Head of Hardware - Rugged IoT for Cattle

Workshop; Austin, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Meaningful equity package with a high-

Health, dental, vision insurance

Paid family and medical leave

Unlimited PTO

Collaborative environment with strong,

Job summary

Drover is building a transformative virtual fencing ear tag for cattle and the platform to run the modern ranch. The Head of Hardware will own the device end-to-end, from design validation through production, and scale the hardware team alongside the founders.

You will lead hardware development, optimize power, RF, sensing, and integration, and collaborate with a contract manufacturer to bring the product to global cattle operations. This role requires in-person work near Austin, TX.

Qualifications

• 5+ years as an electrical engineer, with at least one product taken from prototype to volume production.
• 2+ years of leadership experience, and willing to hire and manage a team of engineers.
• Strong PCB design skills, including schematic capture, layout review, and lab debugging.
• Experience working with contract manufacturers and managing a hardware supply chain.
• Solid understanding of low-power embedded systems: battery-powered devices, power budgeting, energy harvesting.
• Comfortable guiding product development and product iteration cycles in a fast-paced environment.
• Willing to work in-person in Austin, TX

Responsibilities

• Own Drover hardware across the company. Set the technical direction for current and future generations of the product, and hire the team to build them
• Drive manufacturing through EVT, DVT, and PVT, ensuring design maturity, test coverage, and release readiness at each gate
• Lead electrical design and review across the full system: cellular and satellite connectivity, GNSS, power management and solar harvesting, embedded sensing, and our patent‑pending low‑voltage muscle stimulation circuit
• Travel overseas to work hands-on with our contract manufacturer on DFM, test fixtures, yield, and production ramp for commercial launch
• Work with our liaisons to build and manage the supply chain
• Establish quality assurance and reliability testing for a device that has to survive years on a cow's ear in the sun, rain, and mud
• Drive regulatory and certification work (FCC, CE, RCM, carrier certification, battery transport and safety)
• Opportunity to work from our field offices located within an hour of Austin to prototype and review product iterations on working ranches

Skills

Electrical engineering

Leadership

PCB design

Hardware supply chain

Embedded systems

Regulatory experience

Product development guidance

Tools

Contract manufacturers

Power management

Job description

Drover is building a transformative virtual fencing ear tag for cattle and the platform to run the modern ranch. The Head of Hardware will own the device end-to-end, from design validation through production, and scale the hardware team alongside the founders.

You will lead hardware development, optimize power, RF, sensing, and integration, and collaborate with a contract manufacturer to bring the product to global cattle operations. This role requires in-person work near Austin, TX.