Senior Manager, Electrical Engineering & Controls

HorseShoe Beverage Company; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 215,000; Full time

Job summary

BurnBot is seeking a senior electrical engineering leader in South San Francisco to guide a team of electrical and controls engineers. You will shape the electrical architecture across our fleet, including power distribution, batteries, harnessing, PCBA, sensors, and communications, while staying close to hardware to catch issues early.

You will own machine controls (embedded/PLC software, CAN networks, actuators) and safety systems, establishing robust fault handling and safe states.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in electrical engineering or controls, including experience leading engineers.
• Depth in vehicle or machine electrical systems: power distribution, batteries, harness design, and connectors that survive the field.
• Embedded or PLC controls experience, and fluency with CAN or similar industrial buses.
• A working understanding of functional safety and how to design for it.
• Hands-on debug ability. You can still find the fault with a scope and a multimeter.
• Judgment about make-versus-buy, cost, and schedule — and the willingness to defend it.
• B.S. in electrical engineering or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Hire, mentor, and lead a team of electrical and controls engineers.
• Own electrical architecture across the fleet: power, batteries, harnessing, PCBA, sensors, and comms.
• Oversee machine controls: embedded/PLC software, CAN networks, actuator control, safety interlocks.
• Define and validate safety systems (E-stops, fault handling, safe states).
• Improve field reliability: connectors, EMC, vibration, heat, and field failure reduction.
• Manage suppliers and build partners; defend schedule commitments with the rest of engineering.

Skills

Leadership

Electrical systems

Embedded/PLC controls

CAN bus

Functional safety

Debugging

Make-vs-buy judgment

Education

B.S. in electrical engineering

Job description

• Location 340 Shaw Rd,South San Francisco, CA, 94080,United States
• Base Pay $170,000.00 - $215,000.00 / Year
• Employee Type Exempt (FT)

Description

About BurnBot

Wildfire has stopped being a season. BurnBot builds the machines that get ahead of it — remotely operated systems that apply and contain prescribed fire, and platforms that clear heavy fuel on terrain that isn’t safe for crews.

Our fleet is at work today for PG&E, CAL FIRE, the U.S. Forest Service, Caltrans, fire districts, and tribal nations across California, Oregon, and Washington — treating land at up to 40x the pace of conventional methods. We’re roboticists, engineers, and career fire practitioners. Hardware we design in South San Francisco is in the dirt within weeks, and the people who designed it are usually standing next to it.

THE ROLE

Every machine we build runs on the electrical and controls stack: power, batteries, harnessing, sensors, radios, and the software that makes a 10,000-pound machine do exactly what a remote operator asked and nothing else.

You’ll lead the team that owns it — hiring, growing, and setting the technical bar — while staying close enough to the hardware to catch what a schematic review would miss.

WHAT YOU’LL OWN

The team. Hire, mentor, and run a group of electrical and controls engineers, and be the person they want to bring a hard problem to.

Electrical architecture across the fleet: power distribution, battery and high-voltage systems, harnessing, PCBA, sensors, and comms

Machine controls: embedded and PLC software, CAN networks, actuator control, and the interlocks that sit under all of it

Safety systems. E-stops, fault handling, and safe states — designed, documented, and proven, not assumed.

Field reliability: connectors, ingress, EMC, vibration, and heat. Most of what fails in the field is electrical, and you own that number

Suppliers and build partners, plus the schedule commitments your team makes to the rest of engineering

Requirements

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

8+ years in electrical engineering or controls, including experience leading engineers — formally or as the clear technical lead

Depth in vehicle or machine electrical systems: power distribution, batteries, harness design, and connectors that survive the field

Embedded or PLC controls experience, and fluency with CAN or similar industrial buses

A working understanding of functional safety and how to design for it

Hands-on debug ability. You can still find the fault with a scope and a multimeter.

Judgment about make-versus-buy, cost, and schedule — and the willingness to defend it

B.S. in electrical engineering or equivalent experience

NICE TO HAVE

Off-highway, agricultural, or construction equipment background

High-voltage battery pack design, BMS, or charging infrastructure

Radio, telemetry, or mesh networking in remote terrain with no cell coverage

ISO 13849 / machine safety certification experience

Growing a team from a handful of engineers to a real function

Summary

HOW WE WORK

Based onsite in South San Francisco — design, build, and test all happen in one building, and being near the machines is most of the point

Flexible within that. You own your calendar: work the hours where you’re sharpest, and go remote on heads-down days.

Expect a few days a month in the field across California, Oregon, and Washington. Watching your work run on a live burn is the best part of the job.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Base salary: $170,000 – $215,000 — final offers reflect experience and demonstrated scope.

Burnbot is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including but not limited to, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with one or more disabilities, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

If you need assistance or accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at [phone] x 1010 or [e-mail].