Lead Hardware Engineer

About the Role

This is a high-ownership, ground-floor hardware leadership role on a team building a chip-based LiDAR seeker system for counter-UAS interceptors. You'll own the full hardware architecture — mechanical, optical, and electrical integration — and translate photonics simulations into a ruggedized, flight-ready product. As the first dedicated hardware architecture leader, you'll be shaping the entire hardware stack from scratch and building the team around it.

What You'll Do

• Define the full hardware architecture for a LiDAR missile seeker, covering mechanical packaging, lens mounting, PCB placement, and seeker diameter.
• Deliver a physical prototype and CAD within the first 60–90 days to demonstrate form factor and system capabilities to customers.
• Own the certification and qualification process required to mount the seeker on partner missile platforms, including compliance documentation.
• Serve as the integration layer between photonics and electrical teams, packaging optical and power architectures into a high-G ruggedized system ready for flight.
• Hire and lead a small hardware team, including a hands-on mechanical engineer, and set the technical bar for the growing organization.

What We're Looking For

• 8+ years of experience in hardware engineering for defense, aerospace, or electro-optical systems.
• Prior experience designing or integrating a seeker or payload on a missile platform at a prime defense contractor or national lab — this is a firm requirement.
• Strong background in system architecture for electro-optical or active sensing hardware: optomechanical design, lens mounting, PCB placement, and seeker packaging.
• Hands-on experience with missile qualification certifications and ruggedization for high-G environments.
• Familiarity with environmental testing standards such as MIL-STD-810 (shock, vibration, thermal).
• Experience leading or growing a small hardware engineering team.
• Degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, optical engineering, or physics.
• Experience with LiDAR, imaging, or electro-optical systems is a strong plus.
• Prototype-to-production transition experience, including design reviews and qualification builds.
• Proficiency with CAD tools (SolidWorks or equivalent).
• U.S. Person status (ITAR) and ability to obtain a security clearance — required. No visa sponsorship is available.

Compensation & Benefits

Base salary range: $180,000 – $240,000 USD annually. Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Location

On-site, 5 days per week in Hawthorne, CA.