Application Engineer / Hardware / Customer-facing

San Francisco, CaliforniaHybridFull Time$200k - $250kApplication Engineer – Hardware/Firmware (OEM Integrations)We're partnering with an innovative, venture-backed AI infrastructure company that is building cutting-edge hardware solutions at the intersection of AI, embedded systems, and data center technology. They're looking for an experienced Application Engineer – Hardware/Firmware to serve as the technical bridge between engineering and customers, helping bring complex hardware integrations from concept through production.This is a highly customer-facing, hands-on engineering role where you'll work closely with hardware, firmware, and product teams while partnering directly with enterprise customers to design, validate, and deploy hardware integration solutions.Location: Candidates must be based in or around the San Francisco Bay Area. Regular travel to customer sites is required.Please note: Unfortunately, visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Responsibilities Partner with Product and Go-to-Market teams during pre-sales to evaluate customer hardware environments and develop proof-of-concept integrations Design and implement hardware integration layers between embedded platforms and customer infrastructure Develop, modify, and debug embedded firmware to support customer-specific hardware integrations Own customer integration projects from kickoff through design, validation, production release, and deployment Lead customer-facing technical discussions, design reviews, on-site visits, and engineering workshops Produce engineering documentation including design reviews, validation plans, bring-up guides, installation documentation, KPI tracking, and deployment artifacts Develop hardware design collateral covering schematics, layouts, power, signal integrity, thermal considerations, and interface requirements Create hardware bring-up documentation and support board validation activities Track project risks, hardware milestones, and engineering KPIs while coordinating cross-functional resolution efforts Partner with Hardware, Firmware, and Product teams during roadmap planning, sprint reviews, and design discussions Capture lessons learned from customer deployments and drive continuous product improvements Build scalable processes, templates, and best practices for future customer integrations Leverage AI tools and automation to streamline engineering workflows and documentation Requirements 6+ years of hands-on hardware engineering and embedded firmware development experience Experience owning hardware designs from concept through production Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience Strong PCB-level hardware design knowledge, including interface definition and system bring-up FPGA development experience including hardware design/RTL and firmware Experience writing, modifying, and debugging embedded firmware Strong understanding of embedded communication protocols such as I2C, UART, PCIe, and Ethernet Ability to read, review, and troubleshoot schematics, PCB layouts, and hardware test results Experience creating structured engineering documentation including validation plans, design reviews, and deployment procedures Excellent communication skills with experience working directly with customers and cross-functional engineering teams Ability to thrive in fast-paced startup environments with high ownership Experience with data center infrastructure, power electronics, or energy management hardware is highly preferred Willingness to travel for customer meetings, hardware validation, and deployment activities Nice to Have Master's degree in Electrical Engineering or related discipline Experience with System-on-Module (SOM) platforms or metrology hardware Knowledge of power quality, thermal management, or power sequencing Embedded Linux, BSP bring-up, or Yocto experience Familiarity with ZeroMQ, Protobuf, gRPC, or REST APIs Previous experience as a Field Application Engineer, Systems Integration Engineer, or another customer-facing hardware engineering roleIf you're interested in learning more, feel free to reach out directly!