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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Lead Hardware Engineer - **Company:** TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, INC. - **Location:** San Francisco, CA, United States - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** $15,000.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Systems Engineering, Computer Engineering, Data Centers, Systems Architecture - **Published:** September 20, 2026 - **Apply:** https://startup.jobs/lead-hardware-engineer-tar-10133927 ## About the Role * 5-7 years of hardware engineering experience, including some experience informally or formally leading a small team or serving as a technical lead on a project. * Experience taking a hardware component or subsystem from low-volume prototype to higher-volume production, ideally including work with contract manufacturers or suppliers. * Solid grounding in mechatronics, mechanical engineering, motion control, or ruggedized system design for field or industrial environments. * Some experience managing BOMs and driving costs down without sacrificing reliability. * Comfortable reviewing others' technical work and communicating design trade-offs to a manager or cross-functional partners. Nice to have: * Experience in energy, industrial automation, or field robotics rather than consumer robotics. * Exposure to regulatory or certification requirements for industrial or field hardware. * Background at a high-growth, venture-backed hardware startup. * Experience on a team that stood up a new subsystem or product line from scratch. ## Description About the role: TAR builds fully islanded solar and storage campuses that deliver clean, firm power directly to AI data centers, with no grid connection and no gas. At GW scale the binding constraint is how fast a crew can put steel in the ground, so TAR builds its own racking system and the robots that install it. As Lead Hardware Engineer, you own the mechanical, electrical, and systems design of a core robotics subsystem - from prototype through field-hardened production - and act as the technical lead for a small team of hardware engineers. You report into the Head of Hardware and work hands-on, splitting time between the San Francisco robotics facility and regular field trips to the West Texas site., * Own the technical design and execution roadmap for a defined robotics subsystem (e.g., pile-driving, racking placement, or earth-moving mechanisms), translating org-level priorities into concrete engineering plans. * Lead day-to-day technical direction for a small team of mechanical, electrical, and systems engineers, reviewing designs and mentoring less experienced engineers. * Drive your subsystem from low-volume prototype builds toward reliable, higher-volume production, working directly with manufacturing and supply chain partners. * Make system architecture decisions within your subsystem: mechanical, electrical, controls, and sensor integration; that hold up under dust, heat, and vibration in the field. * Manage BOM and supplier relationships for your subsystem, balancing cost reduction with field reliability. * Spend regular time at the West Texas site closing the loop between field failures and design fixes. * Partner with the Head of Hardware on hiring and technical roadmap input, without owning org-wide strategy. ## Related Videos - [Breaking the Hardware Mindset: Overcoming Barriers to System-Level Innovation](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1635-breaking-the-hardware-mindset-overcoming-barriers-to-system-level-innovation) - [The Sustainability Race: AI's Promises, Pitfalls and Potential](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100155-the-sustainability-race-ai-s-promises-pitfalls-and-potential) - [Model Based Systems Engineering in an Agile Product Development Process](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/68-model-based-systems-engineering-in-an-agile-product-development-process) - [Swapping a Data Warehouse at Runtime: Zero-Downtime Migration Without Changing a Single Client](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100311-swapping-a-data-warehouse-at-runtime-zero-downtime-migration-without-changing-a-single-client) - [More efficient software for more efficient microchips](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1164-more-efficient-software-for-more-efficient-microchips) - [Building the Nervous System of AI - Michael Kagan (NVIDIA)](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/2133-building-the-nervous-system-of-ai-michael-kagan-nvidia) ## Related Articles - [How to Become an AI Engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/331-how-to-become-an-ai-engineer) - [How We Built a Worry-Free System That Runs for 10+ Years – And What We’d Do Again](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/751-how-we-built-a-worry-free-system-that-runs-for-10-years-and-what-we-d-do-again) - [How to Answer the Interview Question: “Why Do You Want to Be a Software Engineer?”](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/392-how-to-answer-the-interview-question-why-do-you-want-to-be-a-software-engineer) - [Highest Paying Tech Companies for Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/220-highest-paying-tech-companies-for-developers) - [Best US AI Conferences for CTOs in 2026: Build vs. Buy, Vendor Evaluation, and Peer Intelligence](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/736-best-us-ai-conferences-for-ctos-in-2026-build-vs-buy-vendor-evaluation-and-peer-intelligence) - [What’s the Difference between a Junior, Mid, and Senior Developer?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/238-what-s-the-difference-between-a-junior-mid-and-senior-developer)