Hardware Manager

Radar•San Diego, CA

About The Position

We are looking for a hands on Hardware Team Manager to lead a small, high impact engineering team developing mixed-signal products that combine an extensive RF front end with an FPGA-based digital subsystem. This person will own end-to-end hardware delivery—from architecture and design through validation, manufacturing handoff, and successful product shipment. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable doing deep technical work and guiding others. You’ll drive technical decisions, enforce disciplined engineering execution, and ensure boards are tested, reliable, and delivered on schedule. Strong RF expertise and demonstrated experience shipping products to production are required.

Requirements

BS/MS in Electrical Engineering or related field.
10+ years of hardware engineering experience, including RF front-end design.
3+ years managing or leading small hardware teams (formal manager or strong technical lead).
Demonstrated experience shipping hardware products to production—not just prototypes.
Deep understanding of RF concepts: gain/noise budgets, matching networks, filtering, mixers/LOs, LNA/PA chains, isolation, spur management, calibration, etc.
Strong mixed-signal and high-speed digital design experience (interfaces to FPGA/SoC, DDR, SERDES, JESD, LVDS, etc.).
Proven capability in board bring-up, lab debug, and performance characterization.
Familiarity with PCB layout constraints for RF and high-speed digital (stackups, controlled impedance, shielding, grounding strategies).
Experience with manufacturing handoff: DFM/DFT, test fixtures, production yield triage, and sustaining engineering.

Nice To Haves

Experience with phased arrays, radar, wireless sensing, or other RF-intensive systems.
Prior ownership of RF regulatory/compliance testing (FCC/CE/ETSI), EMI/EMC, and environmental qualification.
Familiarity with FPGA-adjacent hardware validation (clocking, timing closure considerations, power integrity for large FPGAs).
Experience designing RF test setups and automating measurements (VNA, spectrum analyzer, signal generator, power meter, etc.)
Track record of improving engineering processes for speed and reliability.

Responsibilities

Own system-level hardware architecture for products with a complex RF front end and FPGA/digital backend.
Translate product requirements into board-level specifications, block diagrams, and design tradeoffs.
Lead design reviews and ensure architectural coherence across RF, high-speed digital, power, and mixed-signal domains.
Partner closely with FPGA/embedded/software teams to define interfaces, timing, and validation strategies.
Drive full PCB development lifecycle: schematic → layout oversight → bring-up → validation → revisions → release.
Manage board delivery schedules, risk tracking, and cross-functional dependencies.
Ensure design for manufacturability (DFM), design for testability (DFT), and compliance requirements are met.
Own the hardware release process, including BOM health, AVL selection, ECOs, and documentation.
Define and execute comprehensive test plans for RF performance, FPGA/digital functionality, and system-level behavior.
Oversee lab bring-up, debug, characterization, calibration, and regression testing.
Establish test automation and measurement processes to improve repeatability and throughput.
Lead failure analysis and root-cause investigations in development and production.
Manage and mentor a small hardware team; set goals, prioritize work, and support career growth.
Maintain high execution standards: clear ownership, realistic estimates, and disciplined follow-through.
Recruit and onboard new team members as needed.
Foster a culture of technical rigor, collaboration, and continuous improvement.