making engineering decisions under changing operating conditions.
• At least three years of experience leading hardware development and developing engineering talent.
• Ability to move quickly, take broad ownership, and solve complex problems with limited resources in a startup environment.
• Experience with computational fluid dynamics (CFD), especially for combustion, heat transfer, fluid flow, or gas-handling systems.
• Experience taking hardware from prototype builds into first-article or low-rate production.
• Experience with aerospace, defense, energy, automotive, robotics, or other high-reliability hardware programs.
• Experience building a hardware engineering function at an early-stage company.

Location

This role may be based in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, or New Mexico. The balance between in-person and remote work can be tailored to the candidate and team needs. Frequent travel is required.