Hardware R&D Tech Lead

Diligent Robotics•Austin, TX

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Hardware R&D Technical Lead runs the HQ team responsible for provisioning, building, testing, quality-checking, refurbishing, and shipping the hardware needed to keep Diligent Robotics’ Moxi robots working in hospitals. With the operating fleet growing from about 70 robots to about 200 by the end of 2027, primarily through next-generation units at new hospital sites, the role ensures HQ operations keep pace with fleet growth. The team supports Service Operations’ goals of 95% overall monthly robot uptime, timely delivery of assigned objectives, and continuous improvement of systems and processes. The role leads and develops technicians, manages staffing and workload, sets team priorities, coordinates hardware validation with engineering, and oversees depot operations. It is based on-site at the Austin, Texas headquarters in a hardware shop and office setting, with up to 10% travel to hospital sites and manufacturing partners. The position may require occasional after-hours support when robots are down.

Requirements

At least 5 years of hands-on experience with electromechanical or robotics hardware, such as building, repairing, testing, or field service.
At least 2 years of direct technician leadership experience, including hiring, coaching, and performance management.
Strong electrical troubleshooting skills with low-voltage DC systems, batteries, chargers, and wiring harnesses.
Experience using a multimeter and reading schematics.
Experience running a test, quality-control, or build process using written procedures and recorded results.
Clear, direct written and verbal communication with technicians, engineers, and leadership.
Ability to balance competing priorities and communicate what will slip and why.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with MaintainX or a similar computerized maintenance management system (CMMS).
Experience working with contract manufacturers on builds, quality issues, and returns.
Background with mobile robots, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), or other autonomous machines.
Experience with lithium battery systems and charging, particularly LiFePO4.
Lean or 5S shop practices, or experience in a regulated environment such as healthcare.

Responsibilities

Lead and develop the team through weekly one-on-ones, written role expectations and measures, coaching, direct feedback, performance reviews, and early coordination with HR on performance issues.
Cross-train the team so that tasks do not depend on a single person, and build a culture of ownership, closed-loop follow-through, and written handoffs.
Track workload across provisioning, builds, quality control, refurbishment, and parts shipping; identify capacity gaps before they cause delays.
Forecast headcount with the Head of Service Operations as the fleet grows, and hire and onboard to plan.
Plan coverage for time off, on-call rotations, and build surges.
Own the team charter and intake for requests from field service, engineering, and manufacturing; maintain a prioritized backlog and make trade-offs visible early.
Attend the daily field service stand-up and publish a weekly status covering completed work, work in progress, blockers, and decisions needed.
Plan and run hardware tests and validation with hardware, software, and reliability engineering teams, including docking, charging, battery, thermal, and endurance testing.
Schedule HQ test robots, ensure test results are recorded and shared, and pilot retrofits before they are deployed to the fleet.
Support root-cause analysis of recurring field failures.
Oversee robot and base provisioning, builds, refurbishment, and returns.
Own the quality-control gate to ensure parts and robots ship complete to hospital sites and manufacturing.
Ensure parts ship the same day and keep work instructions and repair procedures current.