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CarbonCarbonSunnyvale, CA

Director, Hardware Engineering

Lead and grow Carbon's Hardware Engineering organization as a hands-on Director reporting to the CTO. Set technical strategy for hardware roadmap, oversee complex product delivery from concept to production, mentor teams, and partner with Product leadership to deliver high-quality solutions on time and on budget. Requires 10+ years hardware/mechanical engineering experience including 4+ years people leadership.

278k – 416k/yr
On-site10+ YOEHardware Engineering

About the role

Responsibilities

  • Expand and lead a high-performing Hardware Engineering organization, setting clear expectations for excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.
  • Coach, mentor, and develop team members within their current roles and across adjacent teams, using 1:1s to establish individual growth goals and succession plans.
  • Create a supportive, high trust environment where engineers feel empowered to raise issues early and take smart risks, while proactively removing organizational and technical blockers that slow the team down.
  • Lead the hardware technical strategy for the product area, ensuring alignment from top-level priorities down to tactical engineering decisions, and advocating for engineering practices that advance our product goals.
  • Oversee hardware projects end-to-end to ensure key requirements are met on time and on budget, with strong consideration of downstream deliverables — driving the right trade-offs between speed, quality, and cost.
  • Identify and implement improvements to how the Hardware Engineering team operates, and recommend changes across the broader organization to increase the performance and speed of our product releases.
  • Partner closely with peer Product leads and the extended leadership team to co-develop vision, strategy, and ways of working across Hardware and Product.
  • Serve as a key member of the Engineering technical leadership team, helping shape broader engineering strategy, building cross-functional relationships, and contributing to growing the organization.

Requirements

  • 10+ years of experience in hardware or mechanical engineering, with at least 4 years in a people leadership role managing teams of engineers.
  • Demonstrated track record of delivering multiple complex hardware products from concept through production, with accountability for schedule, cost, and quality.
  • Strong technical depth in hardware engineering disciplines (e.g., mechanical, electrical, systems); ability to engage credibly at both strategic and detailed levels.
  • Proven experience developing engineering talent and building high-performing teams through coaching, mentoring, and organizational design.
  • Exceptional cross-functional communication and collaboration skills; ability to influence and align stakeholders at all levels.
  • Strategic thinker who can translate business goals into clear technical direction and drive execution with urgency and discipline.
  • Experience identifying and driving process improvements that meaningfully increase engineering velocity and quality.

Nice-to-Haves

  • Experience in a consumer hardware, advanced manufacturing, robotics, defense, or deep-tech product company.
  • Familiarity with ITAR regulations and compliance.
  • Familiarity with NPI (New Product Introduction) processes and managing hardware at scale.
  • Experience working in a fast-paced, product-led organization with tight cross-functional dependencies.
  • Exposure to and passion for advancing engineering practices, tooling, and design methodologies.

Compensation

  • Base salary range: $277,600 - $416,400 per year (midpoint target $347,000, adjusted for experience, location, certifications, and skills).
  • Includes equity, benefits, and time off programs.

Skills

hardware engineeringmechanical engineeringelectrical engineeringSystems EngineeringPeople Managementhardware product developmentnpiitar

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