Head of Hardware Engineering – UAS & Autonomous Systems

Zone 5 Technologies; San Luis Obispo (CA); On-site; USD 220,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

401k with match

Paid time off

Job summary

Zone 5 Technologies seeks a Director of Hardware to lead Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, shaping architecture and enabling fast, safe, and manufacturable hardware for aerospace programs.

You will own strategy, ensure design rigor and compliance with AS standards, and guide cross-functional teams through major reviews while driving scalable engineering processes and capability investments.

Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related discipline.
• 12+ years of hardware engineering experience in aerospace, defense, autonomous systems, or equivalent.
• 5+ years leading engineering managers or multi-disciplinary hardware teams.
• Demonstrated experience developing hardware architectures and scaling engineering processes.
• Strong understanding of DFMA, configuration control, integration workflows, and test readiness.
• Ability to lead in a fast-paced, high-accountability environment with multiple active programs.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Managers and their teams.
• Set the strategic vision and roadmap for hardware capabilities, tools, and processes across Zone 5.
• Ensure hardware engineering delivers robust architectures, detailed designs, and high-quality integration support on schedule.
• Partner with Programs and IPTs to allocate resources, drive execution discipline, and resolve cross-functional issues.
• Establish and maintain engineering standards for hardware design, analysis, review rigor, documentation, verification, and configuration control.
• Ensure compliance with applicable aerospace standards (AS9100, AS6500, DO-160, MIL-STD-461/704).
• Oversee major design reviews and readiness events—PDR, CDR, TRR—ensuring hardware content meets technical and programmatic requirements.
• Identify and execute capability investments (equipment, software, training) needed for functional scalability.
• Guide root-cause investigations and ensure systemic corrective actions across hardware disciplines.
• Support proposal development by shaping hardware architectures, estimating labor, and defining execution approaches.
• Serve as the senior hardware engineering representative in portfolio, business area, and executive-level reviews.

Skills

Hardware leadership

Mechanical engineering

Electrical engineering

Program leadership

DFMA

Education

B.S./M.S. in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering

M.S. in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Solidworks

Altium

MBSE/Cameo

Job description

Zone 5 Technologies seeks a Director of Hardware to lead Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, shaping architecture and enabling fast, safe, and manufacturable hardware for aerospace programs.

You will own strategy, ensure design rigor and compliance with AS standards, and guide cross-functional teams through major reviews while driving scalable engineering processes and capability investments.