Lead Prototype Engineer

Humanoid • Cambridge, MA

8d • $150,000 - $200,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Humanoid is hiring a Lead Prototype Engineer for its Core Platform team to lead and grow prototype engineers and technicians while remaining hands-on. The role sets technical standards for building, diagnosing, and evolving advanced humanoid robotic platforms, with a focus on electrical integration, bring-up, and root-cause analysis throughout the hardware lifecycle—from concept and prototyping through field repair. The role emphasizes reliability and repeatable processes.

The Lead Prototype Engineer owns electrical bring-up of new prototype builds, including power distribution, motor drives and actuator electronics, sensor integration, communications buses, and dense electromechanical integrations. They lead troubleshooting and failure analysis across operational and in-development robots, work closely with electrical, mechanical, firmware, and software engineers, and establish reliable procedures and feedback loops across design, build, and test.

The role also includes responsibility for lab planning, schedules, resources, tooling, equipment, and spares, as well as continuous improvement to reduce downtime and improve repair efficiency, first-pass yield, and manufacturability. The position is based in Massachusetts; the expected base salary is $150,000–$200,000 per year, depending on experience and internal leveling.

Requirements

• Strong hands-on electrical engineering background in rapid prototyping, debugging custom hardware, and troubleshooting complex electrical systems in robotics or similar domains.
• Deep working knowledge of low-voltage power and mixed-signal circuits, motor drives, connectors, sensors, and compact electromechanical systems.
• Comfort using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power supplies, and other bench instrumentation to diagnose faults.
• Experience reading schematics and PCB layouts, performing board-level rework and repair, and designing or specifying harnesses and cable assemblies.
• Prior experience leading or mentoring engineers or technicians, formally or as a technical lead; comfortable with direct reports and balancing people management with hands-on work.
• Track record of concise communication through documentation, procedures, test plans, diagnostics, and lessons learned.
• Ability to collaborate across electrical, mechanical, and software disciplines to solve urgent, ambiguous problems.
• Comfort working in a high-velocity, high-ambiguity startup setting where priorities shift quickly.

Nice To Haves

• Mechanical prototyping skills.
• Experience designing for manufacturability and reliability in human-sized or mobile robotics.
• Familiarity with automated test and diagnostic tools used in modern hardware labs.
• Experience building or scaling a prototyping or field engineering team, including hiring and establishing lab processes.
• Mechanical assembly and integration experience alongside strong electrical skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of prototype engineers and technicians; set priorities, allocate work, and raise technical and process standards.
• Personally troubleshoot and resolve complex electrical issues in prototype humanoid robots across operational and in-development systems.
• Lead detailed failure analysis and share findings with hardware and software engineering teams.
• Own electrical bring-up of new prototype builds, including power distribution, motor drive and actuator electronics, sensor integration, communications buses, and high-density electromechanical integrations.
• Collaborate with electrical, mechanical, firmware, and software engineers on prototype design, assembly, and design-for-test.
• Define, maintain, and enforce prototyping-lab test procedures, troubleshooting guides, and repair runbooks.
• Design, document, and iterate on cable assemblies, wiring harnesses, and reusable test jigs for dynamic robotic platforms.
• Plan lab priorities, build schedules, resource allocation, tooling, equipment, and spares; balance competing demands from engineering teams.
• Drive process and product improvements to reduce downtime, improve test and repair efficiency, and raise first-pass yield and manufacturability.
• Build feedback loops across design, build, and test, and communicate status, risks, and lessons learned to engineering leadership.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health coverage for US-based employees, including fully paid medical, dental, and vision insurance, virtual care, and employee assistance resources.
• 23 days of accrued PTO, separate sick leave, and paid company holidays.
• 401(k) retirement plan with a 4% employer match.
• Stock options with meaningful upside as the company scales.
• Free daily catered lunch, snacks, and drinks in-office.
• Opportunity to collaborate with engineers, researchers, and product experts in AI and robotics.
• Freedom to influence the product and own key initiatives.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed