Hardware Manufacturing Automation Technical Lead, Google Cloud

About the job

As an innovative and results-driven Technical Lead, you will advocate the strategy, design, and deployment of cutting-edge automated manufacturing systems for our next-generation data center hardware. As a domain expert, you will define the technical vision and manufacturing automation roadmap, bridging the gap between product design and scalable physical production. In this role, you will lead complex, undefined engineering challenges, driving cross-functional alignment across New Product Introduction (NPI), Product Design, and Quality teams to implement advanced automation technologies such as robotics, precision metrology, and custom factory fixtures within global contract manufacturing environments. You will possess deep technical mastery, acting as the primary decision-maker for architectural and integration strategies, enabling highly efficient, high-yield, and resilient manufacturing automation for Google's hardware development.Our Platforms Infrastructure Engineering team designs and builds the

hardware and software technologies that power all of Google's services. Our computational challenges are complex and unique, enabled by custom hardware designed and made in-house. As a hardware engineer, you will design and build the systems that are the heart of the world's largest and most powerful computing infrastructure. You will see those systems from concepts all the way through to high-volume manufacturing. Your work has the potential to shape the machinery that goes into data centers, affecting millions of Google users.Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $236000 - $329000 (USD) + 25% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities

• Manage the end-to-end automation roadmap for data center hardware products, setting performance benchmarks and aligning technical strategy with broader business and product goals.
• Act as the primary decision-maker for complex technical architecture, while addressing ambiguous manufacturing challenges like integrating complex robotics or assembly bottlenecks where no established precedent exists.
• Achieve consensus across NPI, Product Design, Quality, and manufacturing partners, ensuring Design for Manufacturability/Assembly (DfMA) feedback is incorporated early in the product lifecycle.
• Establish relationships with global contract manufacturers and automation integrators, ensuring technical specifications are met and systems pass rigorous Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT).
• Translate hardware designs into high-yield, resilient environments for long-term, high-volume production, elevating team capabilities by setting standards, fostering innovation, and providing coaching.

Qualifications

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or a specialized field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8 years of experience in hardware manufacturing, with a focus on designing, deploying, and scaling automated systems (e.g., assembly, material handling, or metrology/test systems).
• Experience in physical automation hardware (e.g., Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), multi-axis industrial robots, custom actuators, conveyor systems, and visual inspection sensors) and the software systems required to integrate them into production.
• Experience in Design for Manufacturability/Assembly (DFMA) and Design for Automation (DFA) analyses on electromechanical assemblies.

Preferred qualifications:

• Master's degree or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, or a related field (e.g., Optics, Sensors, Audio/DSP).
• Experience qualifying, auditing, and managing external global contract manufacturers (CMs) and specialized third-party automation integrators from initial concept through Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT).
• Ability to translate ambiguous, complex product requirements into actionable, long-term engineering strategies for worldwide manufacturing partners.
• Proven track record of providing technical direction for large-scale, cross-functional engineering programs. Experience working with executive leadership, engineering teams, and global partners.