Vice President of Engineering, Hardware

Location: Somerville, MA (on-site)
Reports to: CEO
Department: Mechanical Engineering, Embedded Systems, Test Engineering
Employment Type: Full-time

Role & Responsibilities

As VP of Engineering, you will lead the engineering organization and ensure the seamless integration of hardware and embedded software into a unified robotics product. Your responsibilities will include (but are not limited to):

Technical Leadership & Vision

• Define and own the engineering vision and strategy for hardware and embedded software, aligning with Rise’s product roadmap, market goals, and business strategy.
• Shape system architecture for robotics platforms: mechanical, electrical, firmware, embedded software, sensors, controls, communication, and networking.
• Drive technical innovation and ensure engineering design excellence, robustness, reliability and manufacturability in hardware and embedded systems.
• Maintain awareness of emerging technologies in robotics, sensors, AI, embedded systems, and advise on how to incorporate them into future products.
  

Organization & Team Management

• Build, mentor and lead a high-performing engineering organization: hardware engineering (mechanical & electrical), firmware & embedded software engineering, system integration, test & validation.
• Define and implement recruiting, onboarding, performance management, professional development, and retention strategies for engineering talent.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, continuous improvement, learning and innovation.
• Establish appropriate organizational structure, processes, and communication mechanisms to support rapid development, scaling, and cross-discipline coordination.
  

Product Development & Execution

• Oversee end-to-end product development lifecycle from concept through design, prototyping, testing, validation, manufacturing, and launch.
• Establish accountability goals to measure engineering productivity, product quality, reliability, time to market, and post-launch field performance.
• Ensure rigorous hardware and embedded software verification, validation, and compliance with relevant standards (e.g., safety, EMC, reliability, field durability).
• Manage budgets, timelines, and resource allocation across hardware and embedded software engineering initiatives.
  

Manufacturing Readiness & Scale

• Drive design for manufacturability (DFM), design for test (DFT), reliability engineering, thermal/ mechanical/EMI/ESD compliance, and supplier/contract manufacturer engagement.
• Collaborate with operations and supply chain to move prototypes into pilot production and high-volume manufacturing while maintaining engineering integrity, field reliability and cost targets.
• Establish post-launch support, field feedback loops, & continuous improvement processes.
  

Cross-Functional & Strategic Collaboration

• Serve as a senior technical voice in the leadership team, contributing to business strategy, investment planning, go-to-market readiness, and customer growth.
• Work with the CEO to ensure engineering decisions support overall company objectives and customer needs.
• Represent engineering externally: with customers, partners, suppliers, industry events, key technical discussions, and possibly investors.

Requirements

• 10+ years of progressive engineering leadership experience in hardware and embedded software development, preferably in robotics, industrial automation, autonomous systems or related high-complexity domain.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Robotics or related field. Advanced degree is a plus.
• Proven track record of leading cross-disciplinary teams (mechanical, electrical, firmware, embedded software, systems integration) and delivering complete product platforms to market (ideally both hardware + embedded software).
• Deep technical expertise in embedded systems (firmware, RTOS, drivers, middleware), electronics/PCB design, sensor integration, robotics controls, system architecture, and manufacturing readiness.
• Demonstrated experience collaborating across functions (product, manufacturing, operations, quality, supply chain) and influencing up to C-level.
• Strong business acumen: ability to align engineering roadmap with business goals, manage budgets, resource planning, timeline trade-offs and risk management.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills, capable of inspiring and mentoring engineering teams, setting vision and holding teams accountable for results.
• Comfortable working on-site in Somerville, MA, and capable of being hands-on when necessary (not purely executive).