Technical Project Lead

Seek Thermal, Inc•Goleta, CA

2h•$140,000 - $160,000•Onsite

About The Position

As a Technical Project Lead (TPL) at Seek Thermal, you will own the technical critical path of one or more new-product programs—the chain of design decisions, integrations, and verifications that determines whether the product works and ships. You will be accountable for design outputs, design reviews, and technical trade-offs—working alongside program management while coordinating engineering across electrical, mechanical, software/firmware, optics, and systems to bring LWIR thermal imaging products from concept through production. The Technical Project Lead will report directly to the SVP of Engineering.

Requirements

Hands-on embedded systems depth (e.g., RTOS debugging, multicore SoC/MPSoC platforms, I2C/SPI, MIPI CSI, hardware/software co-design) with independent technical judgment.
Experience developing products under structured quality and development processes (e.g., functional safety, ASPICE, ISO 9001, or similar) within formal design controls.
Fluency with phase-gate development, PRD/requirements management, DV/PV verification, 8D, RASIC, and planning tools (Jira, SmartSheets).
Proven technical coordinator of distributed cross-functional teams and a clear communicator—holds a technical position, escalates cleanly, and commits once decided.
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, Mechatronics, Physics, Optical Engineering, or related field.
5+ years of engineering experience, including 2+ years owning the technical critical path of embedded hardware/software programs, with at least one shipped sensing or electro-optical product taken through production.
Must be a U.S. Person (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual) as required by ITAR/EAR export control regulations.

Nice To Haves

thermal/IR imaging (FPA/ROIC, NUC/AGC, LWIR optics)
automotive qualification
semiconductor packaging/yield analysis
Agile/Scrum leadership

Responsibilities

Own the technical critical path of new product development (NPD) programs through phase gates (concept through DV, PV, and production release)—know at all times which technical task gates the program, and keep the multidisciplinary team focused on it.
Ensure design outputs and design-review materials are complete and defensible at every gate, and provide the technical readiness signal for gate sign-off.
Make and document technical trade-offs (e.g., image quality, runtime, cost, architecture), with cross-functional approval for scope and design changes.
Identify technical risks early, assess their critical-path impact, and drive mitigation of technical exposure across the program.
Assign engineering tasks, drive technical status at program meetings in step with program management, and own design documentation and approvals per Seek’s design-control process.
Drive root-cause and corrective action (8D) when sensor, manufacturing, or integration failures threaten a milestone
Ensure PRD requirements are testable and verification is defined before design gates; pull hardware/software integration risks off the critical path early.
Provide technical deliverables (SOWs, specifications) for supplier engagements and represent engineering with customers, change control boards, and leadership.