roadrunner-studios - Roadrunner Venture Studio - Head of Hardware Engineering - Combustion Systems - Remote

Remote - Asia-Pacific *+ Equity3w ago

Remote Director APAC Robotics Airlines Head of Engineering Sous Chef Assembly Documentation Procurement Team Management

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or higher in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, systems engineering, or a related field. • Experience leading complex hardware from concept through prototype builds, operational qualification, and production planning. • High proficiency with computer aided design software such as SolidWorks or NX and product lifecycle management systems. • Experience with engineering release processes, configuration control, drawings, bills of materials, and supplier documentation. • Experience with design for manufacturing and assembly for industrial, aerospace, automotive, robotics, energy, or other complex hardware. • Experience with combustion hardware, thermal systems, fluid systems, gas handling, pressure systems, large field equipment, or power systems. • Experience with test instrumentation, data acquisition, controls interfaces, inspection methods, qualification plans, and operational readiness reviews. • Experience managing engineering firms, fabrication shops, suppliers, contract manufacturers, or engineering, procurement, and construction partners. • Experience supporting field tests or deployments and making engineering decisions under changing operating conditions. • At least three years of experience leading hardware development and developing engineering talent. • Ability to move quickly, take broad ownership, and solve complex problems with limited resources in a startup environment. • Experience with computational fluid dynamics (CFD), especially for combustion, heat transfer, fluid flow, or gas-handling systems. • Experience taking hardware from prototype builds into first-article or low-rate production. • Experience with aerospace, defense, energy, automotive, robotics, or other high-reliability hardware programs. • Experience building a hardware engineering function at an early-stage company. • This role may be based in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, or New Mexico. The balance between in-person and remote work can be tailored to the candidate and team needs. Frequent travel is required.

Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership • System Architecture: Own requirements and architecture across mechanical, thermal, combustion, structural, fluid, gas-handling, controls, and instrumentation systems. • Hardware Development: Lead the system from early design through prototypes, integrated builds, field-ready hardware, and production planning. • Combustion and Thermal Systems: Lead the design and qualification of combustion hardware, fuel and gas handling, flow and pressure systems, and thermal management. • Qualification and Field Operations: Define verification methods and lead shop tests, integrated system tests, field qualification, troubleshooting, and failure reviews. • Manufacturing and External Partners • Turn engineering concepts into computer aided design models, drawings, bills of materials, supplier packages, build instructions, and acceptance criteria. • Lead design for manufacturing and assembly so prototypes can mature into reliable production hardware. • Manage engineering, procurement, and construction firms, fabricators, suppliers, contract manufacturers, and other external partners. • Use test data, field observations, supplier feedback, and failure analysis to drive design improvements and production readiness. • Business and Team Management • Outcome Ownership: Own the hardware schedule, budget, qualification timeline, technical quality, partner deliverables, and production plan. • Team Building: Recruit, mentor, and manage a small team of hardware engineers. • Work across science, field operations, business, and external partners to resolve technical risks and keep the hardware program moving.