Hardware Test Engineering Manager

At Halter, we’re on a mission to enable farmers and graziers to run the most productive and sustainable operations. Our customers are using Halter to break free from the time-intensive constraints of conventional practices. Imagine watching 500 cattle stand up and walk calmly towards their next break? No quad bikes, no dogs, no fences. Just a group of cattle walking at their own pace. People say it looks like magic. Our customers are revolutionizing grazing with Halter. It's changing lives and transforming an industry. People join Halter to do meaningful work. By joining us you’ll be solving challenging problems within a talented team and a culture built for high performance. Our team out-think, out-work and out-care. We’re committed to delivering real change in the world - this isn’t easy, and in truth, we love that it’s hard.

We’re backed to deliver on a mission that matters by Tier 1 investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, BOND, DCVC, Blackbird, Promus Ventures, Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck and Icehouse ventures.

To find out more, visit our LinkedIn & Instagram.

Halter is flipping the livestock world on its head. We’re scaling fast across NZ, Aus, and the US, lining up multiple new international markets, and the stakes are high.

We are looking for a Hardware Test Engineering Manager to build and lead our in-house Test Engineering pillar within the broader Reliability Function. Our collar is tough and built for the beating it takes day in and day out on a farm. We’ve iterated it to this point and learnt many tough lessons along the way. We’re looking for someone who can take testing from a learned art to an applied science at Halter. Someone who can use a test program and evidence to accelerate Halter’s growth as a strategic advantage, to help us move forward confidently on multiple product lines in parallel.

This will be one of the most important roles we hire this year. Hardware is only getting more important strategically for Halter, and you’ll be right at the core, making that happen. It’s a rare opportunity to accelerate your career with unique and valuable experience in a high-performance, fast-paced environment where reliability matters.

This role reports to our Head of Reliability & Failure Analysis and owns the mission of delivering repeatable, trustworthy evidence that drives confident product decisions.

Your team produces the evidence that decides whether we ship, whether we hold, and what we fix next. You will build the systems, data, and operating rhythm that let Halter move quickly and confidently.

Build scalable, reliable test capability:

• Own our test infrastructure: environmental chambers, test rigs, DAQ systems, instrumentation, automation, calibration, and procedures. The barrier to running a brilliant test will shrink substantially.

• Raise throughput while holding the line on evidence quality and repeatability.

Make test data decision-grade:

• Ensure all test data is trustworthy, searchable, and used in real product calls.

• Build the foundations for strong test governance: traceability, calibration and versioning.

• Ensure test data captured is sufficient to inform the pass/fail criteria pre-determined by the reliability engineering team.

Collect evidence for reliability standards as efficiently and quickly as possible:

• Work with Reliability Engineers to help turn reliability requirements into test plans. Convert test plans into sign-off evidence that engineering leadership can rely on, as quickly as possible.

• Partner tightly with Reliability Engineering, Hardware Design, Firmware, and Production to ensure sub-systems and full products are reliable from the earliest phases.

• Ensure “reliable” means “proven,” not “seems fine.” Your test evidence will directly determine go/no-go decisions with huge company impact.

Lead and grow a high-performing test engineering team

• Hire, mentor, and develop engineers who love building systems and chasing truth.

• Set a high-standards, low-ego culture where the goal is the same every time: evidence over opinions.

• Halter ships with confidence driven by clear evidence, not hope.

• Testing is repeatable, scalable, and fast, and produces data people trust.

• Decisions are crisp and documented, and reliability improves with every release.

You’re a builder of systems and teams

• Proven experience leading test engineering or validation teams in high-reliability hardware (IoT, ruggedised consumer electronics, automotive, aerospace, industrial, robotics, or similar).

• Comfortable being hands-on when needed, while still building leverage through people and process.

You know the tools and the reality

• Deep experience with environmental testing, accelerated life testing, and reliability stress methods such as HALT/UV/Tumble/Impact etc

• Strong knowledge of designing and building bespoke test jigs, instrumentation, DAQ, automation, and calibration discipline.

• Strong judgment: you know where precision matters, where “good enough” is actually good enough.

You lead with clarity

• You can turn messy, cross-functional problems into an operating rhythm people trust.

• You communicate clearly, and you collaborate with high standards and low ego.

You will be at the core of a product that farmers rely on every day, in an environment where reliability is a competitive advantage. This is a rare chance to build a world-class test engineering capability in a fast-scaling company where your work directly shapes what we ship, how we learn, and how fast we can grow.

• Delicious snacks and drinks are available for your daily flow.

• Healthy body, healthy mind. We’re partnered with Southern Cross Health Insurance to support your well-being.

• We offer 6 months of fully paid parental leave for primary caregivers, 4 weeks of fully paid secondary caregiver leave and many other parental benefits that support you and your family.

• Our personal growth is important. Halter offers an annual $1000 self-development budget to be used for anything that fuels personal growth.

• Our time to recharge is valued, we’re offered wellness leave and unlimited paid annual leave.

• Importantly, we offer an inclusive and attractive remuneration package made up of salary, benefits and an employee stock ownership plan.

There’s a reason you visit your friends in person, live with your family and don’t do dinners over Zoom. Humans are wired for connection. We believe a world-class, in-person office culture is the best way for high-performing teams.
Being office first is a core pillar of our culture. We believe in-person connections are key to driving your own growth, learning, impact, and building genuine long-lasting relationships. Strong relationships make it easier to disagree, give feedback, and do meaningful and aligned work. We don’t like having heaps of rules or policies, but this means having strong, trusted relationships is critical.
We’re office first, not office only. This means working from the office everyday is our default setting, but we flex when we need to. We have a high-trust culture, so everyone is trusted to do what’s best for Halter.
Our office vibe is something special, it’s hard to describe until you’re here, but people at Halter who have come from fully remote or hybrid companies say they could never go back - the high energy and spectacular people they are now surrounded by everyday makes work so enjoyable. Your growth, your learning and your impact is truly unlimited here, and a big part of that comes from being together solving problems, innovating, building context, and constantly learning from each other.

Halter is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace — a place where we can each be ourselves and do the best work of our lives. Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the requirements, women and under-represented groups of candidates tend to only apply when they meet every requirement. If you think you have what it takes but don’t necessarily tick every requirement on this job description, please still get in touch and apply to Halter. We’d love to chat to see if you’ll be an epic fit!

If this opportunity sounds like you, please apply below by sending through your cover letter explaining why you’re excited about this role and working at Halter, along with your CV, and we’ll be in touch!

Please also feel free to check out the careers page for more information on working at Halter and don't forget to follow us on LinkedIn & Instagram.

• Work that genuinely matters. Every now and again a company comes along that transforms an entire industry and leaves the world in a better place. Our team gets to be part of something truly meaningful, helping farmers improve their livelihoods, spend more time with their families, and build more sustainable operations.

• Spectacular people solving hard problems. Our culture is designed for talented people to do work that changes lives. The team is filled with diverse, kind, and driven people who push each other to do their best work. You'll be thrown into the deep end, tackling complex challenges and building something tangible that solves real problems.

• You'll grow here. Autonomy, mastery, and learning define how we work. You'll have the freedom to work on interesting problems, master new skills, and continuously develop yourself, both through your role and our $1,000 personal growth fund.

• This isn't easy, and we love that it's hard. Working at Halter will be the most rewarding and the most challenging work of your life. We move fast, take bold bets, and work hard to reshape an entire industry. As one team member put it: "Joining Halter is a bit like strapping yourself to a rocket ship, but it's an epic journey to be a part of!"