Hardware Lab Manager

MatX•Mountain View, CA

20h•$160,000 - $600,000

About The Position

MatX is seeking a hands-on Hardware Lab Manager to oversee daily operations and organization for its hardware lab. The role focuses on maintaining equipment, performing board rework, organizing benches, managing inventory, and supporting engineers remotely. The Lab Manager owns the lab used by board, system, and validation engineers and keeps it productive for both onsite and remote testing, including cross-timezone work. The position combines technical troubleshooting, logistics, and facilities management. Responsibilities include precision rework and board-level failure analysis, support for new-board bring-up, maintenance and calibration of test instruments, remote test-session assistance, procurement and inventory management, and ownership of lab layout, ESD controls, and safety.

Requirements

At least 5 years of experience in an electronics test lab, hardware prototyping lab, or similar, including ownership of lab operations beyond personal bench work.
An Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Electronics Technology, EET, or a related field, or equivalent hands-on experience.
Expert hand-soldering and SMT rework skills.
Hands-on proficiency with standard bench instruments, including oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, and electronic loads, and ability to operate them on a remote engineer's behalf.
Experience with calibration databases, asset tracking, and procurement systems such as SAP or Coupa, including coordination with third-party service vendors.
Working knowledge of ESD control and lab safety standards, including OSHA/EHS.
Strong communication skills and the ability to keep engineers informed, manage multiple concurrent requests, and anticipate testing needs with a proactive, solution-focused approach.

Nice To Haves

J-STD-001 or IPC-7711/7721 rework certification.
Experience in a high-speed or signal/power integrity lab, including VNAs, BERTs, TDR, or eye-diagram measurements, or experience handling optical fiber, including connector inspection and cleaning and polarity verification.
Instrument automation in Python using tools such as PyVISA or SCPI.
Experience with 0201, QFN, LCC, 0.4 mm-pitch BGA, BGA reballing, flex connectors, and RF/coaxial connectors.
Experience building out a lab from scratch or through a major expansion, including layout, power distribution, ESD flooring, and benches.
Experience supporting first-silicon or new-board bring-up at an AI accelerator company or hyperscaler silicon team.

Responsibilities

Perform fine-pitch SMT rework on prototype and validation boards.
Carry out engineering change orders on prototype PCBs, including component swaps, trace cuts, jumpers, and test points; analyze board-level failures involving solder joints, traces, pads, and ESD damage using stereo and digital microscopes.
Support engineers with new-board bring-up, including first power-on, rail and current checks, probing, and isolating shorts or damaged parts.
Maintain bench measurement readiness and provide first-line support for oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, multimeters, programmable power supplies, electronic loads, and spectrum analyzers.
Manage calibration schedules, equipment records, and third-party instrument servicing.
Configure instruments over GPIB, LAN, and USB; verify automation scripts; and support live remote sessions by connecting probes, swapping cables, changing DUT configurations, and cycling power.
Schedule after-hours and cross-timezone test windows and maintain handoff logs for remote engineers.
Source equipment and parts; manage purchase orders, vendor quotes, and RMAs; and maintain inventory of boards, assets, serial numbers, and reorder thresholds.
Keep critical consumables, including solder, flux, IPA, and common SMT parts, stocked.
Manage lab space, including bench layout, floor plans as the team grows, the ESD control program, and day-to-day lab safety.
Communicate equipment status, rework progress, and schedule conflicts clearly, and manage concurrent requests proactively.

Benefits

Four weeks of accrued PTO, 12 company holidays, and up to three weeks of remote work.
Company-subsidized medical insurance for employees and dependents; dental and vision insurance for employees and dependents; and employee life insurance, with HSA and FSA offerings.
Choice of Roth or pre-tax 401(k), or both, with a 5% company contribution even if the employee does not contribute.
100% company-paid life insurance up to $300,000, long-term disability insurance, and travel insurance.
$1,500 annual professional development budget.
Onsite team lunch and dinner Monday through Friday.
100% daily commute coverage through a company rideshare account, public transportation reimbursement, or a Fasttrak card.
$50 per month for a chosen perk.
Cellular reimbursement of $35 per month and Wi-Fi reimbursement of $40 per month.
Up to $1,000 for remote home-office setup purchases through the company Amazon business account.
Company-paid mental health benefit through SpringHealth and Guardian EAP.
Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave regardless of path to parenthood, 10 weeks of pregnancy disability leave, flexible return-to-work hours, and a $6,000 Family Fund for eligible family-related needs.