Senior Manager, Hardware Engineering

Socket.dev; Redwood City (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Serve Robotics seeks a Senior Manager, Hardware Engineering to lead a team responsible for designing, validating, and delivering electrical and electronic systems powering our autonomous robotic platform.

You will partner with Mechanical, Embedded Software, Systems, Manufacturing, Product and Operations to drive hardware programs from concept to production, while mentoring engineers and ensuring high-quality delivery.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Robotics, or a related engineering discipline.
• 8+ years of experience developing complex electromechanical, robotics, automotive, aerospace, or similar hardware systems.
• 3+ years of engineering management or technical leadership experience leading engineering teams.
• Experience delivering hardware products from concept through production.
• Strong technical background in hardware design, PCB development, embedded electronics, sensors, power systems, motor control, and system integration.
• Experience leading cross-functional engineering projects involving hardware, software, manufacturing, and systems engineering.
• Strong project planning, prioritization, and execution skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers and build high-performing teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of hardware engineers by providing regular feedback, career development, performance management, and technical mentorship.
• Manage team priorities, project assignments, and resource allocation to deliver hardware programs aligned with product and business objectives.
• Provide technical leadership for the design, development, integration, and validation of complex electrical and electronic systems for autonomous robotic platforms.
• Partner with cross-functional engineering teams to ensure successful integration of hardware, firmware, software, mechanical, and systems components.
• Lead engineering planning, technical reviews, and project execution to deliver programs on schedule while maintaining quality, reliability, and performance expectations.
• Identify technical and program risks, establish mitigation plans, and remove obstacles that impact engineering execution.
• Drive engineering best practices across design reviews, validation processes, documentation, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Support manufacturing readiness by ensuring hardware designs meet cost, quality, reliability, and production requirements.
• Collaborate with Product Management and Engineering leadership to define project priorities, timelines, and engineering deliverables.
• Participate in hiring, onboarding, workforce planning, and organizational development activities to build a high-performing engineering team.

Skills

Hardware design

PCB development

Embedded electronics

Sensors

Power systems

Motor control

System integration

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Robotics, or related

Job description

At Serve Robotics, we’re reimagining how things move in cities. Our personable sidewalk robot is our vision for the future. It’s designed to take deliveries away from congested streets, make deliveries available to more people, and benefit local businesses. The Serve fleet has been delighting merchants, customers, and pedestrians along the way in Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Atlanta and Chicago while doing commercial deliveries. We’re looking for talented individuals who will grow robotic deliveries from surprising novelty to efficient ubiquity.

Who We Are

We are tech industry veterans in software, hardware, and design who are pooling our skills to build the future we want to live in. We are solving real-world problems leveraging robotics, machine learning and computer vision, among other disciplines, with a mindful eye towards the end-to-end user experience. Our team is agile, diverse, and driven. We believe that the best way to solve complicated dynamic problems is collaboratively and respectfully.

The Senior Manager, Hardware Engineering leads a team of hardware engineers responsible for designing, developing, validating, and delivering electrical and electronic systems that power Serve’s autonomous robotic platform. This role provides both people leadership and technical guidance, ensuring high-quality engineering execution while developing team capability, driving cross-functional collaboration, and delivering hardware programs that support Serve’s product roadmap.

The Senior Manager partners closely with Mechanical Engineering, Embedded Software, Systems Engineering, Manufacturing, Product, and Operations to execute complex hardware development efforts from concept through production.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of hardware engineers by providing regular feedback, career development, performance management, and technical mentorship.
• Manage team priorities, project assignments, and resource allocation to deliver hardware programs aligned with product and business objectives.
• Provide technical leadership for the design, development, integration, and validation of complex electrical and electronic systems for autonomous robotic platforms.
• Partner with cross-functional engineering teams to ensure successful integration of hardware, firmware, software, mechanical, and systems components.
• Lead engineering planning, technical reviews, and project execution to deliver programs on schedule while maintaining quality, reliability, and performance expectations.
• Identify technical and program risks, establish mitigation plans, and remove obstacles that impact engineering execution.
• Drive engineering best practices across design reviews, validation processes, documentation, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Support manufacturing readiness by ensuring hardware designs meet cost, quality, reliability, and production requirements.
• Collaborate with Product Management and Engineering leadership to define project priorities, timelines, and engineering deliverables.
• Participate in hiring, onboarding, workforce planning, and organizational development activities to build a high-performing engineering team.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Robotics, or a related engineering discipline.
• 8+ years of experience developing complex electromechanical, robotics, automotive, aerospace, or similar hardware systems.
• 3+ years of engineering management or technical leadership experience leading engineering teams.
• Experience delivering hardware products from concept through production.
• Strong technical background in hardware design, PCB development, embedded electronics, sensors, power systems, motor control, and system integration.
• Experience leading cross-functional engineering projects involving hardware, software, manufacturing, and systems engineering.
• Strong project planning, prioritization, and execution skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers and build high-performing teams.

What Makes You Stand Out

• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related engineering discipline.
• Experience developing autonomous systems, robotics, drones, automotive, or other safety-critical electromechanical products.
• Experience supporting products through manufacturing scale-up and production.
• Experience working with international engineering teams or manufacturing partners.
• Experience in a high-growth technology or startup environment.

Additional Information

This role may require periodic travel to engineering sites, manufacturing facilities, suppliers, and field operations to support hardware development, testing, and production activities. Occasional work outside standard business hours may be required to support critical project milestones or product releases.