Principal Hardware Engineer

Posted 4 Days Ago
Be an Early Applicant
San Francisco, CA, USA
Hybrid
Senior level
Cloud • Internet of Things • Agriculture
The Role
Lead hands-on hardware development across concept, prototyping, validation, manufacturing, and field performance. Responsibilities include PCB lifecycle ownership, ODM design review, regulatory testing, manufacturing coordination, vendor and component management, troubleshooting, test fixture support, technical documentation, and mentoring engineers. The role collaborates cross-functionally with product, software, QA, operations, and customer success teams while shaping the technical direction of agricultural sensing products.
Summary Generated by Built In
About Arable

At Arable, our goal is to connect the world’s farms to help optimize the global food system. As we work to feed a growing population while reducing our impact on natural resources, we believe a critical part of the solution is digitizing the analog world with high-fidelity data that helps food producers optimize their operations.

Our work helps improve the lives of farmers and contributes to securing the global food supply for decades to come.

Examples of Our Work:

  • Helping farmers maximize ROI through precision irrigation and data-driven water management.

  • Supporting leading agricultural and technology partners in meeting sustainability and climate resilience goals.

  • Equipping growers with insights to improve decision-making, reduce waste, and enhance yields across diverse cropping systems.

The Role

We are seeking an experienced, hands-on hardware engineer to drive the development of our hardware ecosystem, including the Arable Mark 3 and future sensing platforms.

This role centers on individual technical contribution and ownership across the hardware product lifecycle—from design and prototyping through production and field performance. You will work directly on engineering challenges while providing technical leadership, mentoring colleagues, and collaborating closely with internal teams and external partners.

This is an opportunity for an engineer who enjoys staying close to the work while helping shape the technical direction of sensing products used by growers around the world.

What You Will Do

    • Drive hardware development across the full product lifecycle, from concept to production.

    • Coordinate domestic and offshore manufacturing operations.

    • Review and validate ODM designs to meet Arable’s quality standards.

    • Develop technical documentation for designs, testing, and support.

    • Lead hands-on prototyping of new hardware products and features.

    • Work with QA teams on product validation and testing.

    • Collaborate with product management, software, operations, and customer success.

    • Manage key vendor relationships and guide component selection.

    • Troubleshoot hardware issues and coordinate bug tracking and resolution.

    • Support manufacturing test fixtures and processes.

    • Provide technical leadership and mentorship, influence technology direction, and strengthen the team’s engineering capabilities.

Experience and Skills

    Required

    • Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related field.

    • 6+ years of hardware engineering experience spanning the full PCB design lifecycle.

    • Proficiency with schematic capture, PCB layout, board bring-up, and lab equipment.

    • Knowledge of regulatory testing, including FCC and CE, and new product introduction (NPI) processes.

    • Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.

    • A self-directed approach and the ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment.

    • Excellent communication and organizational skills.

    • Preferred

      • Advanced technical degree.

      • 8+ years of experience bringing multiple hardware products to mass production.

      • Experience managing or collaborating with offshore teams.

      • Knowledge of C programming for embedded systems.

      • Experience with wireless product design (WiFi, BLE, cellular) and/or RTOS.

      • Background in agricultural or environmental sensor technology.

      • Experience leading engineering initiatives, developing processes, or mentoring engineers.

      • Expertise in low-power system design, particularly for solar-powered and battery-powered devices.

Qualities for Success

    • Passion for Sustainability: Care deeply about global food systems and environmental impact.

    • Startup Mindset: Thrive in a fast-paced environment and take ownership across multiple responsibilities.

    • Technical Leadership: Lead through engineering expertise, sound judgment, and ownership of results.

    • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Communicate effectively and build productive relationships across teams.

    • Resourcefulness: Develop cost-effective solutions and troubleshoot real-world field challenges.

    • Adaptability: Stay current with emerging technologies and navigate new challenges.

    • Mentorship: Share knowledge and help elevate the work of colleagues and partners.

Skills Required

  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related field
  • 6+ years of hardware engineering experience spanning the full PCB design lifecycle
  • Proficiency with schematic capture, PCB layout, board bring-up, and laboratory equipment
  • Knowledge of regulatory testing, including FCC and CE, and new product introduction processes
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
  • Self-directed approach and ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment
  • Excellent communication and organizational skills
  • Advanced technical degree
  • 8+ years of experience bringing multiple hardware products to mass production
  • Experience managing or collaborating with offshore teams
  • Knowledge of C programming for embedded systems
  • Experience with wireless product design, including WiFi, BLE, or cellular, and/or RTOS
  • Background in agricultural or environmental sensor technology
  • Experience leading engineering initiatives, developing processes, or mentoring engineers
  • Expertise in low-power system design for solar-powered and battery-powered devices
Am I A Good Fit?
beta
Get Personalized Job Insights.
Our AI-powered fit analysis compares your resume with a job listing so you know if your skills & experience align.

The Company
HQ: San Francisco, CA
81 Employees
Year Founded: 2014

What We Do

People can solve natural resource challenges if they possess the right tools. Arable enables data-driven decisions in agriculture and natural resource management using Measurements that Matter. With real-time, continuous visibility and predictive analytics of over 40 metrics, the Arable Mark is a straightforward and versatile tool that can be adapted to any field's demands, and can satisfy any producer's need to know even the most granular tidbit of information about her harvest. Collecting data on rainfall, crop water demand, water stress, microclimate, canopy biomass, and chlorophyll levels can help farmers build on their own experience to refine crop growth, harvest timing, yield, and the ultimate quality of their produce. Arable's own output is never complete, but constantly improving to keep our contributions universally applicable, yet tailored to individual needs. We are defined by our users'​ success.

Similar Jobs

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Logo Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hardware Engineer

Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • Information Technology • Consulting
In-Office
Sunnyvale, CA, USA
85422 Employees
181K-367K Annually

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Logo Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hardware Engineer

Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • Information Technology • Consulting
In-Office
Sunnyvale, CA, USA
85422 Employees
181K-367K Annually

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Logo Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hardware Engineer

Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • Information Technology • Consulting
In-Office
Sunnyvale, CA, USA
85422 Employees
181K-367K Annually

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Logo Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hardware Engineer

Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • Information Technology • Consulting
In-Office
Sunnyvale, CA, USA
85422 Employees
181K-367K Annually

Similar Companies Hiring

Blissway Thumbnail
Computer Vision • Fintech • Hardware • Internet of Things • Machine Learning • Software • Transportation
Denver, CO
24 Employees
Toro TMS Thumbnail
Cloud • Enterprise Web • Sales • Software • Transportation
Chicago, IL
80 Employees
Amalgamated Sugar Thumbnail
Food • Greentech • Agriculture • Industrial • Manufacturing
Boise, Idaho
768 Employees

Sign up now Access later

Create Free Account

Please log in or sign up to report this job.

Create Free Account