Position Summary
As Hardware Engineering Manager, you will lead the hardware engineering team while remaining a hands-on technical contributor. A large part of your time will be spent doing billable engineering work: designing, debugging, and delivering embedded and wireless systems for clients across a variety of customer markets. You will own day-to-day technical execution, guide engineers through complex challenges, and mentor and grow the hardware engineering team.
This is a permanent opportunity with a competitive base salary and great benefit package.
Key Responsibilities
Technical & Project Execution (Primary)
- Perform detailed hardware design and development work on client projects as a billable contributor.
- Estimate project tasks and timelines to inform statements of work.
- Interface with prospective and existing clients to understand and manage technical expectations.
- Ensure hardware solutions are well-architected, practical, and aligned with project objectives.
- Lead and enforce design reviews and contributions from engineering team to ensure technical quality, maintain standards, and ensure adherence to customer/product requirements.
- Provide critical technical oversight and guide engineers through technical challenges in RF, embedded systems, PCB design, and regulatory compliance.
- Drive root cause analysis and document lessons learned to improve future execution.
- Lead and support recovery plans when problems arise in projects and tasks (budget, schedule, etc.).
Team & People Leadership
- Manage a team of 5–8 hardware engineers, including workload oversight, daily technical direction, and personnel administration.
- Hold regular one-on-ones; provide direct, constructive feedback on performance and professional development.
- Identify and develop technical leads within the team; empower them to support daily project operations.
- Mentor engineers on processes, design standards, and engineering best practices.
- Inspire and motivate the team by aligning business and individual goals.
- Foster a collaborative, communicative team culture; recognize and celebrate contributions from all team members regardless of seniority or background.
- Exemplify and reinforce the company values.
- Establish and maintain quality standards.
- Drive continuous improvement through process definition and disciplined execution.
- Collaborate with the Director of Engineering to allocate resources and staff projects effectively, ensuring optimal utilization and setting future work up for success.
- Identify and manage third-party vendor relationships.
- Establish and manage non-project hardware budget (tools, training, etc.).
- Review and support the hiring process.
- Collaborate with cross-functional peers to establish best practices and business-wide efficiencies.
- Lead cross-discipline brainstorming sessions.
- Maintain a smooth and well-defined onboarding experience for new staff.
Strategy & Operations
- Establish and maintain quality standards.
- Drive continuous improvement through process definition and disciplined execution.
- Collaborate with the Director of Engineering to allocate resources and staff projects effectively, ensuring optimal utilization and setting future work up for success.
- Identify and manage third-party vendor relationships.
- Establish and manage non-project hardware budget (tools, training, etc.).
- Review and support the hiring process.
- Collaborate with cross-functional peers to establish best practices and business-wide efficiencies.
- Lead cross-discipline brainstorming sessions.
- Maintain a smooth and well-defined onboarding experience for new staff.
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years of hands-on electronic hardware engineering experience, with a focus on embedded systems, IoT, and/or RF product development.
- Minimum 2 years managing people; 3+ years preferred.
- Proficiency in Altium Designer.
- Strong understanding of digital and analog circuit design, low power management, signal integrity, and RF fundamentals.
- Familiarity with at least one regulatory certification process (FCC, UL, safety testing, IECEx/ATEX, or similar); experience across multiple frameworks is a plus.
- Comfortable working across multiple concurrent projects in a fast-paced consultancy environment.
- Strong communication skills necessary to interact with project managers and clients.
- Must reside in or be willing to relocate to the Raleigh-Durham metro area (hybrid schedule). No remote arrangements available.
- No subcontracting available.
- Must be a U.S. citizen.
- Ability to travel up to 5% annually (limited and project-dependent).
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience managing hardware teams in a consulting or services environment.
- Exposure to regulated-industry development (e.g., medical IEC 62304, industrial standards).
Core Competencies
- Deep technical credibility; comfortable diving into details, not just reviewing summaries.
- Able to remain hands-on while running a team and to serve as the senior technical voice in customer and internal reviews.
- Strong leadership and people-development skills.
- Excellent written and verbal communication.
- Calm under pressure; effective at conflict resolution.
- Process-oriented mindset with a bias toward continuous improvement.
- Passion for customer satisfaction, technical excellence, and team success.
- Ability to effectively manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.
- Demonstrates perseverance, making progress despite obstacles and setbacks.
- Demonstrates creativity in problem-solving and brainstorming environments.
- Thinks like an entrepreneur by considering business-wide impacts of decisions.
- Organized and analytical thinker; proactively identifies and mitigates risks.
- Passionate about results (not just checking boxes), and about customer satisfaction and technical quality.
- Can make progress with minimal guidance in uncertain situations with conflicting priorities.
- Recognizes the need for change and leads it effectively.
- Persuasive communicator who can leverage team strengths and encourage effective collaboration.
- Works independently with minimal technical guidance on execution.
Education
- Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering or related field. Master’s degree preferred.
Pay: $140,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
