Director of Engineering

About the Role

Beagle Technology is seeking a highly hands-on Director of Engineering

to lead our U.S. engineering team in Santa Maria, California.

This role combines engineering leadership, systems-level technical judgment, team mentorship, and hands-on field engineering

. You will provide day-to-day technical direction across mechanical, electrical, controls, software, robotics, and field engineering while helping a team of strong individual contributors execute effectively.

This is not a desk-only management position

. You will regularly work alongside engineers and technicians in the shop and agricultural fields, helping the team troubleshoot complex equipment issues, determine root causes, prioritize engineering work, and drive solutions through validation.

You do not need to be the deepest expert in every discipline. You do need to understand complex electromechanical systems well enough to ask the right questions, identify the appropriate technical owner, make sound engineering decisions, and bring specialists together to solve problems.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day technical direction and execution of the U.S. engineering team
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to Principal, senior, and developing engineers while maintaining strong individual technical ownership
• Establish engineering priorities based on product, field, reliability, customer, and business needs
• Lead multidisciplinary design reviews and technical problem-solving sessions
• Provide systems-level guidance across mechanical, electrical, controls, software, sensors, hydraulics/pneumatics, and robotics
• Regularly participate in agricultural field testing and machine validation
• Lead root cause analysis and troubleshooting for complex or recurring equipment failures
• Translate field issues into clear engineering actions, owners, priorities, and validation criteria
• Coordinate engineering resources across disciplines to resolve system-level problems
• Support prototype development, testing, engineering changes, and product validation
• Ensure field learnings and temporary fixes are converted into appropriate long-term engineering solutions
• Serve as the technical bridge between Engineering and Field Operations
• Improve engineering processes, documentation, accountability, and issue closure
• Support engineering hiring, onboarding, mentoring, and team development

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Controls, Systems Engineering, or a related field

• 10+ years of engineering experience

  with complex electromechanical products or equipment

• 3+ years of engineering or technical leadership experience

• Strong mechanical engineering fundamentals and understanding of electromechanical systems

• Working knowledge of electrical systems, sensors, motors, actuators, controls, embedded systems, and software-controlled equipment

• Ability to troubleshoot across mechanical, electrical, controls, and software boundaries

• Strong systems-level engineering and Root Cause Analysis skills

• Experience developing, testing, and supporting physical hardware products

• Demonstrated ability to provide technical direction to experienced engineers

• Strong engineering prioritization, project execution, and decision-making skills

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Willingness to regularly work in agricultural field environments

Preferred Experience

Experience with several of the following is highly desirable:

• Agricultural machinery, robotics, industrial automation, automotive, or heavy equipment
• CAN bus / CANopen
• PLC or embedded control systems
• Hydraulic and pneumatic systems
• Motors, servos, actuators, encoders, and sensors
• Machine vision hardware
• Electrical troubleshooting and wiring
• Mechanical design, fabrication, CAD / SolidWorks
• Prototype development and rapid product iteration
• Field service, equipment commissioning, or customer deployments
• Reliability engineering and failure analysis
• DFM / DFA and product serviceability

Hands-On & Field Requirements

This role requires regular hands-on involvement with equipment. Candidates must be comfortable:

• Working directly on machines alongside engineers and technicians
• Troubleshooting equipment in real time
• Working around tractors and large mechanical equipment
• Working in agricultural fields, including dust, dirt, mud, heat, and changing weather conditions
• Participating in early-morning or nighttime field testing when required
• Traveling between the Santa Maria engineering facility and field locations

What Success Looks Like

The Director of Engineering is not expected to personally solve every technical problem.

Success means the engineering team has clear priorities, strong technical ownership, effective guidance, and a disciplined path from problem identification to resolution

:

Field Issue → Root Cause → Engineering Owner → Solution → Testing → Validation → Closure

Principal and senior engineers will continue to own their technical disciplines. The Director provides the systems-level perspective, prioritization, mentorship, and technical leadership

that enables the entire engineering team to execute effectively.

We are looking for someone who is equally comfortable leading an engineering discussion and standing next to a machine in the field—someone who can become the go-to engineering leader for our U.S. team

.