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Head of Hardware
San Francisco, CA$190K - $230K / yearPosted 60 months ago
Full Timeonsitelead
Job Description
Chef Robotics is accelerating the deployment of intelligent machines in the physical world, starting with food production—a sector facing the largest labor shortage in the U.S., with 1.14M unfilled jobs today and 3.1M projected by 2030. These roles cannot be offshored, making robotics essential to keeping production onshore and strengthening America’s manufacturing base. Backed by investors like Kleiner Perkins, Construct, Bloomberg Beta, and Promus Ventures, and supported by a world-class team from companies such as Cruise, Zoox, Google, Tesla, and Amazon Robotics, Chef is rapidly scaling with multiple multi-year contracts and a mission to put an intelligent robot in every commercial kitchen.
About the Role
Chef Robotics is at a critical inflection point, scaling from dozens to hundreds of AI-enabled robots in the field. As the Head of Hardware, you will be a key member of the senior leadership team, responsible for defining and executing the hardware strategy that will take us to enterprise-level performance. You will oversee the system architecture for our next-generation products while managing a high-performing team of mechanical engineers and manufacturing technicians.
What you'll do
- Oversee hardware architecture and system definition for both our existing solutions and our next-generation enterprise-focused products.
- Lead the transition from producing 2–3 units per week to a high-volume operation, with a target of deploying 100+ robots by year-end.
- Partner with Contract Manufacturers (CMs) and manage the supply chain to aggressively reduce Bill of Materials (BOM) costs as we scale.
- Collaborate closely with the Heads of Software, Autonomy, and Application Engineering to ensure tight hardware-software integration and prioritize features based on real-world field data.
- Recruit, mentor, and grow a hardware organization of ~10 people, fostering a culture of "systems-level thinking" and execution.
- Participate in fundraising efforts as the company scales through Series B and beyond.
Who You Are
- You have successfully shipped complex hardware-software products at scale and have experience navigating a high-growth startup environment.
- Ability to move between hands-on technical design and high-level strategy for complex robotic systems.
- Experience working with contract manufacturers and scaling production from prototypes to hundreds of units.
- Proven experience managing multi-tiered teams and a "player-coach" mentality.
- Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field.
$190,000 - $230,000 a year
Chef is an early-stage startup where equity is a major part of the compensation package. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.
In addition to salary and early-stage equity, we offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, commuter benefits, flexible paid time off (PTO), catered lunch, and 401(k) matching.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.