Lead Hardware Build Engineer – Frontier AI Racks

Etched.ai; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Housing subsidy

Relocation support

Wellness benefits

Daily meals in office

Unlimited compute budget

Job summary

Etched.ai is building frontier AI hardware and in-house server racks. As a Build Engineer, you will own internal builds end to end—from planning and sourcing parts to floor execution and issue resolution.

You’ll work closely with mechanical, electrical, thermal, test, inventory, and lab operations teams to scale our hardware platform as we move into production. You’ll lead on-floor build activities, implement robust procedures, and drive cycle-time improvements while maintaining high quality and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent hands-on experience in mechanical/electrical/manufacturing engineering or aerospace/physics.
• Hands-on hardware building experience.
• Experience owning a hardware program end-to-end and delivering on schedule.
• Knowledge of manufacturing and assembly processes, reading drawings, and GD&T.
• Comfort on the factory floor and clear communication with teams and leadership.
• Ability to move quickly with incomplete information and stay calm under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Own internal rack and subassembly builds from kickoff to delivery, including schedule, material readiness, staffing, and on-time completion.
• Run clear-to-build checks against the BOM and coordinate with inventory and supply chain to prevent shortages.
• Write and maintain build procedures, work instructions, and travelers, and manage the transition to production.
• Review CAD models/drawings with design engineers to flag manufacturability and serviceability issues early.
• Design or specify fixtures, tooling, and build stations the team needs.
• Integrate subsystems into full rack assemblies and develop/run associated test procedures.
• Lead build technicians on the floor and be the first engineer to troubleshoot issues on a build.
• Simplify build flow by questioning requirements and removing unnecessary steps.
• Track build status, risks, and blockers; report to leadership with clear ship timing.
• Turn lessons into scalable processes and documentation for higher-volume production.

Skills

Hardware development

Project management

Cross-functional

GD&T

Communication

Education

Bachelors in Mechanical/Electrical/Manufacturing Engineering or Physics

Tools

CAD

Teamcenter

MES

ERP

Job description

Etched.ai is building frontier AI hardware and in-house server racks. As a Build Engineer, you will own internal builds end to end—from planning and sourcing parts to floor execution and issue resolution.

You’ll work closely with mechanical, electrical, thermal, test, inventory, and lab operations teams to scale our hardware platform as we move into production. You’ll lead on-floor build activities, implement robust procedures, and drive cycle-time improvements while maintaining high quality and