Lead Hardware Engineer

AIM • Seattle, WA

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

AIM builds autonomy for the real world - robots that move mountains. Our systems fuse software, electronics, mechanics, perception, and mission-critical infrastructure into ruggedized, safety-critical machinery operating on jobsites across the world. We replace manual, error-prone, high-risk tasks with intelligent machines that reshape how earthmoving is done.
Our hardware system is the foundation of these systems. Our autonomy hardware spans compute and sensor platforms, power distribution, fault detection, safety architectures, and wiring systems that must perform flawlessly in harsh, unpredictable, high-entropy environments. We build electronics that survive dust, mud, vibration, shock loads, corrosion, temperature swings, and real-world operator behavior.
We're growing fast, scaling globally, and building the technology foundation that will define the next century of construction.
About You
You're a builder and a leader who thrives at the intersection of hardware, software, and the physical world. You’ve spent years designing and delivering real-world electrical and mechanical systems and scaling that impact through others.
You bring strong engineering judgment across electrical and mechanical domains, and you know what it takes to ship reliable hardware into harsh, unpredictable environments. You understand the challenges involved with taking hardware systems from inception to production at scale, and you design with those realities in mind from day one.
As a leader, you hold a high bar for engineering quality while creating an environment where engineers can do their best work. You provide clarity in ambiguity, make principled tradeoffs, and ensure your team stays focused on what matters most. You take ownership not just of technical outcomes—but of team health, execution, and cross-functional alignment.
You want to work on problems where reliability, safety, and real-world performance matter—and where your team’s work directly enables autonomous heavy machinery operating across the world.
About Us Together
We’re going to change how the world builds. At AIM Intelligent Machines, we retrofit heavy equipment—bulldozers, excavators, and wheel loaders—with autonomy systems that must operate safely and reliably in the real world. That means solving hardware challenges such as:
Designing systems that survive vibration, shock, dust, water ingress, and temperature extremes
Integrating compute, sensors, power, and communications into complex OEM platforms
Building robust electrical architectures and wiring systems for harsh environments
Designing mechanical systems for mounting, protection, thermal management, and serviceability
Enabling fast iteration without sacrificing reliability or safety
Bridging hardware, autonomy, and field operations into a cohesive system
We move quickly, test in the real world, and build systems that must work outside the lab. We value engineers who confront reality, close feedback loops, and continuously raise the bar.
What You Will Own
As the Hardware Engineering Lead, you will manage AIM’s electrical and mechanical engineering teams and own the delivery of hardware systems that enable our autonomous machines.
Lead & Grow the Hardware Engineering Team:
Manage, mentor, and grow a multidisciplinary team of electrical and mechanical engineers
Set clear goals, priorities, and expectations aligned with company objectives
Provide technical guidance, design oversight, and career development for team members
Build a strong engineering culture centered on ownership, quality, and continuous improvement
Own Hardware System Architecture & Execution:
Oversee the architecture and integration of electrical and mechanical systems across AIM’s platform
Ensure cohesive system design across PCBAs, harnessing, compute, sensors, enclosures, and mounting systems
Drive technical decision-making and tradeoffs across performance, cost, reliability, and manufacturability
Ensure hardware systems are robust, fault-tolerant, and designed for real-world operation
Drive Cross-Functional Integration:
Partner closely with Software, AI/Autonomy, Product, Operations, and Field teams
Ensure clear interfaces and alignment between hardware and software systems
Incorporate field feedback, operational learnings, and failure modes into hardware design
Translate product requirements into executable hardware plans and timelines
Deliver Hardware from Prototype to Production:
Own end-to-end execution from early prototypes through production and deployment
Drive design reviews, validation plans, and release processes
Ensure hardware meets reliability, safety, manufacturability, and serviceability requirements
Partner with vendors, contract manufacturers, and internal operations to scale production
Build Engineering Mechanisms & Quality Systems:
Establish and improve hardware development processes: design reviews, validation frameworks, documentation, and change management
Drive root-cause analysis and corrective-action systems for field and lab issues
Define and uphold standards for electrical and mechanical design quality
Help define what Hardware Engineering excellence looks like at AIM

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• 8+ years of experience designing and delivering hardware systems in real-world environments
• 4+ years of experience leading or managing engineering teams
• Strong background in either electrical or mechanical engineering, with working knowledge of both domains
• Experience delivering systems that integrate electronics, mechanical structures, and software
• Proven ability to ship reliable hardware in cross-functional environments
• Experience taking products from prototype through production and field deployment

Nice To Haves

• Experience in robotics, autonomy, automotive, or heavy equipment systems
• Experience with ruggedized system design (vibration, thermal, ingress protection, EMI/EMC)
• Experience with PCB design, wiring harnesses, or mechanical system design for electronics integration
• Familiarity with functional safety standards (IEC 61508, ISO 26262, ISO 10218)
• Experience working with OEM platforms and retrofitted systems
• Experience building teams and scaling engineering organizations

Responsibilities

• Manage, mentor, and grow a multidisciplinary team of electrical and mechanical engineers
• Set clear goals, priorities, and expectations aligned with company objectives
• Provide technical guidance, design oversight, and career development for team members
• Build a strong engineering culture centered on ownership, quality, and continuous improvement
• Oversee the architecture and integration of electrical and mechanical systems across AIM’s platform
• Ensure cohesive system design across PCBAs, harnessing, compute, sensors, enclosures, and mounting systems
• Drive technical decision-making and tradeoffs across performance, cost, reliability, and manufacturability
• Ensure hardware systems are robust, fault-tolerant, and designed for real-world operation
• Partner closely with Software, AI/Autonomy, Product, Operations, and Field teams
• Ensure clear interfaces and alignment between hardware and software systems
• Incorporate field feedback, operational learnings, and failure modes into hardware design
• Translate product requirements into executable hardware plans and timelines
• Own end-to-end execution from early prototypes through production and deployment
• Drive design reviews, validation plans, and release processes
• Ensure hardware meets reliability, safety, manufacturability, and serviceability requirements
• Partner with vendors, contract manufacturers, and internal operations to scale production
• Establish and improve hardware development processes: design reviews, validation frameworks, documentation, and change management
• Drive root-cause analysis and corrective-action systems for field and lab issues
• Define and uphold standards for electrical and mechanical design quality
• Help define what Hardware Engineering excellence looks like at AIM

Benefits

• Competitive compensation
• equity
• medical/dental/vision
• 401(k)
• life insurance
• Travel opportunities to customer jobsites across the U.S., Australia, Europe, Africa, South America, and more

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: High school or GED
• Number of Employees: 1-10 employees