ABOUT THE ROLEApplied Intuition is bringing Physical AI to the machines that build, feed, and power the world. As Hardware Systems Lead for Industrials, you will be the hands-on chief engineer for the hardware that runs on heavy industrial vehicles in mining, agriculture, and construction. You will understand the full system, mechanical and electrical, and own the question that matters most in these environments: will it survive? You will architect, build, test, and break hardware, then use what you learn to make it tougher. You'll work in the field as much as at the bench, and your decisions will define how Applied's hardware performs on real machines in dust, vibration, heat, mud, and shock.
At Applied Intuition, you will:- Own the end-to-end hardware architecture, mechanical and electrical, for Applied's industrial vehicle programs
- Interface with industrial customers as a representative of the hardware organization
- Be hands-on: prototype, build, install, debug, and test hardware on real machines, not just review designs
- Define and drive survivability: determine how sensors, compute, harnesses, connectors, and enclosures will hold up to vibration, shock, dust, water ingress, thermal extremes, EMI, and years of heavy use
- Design and run environmental and durability testing, analyze failures, and drive root cause and design fixes
- Lead integration of sensors (lidar, radar, cameras, GNSS/IMU), compute, power, networking, and actuation onto OEM heavy equipment
- Understand the host machine (powertrain, electrohydraulics, vehicle electrical architecture, CAN/J1939) well enough to integrate safely and reliably
- Be the technical authority and escalation point for hardware tradeoffs across mechanical, electrical, software, and test
- Lead hardware design reviews, set engineering standards, and mentor other engineers
- Support field deployments and commissioning at mine sites, farms, and customer facilities
WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS:- BS/MS in Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics, or a related field
- 10+ years of hands-on hardware engineering experience on heavy industrial or off-highway vehicles (mining, agriculture, construction, or similar)
- Strong command of the whole hardware system: mechanical design, electrical architecture, power distribution, harness design, and how they interact
- A track record of designing hardware to survive harsh environments, with real experience in vibration, shock, ingress protection, thermal management, and EMI
- Hands-on experience in the lab and in the field: building prototypes, wiring and debugging systems, running tests, and diagnosing failures on real machines
- Deep knowledge of how industrial machines work, including powertrains, hydraulics, braking, steering, and CAN/J1939 networks
- Experience integrating hardware onto OEM or retrofit equipment
- Familiarity with autonomy hardware such as lidar, radar, cameras, GNSS/IMU, and ruggedized compute
- Systems-level thinking and the ability to make architecture decisions and defend them
- Experience with reliability and qualification testing (environmental testing, HALT, field durability)
- Comfort working directly with OEMs, customers, and site operators, including extended time at mine sites and farms
Nice to have:- Experience with functional safety or machine safety standards (ISO 25119, ISO 13849, ISO 17757, ISO 26262)
- Experience with autonomous haulage, precision agriculture, or other autonomous industrial systems
Don't meet every single requirement? If you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
