Founding Hardware Engineer

Clera

• $125K — $150K *
Telecommunications & Hardware
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5-7 years of experience in PCB design for consumer electronics, wearables, or IoT devices.
  • Proven track record of taking hardware from prototype to production.
  • Strong hands-on skills in PCB layout and optimization.
  • Familiarity with design for manufacturability and test design processes.
  • Ability to manage supplier relationships and assembly logistics.

Responsibilities

  • Iterate on PCB revisions to enhance layout, power delivery, and RF performance.
  • Transition hardware from prototype to production by addressing manufacturability and scaling challenges.
  • Identify and communicate potential risks early in the design process.
  • Ensure high-quality standards for every unit produced.
  • Collaborate closely with the founding team to deliver the final product.

Benefits

  • Visa sponsorship available.
Full Job Description
About the Role

Join a recently funded founding team as its first hardware engineer, taking a prototype device from concept through production. You will own the hardware journey, from board design and manufacturing through quality assurance, and help deliver a reliable product at scale. Your technical decisions will directly shape the product customers receive.
What You'll Do
  • Iterate on PCB revisions, optimizing layout, power delivery, RF performance, size, reliability, and cost.
  • Move hardware from prototype toward production by addressing design for manufacturability, test strategy, supplier selection, assembly logistics, and scaling challenges.
  • Identify and communicate risks early, using practical experience to help prevent costly mistakes.
  • Own hardware quality and the standards applied to every unit that ships.
  • Work directly with the founding team to build and ship the product.
What We're Looking For
  • Experience designing PCBs that have shipped in a real product, ideally in wearables, IoT, or consumer electronics.
  • Experience taking a device from prototype to production, or strong early-career fundamentals and the ability to move quickly with AI tools.
  • Hands-on skills in PCB layout and optimizing power, RF performance, size, reliability, and cost.
  • Comfort with design for manufacturability, test design, supplier management, and assembly processes.
  • Ability to anticipate and communicate manufacturing and scaling challenges; specific domain expertise is not required.
Compensation & Benefits

Visa sponsorship is available.
Location

On-site in San Francisco, California, United States.

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