--- title: 'Head of Hardware Engineering - Onsite in San Francisco, CA at Roadrunner Venture Studio' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-hardware-engineering-onsite-in-san-francisco-ca-roadrunner-venture-2cg12qgm4bzb' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-10' --- # Head of Hardware Engineering - Onsite in San Francisco, CA at Roadrunner Venture Studio - **Company:** Roadrunner Venture Studio - **Location:** San Francisco, CA - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-08-31 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/roadrunner-studios/00857491-aa07-479d-90bb-e3b6d16d9e5a ## Job description ## About Roadrunner Venture Studios Roadrunner Venture Studios is the nation's leading platform for founding breakthrough ventures in frontier technology. We partner with scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to turn deep technology into real companies. Our work spans energy, manufacturing, semiconductors, quantum computing, aerospace, advanced materials, artificial intelligence, and high performance computing. ## About the Role Roadrunner Venture Studios is recruiting a Head of Hardware Engineering for a portfolio company developing rainfall enhancement technology. You will lead the deployment system from architecture and prototyping through operational qualification and production-scale manufacturing. You will apply aerospace rigor to industrial hardware that must operate reliably in the field and support repeatable manufacturing at automotive scale. The work spans mechanical, thermal, combustion, fluid, structural, controls, and instrumentation systems. This is a hands-on role. You will work with internal science and field teams and lead external engineering firms, fabricators, suppliers, and manufacturing partners. This role includes significant equity. This is an early-stage startup building something that has not been built before. Expect weeks of 50 to 60 hours, sometimes more, with frequent travel and regular weekend work. Priorities will change quickly. If this working environment does not excite you, this job is probably not for you. ## What You Will Do Technical Leadership System Architecture: Own requirements and architecture across mechanical, thermal, combustion, structural, fluid, gas-handling, controls, and instrumentation systems. Hardware Development: Lead the system from early design through prototypes, integrated builds, field-ready hardware, and production planning. Combustion and Thermal Systems: Lead the design and qualification of combustion hardware, fuel and gas handling, flow and pressure systems, and thermal management. Qualification and Field Operations: Define verification methods and lead shop tests, integrated system tests, field qualification, troubleshooting, and failure reviews. Manufacturing and External Partners Turn engineering concepts into computer aided design models, drawings, bills of materials, supplier packages, build instructions, and acceptance criteria. Lead design for manufacturing and assembly so prototypes can mature into reliable production hardware. Manage engineering, procurement, and construction firms, fabricators, suppliers, contract manufacturers, and other external partners. Use test data, field observations, supplier feedback, and failure analysis to drive design improvements and production readiness. Business and Team Management Outcome Ownership: Own the hardware schedule, budget, qualification timeline, technical quality, partner deliverables, and production plan. Team Building: Recruit, mentor, and manage a small team of hardware engineers. Work across science, field operations, business, and external partners to resolve technical risks and keep the hardware program moving. ## Preferred Qualifications Bachelor's degree or higher in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, systems engineering, or a related field. Experience leading complex hardware from concept through prototype builds, operational qualification, and production planning. High proficiency with computer aided design software such as SolidWorks or NX and product lifecycle management systems. Experience with engineering release processes, configuration control, drawings, bills of materials, and supplier documentation. Experience with design for manufacturing and assembly for industrial, aerospace, automotive, robotics, energy, or other complex hardware. Experience with combustion hardware, thermal systems, fluid systems, gas handling, pressure systems, large field equipment, or power systems. Experience with test instrumentation, data acquisition, controls interfaces, inspection methods, qualification plans, and operational readiness reviews. Experience managing engineering firms, fabrication shops, suppliers, contract manufacturers, or engineering, procurement, and construction partners. Experience supporting field tests or deployments and making engineering decisions under changing operating conditions. At least three years of experience leading hardware development and developing engineering talent. Ability to move quickly, take broad ownership, and solve complex problems with limited resources in a startup environment. Experience with computational fluid dynamics (CFD), especially for combustion, heat transfer, fluid flow, or gas-handling systems. Experience taking hardware from prototype builds into first-article or low-rate production. Experience with aerospace, defense, energy, automotive, robotics, or other high-reliability hardware programs. Experience building a hardware engineering function at an early-stage company. Location This role may be based in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, or New Mexico. The balance between in-person and remote work can be tailored to the candidate and team needs. Frequent travel is required. ## About Roadrunner Venture Studio ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Roadrunner Venture Studios co-founds breakthrough deep-tech ventures with scientists and engineers, accelerating ideas from lab to market. - **Entity Type**: Private (venture studio; backed by America's Frontier Fund) - **Headquarters**: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA - **Founded**: 2022 - **Founders**: Co-founded by America’s Frontier Fund (individual founders not publicly named) ## Core Business - Primary industry: Deep-tech venture studio (energy, space, quantum, advanced materials, manufacturing, high-performance computing) - Target customers: Scientists, engineers, and innovators (B2B; co-founder/partner model) - Mission: “Ensure that the U.S. remains the best place in the world to commercialize deep tech” and “burst technology out of labs by identifying, developing, and investing in deep tech companies” [roadrunnerventurestudios.com](https://roadrunnerventurestudios.com/mission) ## Products & Services - **Venture Studio Services**: Full-stack company creation – provides capital, talent, top-to-bottom advising, product development, commercialization, and recruitment. Acts as a “starter-kit” for founders, taking ideas from whiteboard to venture-backed growth engine. [roadrunnerventurestudios.com](https://roadrunnerventurestudios.com/) ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private venture studio) - **Key Metric**: 21 total employees (Built In profile); portfolio includes companies like Photon Queue (quantum memory) and Maybell Quantum (quantum device assembly) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: America’s Frontier Fund (co-founder), Playground Global (led Photon Queue seed round), New Mexico Economic Development Department (Maybell Quantum) - **Growth Signals**: Active hiring for multiple roles (Chief of Staff, Executive/Founder in Residence, Facility Manager, etc.); oversubscribed seed round for portfolio company Photon Queue ($4M); expansion into Albuquerque quantum lab [jobs.lever.co](https://jobs.lever.co/roadrunner-studios) | [roadrunnerventurestudios.com](https://roadrunnerventurestudios.com/) ## Competitive Advantages - **Deep-tech specialization**: Focus on hard-science domains (quantum, energy, space) where traditional venture studios rarely operate. - **Government & private network**: Deep ties to America’s Frontier Fund and federal/state economic development agencies provide unique access to funding and partnerships. - **De-risking vehicle**: Offers a complete “company creation factory” that reduces the friction of commercializing frontier technologies. ## Strategic Focus - Continue building a national system of venture studios to catalyze American technological competitiveness. - Prioritize quantum computing, advanced energy, space technologies, and advanced manufacturing. - Scale the studio model by hiring domain experts and operators in Albuquerque and Tampa Bay. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Mission-driven environment focused on strengthening U.S. competitiveness; work alongside top scientists and engineers on frontier technologies. - **Work policy**: Mix of on-site and hybrid roles; offices in Albuquerque, NM (HQ) and Tampa Bay, FL. On-site roles are typical for lab and facility positions. - **Perks**: Opportunity to be part of a “company starter-kit” and directly shape breakthrough ventures from inception. Small team (21 employees) offers high impact and ownership. - **Engineering culture**: Emphasis on deep technical work in quantum, energy, and space; roles include R&D technicians, experimental fluid mechanics, and quantum lab management. ## Sources 1. [Roadrunner Venture Studios – Home](https://roadrunnerventurestudios.com/) 2. [Roadrunner Venture Studios – Careers (Lever)](https://jobs.lever.co/roadrunner-studios) 3. [Roadrunner Venture Studios – Built In profile](https://builtin.com/company/roadrunner-venture-studios) 4. [Roadrunner Venture Studios – Team](https://roadrunnerventurestudios.com/team) 5. 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