Director of Hardware Engineering & Manufacturing

InnerPlant•Des Moines, IA

7d•$150,000 - $200,000•Onsite

About The Position

InnerPlant is transforming farming by turning plants into living sensors that signal stress, enabling farmers to increase yields and reduce costs. The Director of Hardware Engineering & Manufacturing is responsible for the hardware systems powering InnerPlant's commercial product, CropVoice. This role oversees the entire hardware product lifecycle, from architecture and engineering through prototyping, validation, manufacturing, deployment, and continuous improvement, ensuring breakthrough technology becomes scalable and reliable products for millions of acres. The Director will be based in Des Moines, IA, and reports to the Chief Operating Officer.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
8+ years of relevant engineering experience, with significant experience leading hardware product development.
3+ years of engineering leadership or management experience.
Demonstrated experience taking complex hardware products from prototype through production and into the field, including managing external engineering, manufacturing, and technology partners.
Experience with electronics, embedded systems, sensors, optics, instrumentation, or related technologies.
Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and design-for-manufacturing principles, including experience working with contract manufacturers and external suppliers.
Experience developing verification, validation, reliability, and test strategies.
Strong project and program management capabilities with a track record of meeting deadlines.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Demonstrated ability to recruit, develop, and lead high-performing engineering teams.
Willingness to work hands-on and dive deeply into technical problems when needed.

Nice To Haves

Experience developing sensing, imaging, optical, agricultural, industrial, automotive, robotics, or other field-deployed hardware, including for harsh or variable environmental conditions.
Experience in agriculture, ag technology, or precision agriculture.
Experience in a startup or rapidly scaling technology company.

Responsibilities

Lead hardware product design and development, including owning the hardware engineering roadmap and system architecture for CropVoice's optical, electrical, embedded, mechanical, and data-acquisition systems.
Lead development from concept and rapid prototyping through design verification, validation, production, and field deployment.
Oversee design of hardware that meets product and field requirements and operates reliably through heat, cold, moisture, dust, vibration, variable power conditions, long operating hours, and limited opportunities for maintenance.
Oversee equipment operation to ensure the efficiency and reliability of CropVoice hardware and troubleshoot when needed.
Use field data and customer feedback to continuously improve product performance.
Own the transition of hardware products from engineering prototypes into repeatable and scalable manufacturing, anchored in design-for-manufacturing and design-for-assembly practices.
Develop and manage relationships with contract manufacturers, suppliers, and strategic technology partners, and build scalable and cost-effective supply-chain strategies for critical components and assemblies.
Establish manufacturing processes, quality standards, test procedures, and production controls, and lead root-cause analysis and corrective action for manufacturing and field failures.
Establish reliability and environmental testing programs and verification and validation strategies.
Establish engineering processes that enable rapid development without compromising product quality or reliability.
Recruit, develop, mentor, and lead a high-performing hardware engineering team with clear technical ownership, accountability, priorities, and development processes.