Hardware Operations Engineer

Chowbus•Chicago, IL

14h•$70,000 - $100,000

About The Position

Chowbus is building its first U.S. hardware operations function to support its growing hardware footprint in restaurants. The Hardware Operations Engineer will serve as the technical bridge between restaurants in the field and hardware and engineering teams in China, investigating complex hardware issues and helping resolve their root causes. This role does not handle routine installations. It focuses on reproducing and diagnosing difficult issues, testing devices in the Chicago office and warehouse, visiting restaurants when problems require investigation in the customer environment, and communicating clear findings to engineering teams. The engineer will work with front-of-house devices including tablets, printers, card readers, kiosks, KDS, and routers; test returned devices; conduct stability and stress testing; manage RMA diagnosis and repair or replacement decisions; and document field knowledge and customer scenarios for internal teams. The position is based in or near Chicago, or requires relocation there, and includes site visits.

Requirements

At least 5 years of technical support experience in the hardware or electronics industry.
Fluency in Mandarin Chinese and English, with the ability to conduct technical discussions with engineers in China.
Strong software and hardware diagnostic skills, including the ability to determine whether a problem is device-, network-, or software-related.
Hands-on RMA and repair experience.
Network troubleshooting skills, including log analysis and packet capture, such as with Wireshark.
Based in Chicago or willing to relocate.
Valid driver's license for site visits.

Nice To Haves

Restaurant or retail POS hardware experience.
Experience building test environments or conducting stability and reliability tests.
Basic electronics diagnosis using a multimeter and schematics.
Experience working with hardware suppliers or manufacturers in China.

Responsibilities

Investigate, diagnose, and clearly communicate escalated hardware cases to the engineering team in China.
Visit customer locations to diagnose issues that cannot be reproduced remotely, capturing logs and network packets and debugging in the restaurant environment.
Build and maintain test environments in the Chicago office and warehouse, and conduct joint debugging sessions with engineers in China.
Test devices returned from the field, conduct stability and stress tests, identify failure patterns, and drive product improvements.
Manage RMA repair processes, including software and hardware diagnosis and repair or replacement decisions.
Develop in-depth knowledge of front-of-house hardware, including tablets, printers, card readers, kiosks, KDS, and routers, and turn field knowledge into documentation and team feedback.
Work with support and technical teams to understand customer scenarios and help resolve field problems at their root.

Benefits

Medical insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
401(k)
100% employer-paid short-term disability insurance
100% employer-paid life insurance, with an option for additional employee-paid life insurance
100% employer-paid accidental death and dismemberment insurance, with an option for additional employee-paid coverage
Company holidays
Birthday off
Paid parental leave
Flexible paid time off (PTO)
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Fair compensation package