Hiring: Head of Hardware Company: Workshop Venture Partners Location: Austin, TX Job Posted Time: 2026-09-10 12:06:44 Employment Type: Contract Target Skills & Keywords : Embedded Systems, Firmware, PCB, Quality Assurance, Revenue Cycle Management About the job Experience: •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 Required Skills: •As Head of Hardware, you will lead all hardware development at Drover: taking our first-generation ear tag from design validation through production, standing up our supply chain and quality systems with our contract manufacturer, and shaping the roadmap for what comes next. •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 •Interface directly 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) Qualifications: •Strong PCB design skills, including schematic capture, layout review, and lab debugging •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 •IoT, wearable, or asset-tracking products, especially rugged or outdoor devices •RF design and test experience: cellular modems, GNSS, antenna design •Mechanical and enclosure experience: mechanical design, injection moulding, ingress protection, environmental testing •Firmware fluency (Zephyr, nRF Connect, or similar) and comfort reading and debugging embedded code •Agricultural or livestock background, or a willingness to get to know our customers •Note: Even if you don't have all of the above and still think you're an excellent candidate, please reach out. We're always open to great people with core skillsets who are willing to push and learn. Compensation: •$180,000 - $220,000 / year •Meaningful equity package with a high trajectory start-up Interested candidates, please apply directly through the job posting on company's career page or try via AI auto apply on this platform. Don't miss this opportunity to join a forward-thinking team!