Head Of/Director, Hardware Engineering
Prolific Machines
Summary
Prolific Machines is ushering in a new era of biotechnology with light. Our first-of-its-kind optogenetic platform delivers unprecedented control, precisely guiding cellular behavior when and where it matters most. We're looking for a senior hardware leader to own the hardware engineering function at Prolific: the team that designs and builds our illumination systems, the hardware that delivers light to cells from the bench to bioreactor scale. Reporting to our Co-Founder and CTO, you will lead the transition from validated prototypes to robust, customer-grade products.
Job description
In your first 6 to 12 months, you will:
- Get to know the team and take over day-to-day leadership in a way that preserves what already works well, while setting a clear operating rhythm for planning, design reviews, and delivery
- Own the roadmap for our next-generation illuminator platform, including oversight of external development partners
- Define the path to GMP readiness for systems used in partner manufacturing environments
- Set strong standards for documentation, communication and other good engineering practices
- Shape the team's growth: identify the gaps, write the hiring plan, and make the first hires
Responsibilities:
Strategy and functional leadership
- Translate company strategy into a multi-year hardware strategy and roadmap, and turn it into concrete functional plans, milestones, and success measures
- Partner with the CTO to define Prolific's technical roadmap, engineering standards, and decision-making frameworks
- Contribute to company business planning as the hardware function's representative, including budgets, headcount, capital equipment, and partner program commitments
- Make most operational and technical decisions for the hardware function independently, escalating where strategic alignment is needed
- Build strong partnerships with peer leaders in bioprocess engineering, biology, software, data, and business development so hardware plans integrate with company-wide priorities
- Represent Prolific externally with partners, suppliers, and the broader engineering community, and bring outside expertise and industry connections into the company
- Model commitment to company decisions, aligning the hardware team behind agreed outcomes even when they differ from your own recommendation
Leadership and team development
- Conserve and strengthen the hardware team's culture of collaboration, candor, and craftsmanship as the team grows
- Lead, mentor, and develop a strong multidisciplinary team, elevating already capable engineers to the next level and growing senior individual contributors into technical and people leads
- Coach the team in balancing speed and rigor: when to prototype quickly, when to slow down and do it properly, and how to make that call with confidence
- Own the structure and operations of the hardware function: team design, roles, resourcing, and a predictable operating rhythm (planning, design reviews, retrospectives) that adds clarity without adding bureaucracy
- Own hardware team growth: identify capability gaps (e.g. systems, testing, quality), write the hiring plan, and hire people who strengthen the culture
- Manage up and down effectively, communicating clearly about tradeoffs in scope, quality, time, and people
Hardware development
- Bring a systems engineering approach to the platform: define subsystem boundaries and interfaces, requirements flow-down, and modular designs that enable rapid scaling, independent testing, and component reuse, without over-engineering early
- Take on the hardest, least precedented technical problems in scaling light delivery to industrial bioprocessing, and develop solutions that hold up long term
- Oversee the full development lifecycle, from technical scoping and concept through prototyping, verification and validation, and transfer to production
- Lead the transition from R&D prototypes to reliable, serviceable, manufacturable products (design for manufacturing, design for service, design controls)
- Drive make-vs-buy and insource-vs-outsource decisions, and manage external development partners and contract manufacturers against clear scopes and milestones
- Support business development with technical scoping and realistic estimates for partner programs
Quality, compliance, and productization
- Define and execute the path to GMP readiness for hardware used in partner manufacturing environments
- Lead electrical safety and regulatory certification efforts with test labs and consultants
- Establish the right-sized quality practices for each stage: documentation, change control, verification records, and supplier qualification
- Work with hardware operations to make sure what the team designs can be built, deployed, and supported at scale
Requirements
- BS, MS, or PhD in Mechanical, Electrical, Optical, Systems, or Biomedical Engineering, or a related field; equivalent experience considered
- 10+ years of relevant industry experience, including 3+ years leading a multidisciplinary hardware engineering team or department as a people manager (e.g. senior manager or director)
- Demonstrated experience taking at least one hardware product from R&D prototype through to production and field deployment, with concrete examples of what you'd do differently next time
- A track record of setting multi-year technical or functional strategy and translating it into execution plans, budgets, and resourcing
- Hands-on experience bringing hardware into a regulated environment: GMP, FDA design controls, or equivalent, and leading products through electrical safety certification (UL, CE, or similar)
- Deep technical expertise in at least one core discipline (mechanical, electrical, or optical) and enough breadth to make sound architecture calls across the others
- A strong track record of mentoring engineers and growing individual contributors into leads
- Experience managing external development partners, contract manufacturers, or suppliers against defined scopes and milestones
- Excellent written and verbal communication, including explaining complex technical tradeoffs in scope, quality, time, and (human) resources to executives, partners, and non-engineers
Benefits
- Generous equity package
- Retirement plan
- Flexible PTO
- Medical, Dental & Vision
- Life and Disability Insurance
- Career Coaching
- Mental Health Support
- Free Team Lunches
- Snacks
- Companywide Social Events
Company overview
Prolific Machines is an innovative biotechnology company focused on developing advanced research technologies and solutions in the life sciences sector. The company specializes in creating cutting-edge tools and platforms that enhance biological research capabilities, particularly in areas requiring sophisticated automation and data analysis. As a biotechnology research firm, Prolific Machines is dedicated to advancing scientific discovery through the development of novel methodologies and instrumentation that streamline complex laboratory processes. Their work contributes to accelerating research timelines and improving experimental outcomes across various biological disciplines. The company operates at the intersection of biotechnology and engineering, leveraging interdisciplinary approaches to address challenges in modern biological research. While specific details about their product portfolio and team size are not readily available, the company's name suggests a focus on productivity and efficiency in biological research systems.