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Hardware Engineer - Energy Management Systems

42dot

42dot

Other Engineering
Sunnyvale, CA, USA
Posted on Sep 9, 2025

Location

Sunnyvale, United States

Employment Type

Full time

Department

ENGINEERINGSensors and Hardware

We are looking for the best

We are focused on building the next generation of energy systems at 42dot for next-generation vehicle platforms. You'll be instrumental in the delivery of a robust and industrialized automotive system of systems, focusing on the embedded software and hardware programs.

This is a unique opportunity for a thought leader who can mentor and influence the engineering organization. You'll focus on guiding the hardware design from concept to bring-up, with a critical emphasis on architecting a hardware platform that is co-designed with the software and firmware. A key aspect of this role will be influencing the design for mass production and aggressive cost-down strategies.

Responsibilities

  • Technical Leadership and Mentorship: Serve as a subject matter expert and mentor to our engineering teams and key stakeholders. You'll provide deep technical guidance on complex hardware challenges, including signal integrity, power integrity, and EMC/EMI compliance, while fostering a culture of technical excellence and continuous learning.

  • Design of Hardware Architecture: Guide the architectural vision for our next-generation automotive energy platform with a focus on hardware design. You'll be a primary advocate for a tightly coupled hardware, firmware, and software architecture. This involves influencing the hardware platform design to enable and optimize software functionality, ensuring that the hardware architecture supports the requirements of the communication mediums, drivers, thermal and storage constraints. You'll guide the selection of hardware components and interfaces to align with the overall software and firmware strategy.

  • Cost Optimization and Manufacturing Scalability: Influence the approach to cost reduction and design for manufacturability (DFM) and design for assembly (DFA). This includes championing a "design-to-cost" mindset from the outset. You'll guide teams in optimizing the Bill of Materials (BOM) for high-volume, cost-sensitive applications, ensuring that our designs are robust for a high-volume manufacturing environment. Your guidance will be critical in reducing overall unit costs and managing tooling and non-recurring engineering (NRE) costs.

  • System Integration: Collaborate closely with software and firmware teams to ensure a seamless integration between the hardware and software layers. You'll help define and manage hardware-software interfaces and work with teams to optimize system performance, power consumption, and thermal management.

  • Program Delivery Guidance: Provide technical and strategic guidance on the delivery of multiple hardware and software programs. You'll be a key voice in defining technical roadmaps, architectural decisions, and risk mitigation strategies to ensure compliance with rigorous automotive standards for reliability, safety, and performance.

  • Cultivate Best Practices: Champion continuous improvement in our hardware design and development processes. You'll mentor teams on implementing best practices in areas such as design for test (DFT), design for manufacturing (DFM), and design for functional safety (ISO 26262, ASIL).

Qualifications

  • 20+ years of experience in hardware engineering, with a significant focus on embedded systems and complex compute platforms in the automotive sector.

  • Extensive experience with board design and bring-up, including schematic capture (e.g., Cadence Allegro, Altium Designer), multi-layer PCB layout, and debugging.

  • Demonstrated experience in a leadership and mentorship role, guiding the technical direction of teams and programs.

  • Deep understanding of automotive systems and standards (e.g., ISO 26262, ASIL) and a proven track record of designing for functional safety.

  • Expertise in hardware design, with a deep understanding of how hardware architecture impacts firmware and software development, performance, and long-term maintainability.

  • Expertise in "design-to-cost" principles, including strategic component selection for high-volume, cost-sensitive applications, and managing BOM costs.

  • Proven ability to influence and work effectively across multiple teams and manage diverse stakeholders, including those in manufacturing, quality, and procurement.

  • A track record of shipping complex hardware products at scale in a high-volume production environment.

  • Strong knowledge of high-speed digital design, signal integrity, power integrity, and thermal management.

  • Expertise in power electronics, high-speed interfaces, and embedded processors (ARM, RISC-V).

  • Familiarity with cybersecurity concepts in embedded systems and knowledge of secure hardware design principles.

  • Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts and trade-offs to a variety of audiences.