Head of Hardware Engineering
Chef Robotics is the market leader in physical AI for the food industry - deploying AI-powered robots that solve one of the country's largest, most urgent labor shortages. Our fleet has produced over 110 million real meals across a dozen customer facilities in North America and Europe, for customers like Amy’s Kitchen, gategroup, and CookUnity, and every one of those meals trains our AI further. Backed by leading investors, we've proven the hardest part in robotics - real-world deployment at scale - and now we're looking for people who want to build what comes after.
About the Role
We're hiring a Head of Hardware, to join our senior leadership team and take direct ownership of the strategy that gets us from "we can build it in the shop" to "we can build hundreds of these, on schedule, without breaking." You'll own system architecture for our next-generation system, and you'll build and lead the team of mechanical engineers and manufacturing technicians who bring it to life - hands-on, in a culture that ships fast and doesn't hide from a hard failure mode.
What You'll Do
- Own hardware architecture and system definition for our next-generation system built for higher-throughput, enterprise-scale deployments.
- Lead the transition from producing 2-3 units a week to a high-volume operation, with a target of 100+ robots deployed by year-end.
- Partner with contract manufacturers and manage our global supply chain to aggressively reduce BOM costs and lead times - in service of the same off-the-shelf-first philosophy that already gives us some of the strongest gross margins in robotics.
- Work hand-in-glove with the Heads of Software, Autonomy, and Application Engineering - hardware decisions here ship real customer-facing capabilities, and tight integration plus data-driven prioritization is how we keep moving faster than anyone else in the industry.
- Implement rigorous DFM/DFA standards built for reality: robots running 12+ hours a day, 6 days a week, in wash-down, food-grade kitchen environments where reliability isn't a nice-to-have - it's the entire business model.
- Build and mentor a high-performing, hands-on team - one that roots problems out to the actual physics of what broke, takes ownership without being asked, and moves with urgency because customers are counting on us every single shift.
Qualifications
- 10+ years of hardware engineering experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership role (Director or VP level) at a robotics or complex electromechanical systems company.
- Demonstrated success taking a product from low-volume "lab" production to high-volume manufacturing via Tier-1 CMs.
- Deep expertise in mechatronics, motion control, and ruggedized system design - built to survive daily wash-down and food-grade duty cycles, not just a demo floor.
- Experience managing complex BOMs and driving significant cost reductions without compromising quality.
Nice-to-Haves
- Experience in food-tech or industrial automation.
- Knowledge of regulatory certifications (UL, CE, NSF) for commercial kitchen equipment.
- Background in a high-growth, venture-backed startup environment.
Compensation
The base pay range for this role is $200,000 - $300,000 per 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.