Senior Hardware Integration Engineer

The role

Volley's parking system is not one machine. It is a system of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), vertical conveyors and lifts, trays, EV charging, vehicle interchange bays, doors and safety interlocks, fire and life-safety systems, building controls, and the software that drives all of it. Some elements of the system we design while others come from outside suppliers that we integrate and optimize through partnerships. Making all of it behave as one performant and integrated system is the engineering challenge in front of us. This role owns that problem.

You will define the interface specifications, flow requirements down to vendors, review their designs, fill the gaps with bespoke designs, and define what "acceptable" means and what evidence proves it. When a subsystem misbehaves, you are the engineer who can reason across mechanical, electrical, controls, and software to say why, and can support driving the process with supporting functions (e.g. operations) to get it fixed.

You set the standard and build the evidence that translates to fielded system performance. When something behaves differently at a customer site than it did in Denver, you are the technical authority they escalate to and seek or create innovative solutions to contain the issue and resolve the problem.

What you will own

System architecture, interface control, and configuration management. Define and maintain the interfaces between subsystems: mechanical envelopes and tolerance stack-ups, power and grounding, signal and network topology, command and state semantics, timing, and failure behavior. Own the interface control documents and keep them true, because in this system those gaps can lead to failures with a lead time. You will also own the configuration management of the HW system, both as built/deployed as well as under development evolution.

Requirements flow-down and traceability. Translate customer commitments, site constraints, and building code obligations into verifiable requirements on each subsystem, and keep the thread from a customer's throughput number to a supplier's acceptance test intact.

Supplier and internal technical design ownership. Be the technical counterpart to our AGV, vertical transport, charging, and controls suppliers, from specification and RFQ through design review, factory acceptance, and warranty. Evaluate platforms on their merits, write specifications a vendor can actually build to, and say no when what shows up is not what was specified. Some projects or components will require detailed designs driven by and you will be expected to run the full spectrum from ground up design to higher level integration.

Integration and protocol conformance. We drive supplier AGVs over VDA5050. Other subsystems speak Modbus, OPC UA, CAN, and vendor-specific APIs. You will own conformance to the interface spec and make sure vendor deviations stay documented and contained at the boundary rather than leaking into our architecture.

The acceptance standard. Define what gets proven at the bench, at the supplier's factory, at our Denver test facility, and on site, and what evidence closes each requirement. You author the acceptance criteria and test plans that the field team executes against, and you are the one who judges whether the results clear the bar.

The interface to the building. Automated parking lives inside civil and structural reality: slab flatness and levelness, clearances, structural deflection, power, ventilation, and fire protection. You will define what the building has to provide, and work with architects, general contractors, and code consultants when what was built diverges from what was drawn.

Technical leadership. This is an individual contributor role and it stays one in the immediate future. Your leverage comes from your own judgment, your specifications, and the decisions you make, not from headcount. As the program grows you may have an engineer or two working under you, and you will set their technical direction and review their work, but the job is to build, not to manage.

Required qualifications

• BS in engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, or Computer Science), or equivalent experience

• 8+ years developing and deploying complex electromechanical or robotic systems, including at least one you followed all the way into the field

• Deep experience with CAD tools, drawing generation, and lifecycle management

• Experience with configuration management best practices, processes, and/or systems

• Willingness to be in our Denver office five days a week. This is not a hybrid or remote role. The prospect of joining an in person dynamic team is exciting to you.

• Demonstrated ownership of system-level architecture: interface control documents, requirements flow-down, tolerance and error budgets, and the discipline to keep them current when the design moves

• Real experience as the technical owner of an outside supplier: writing the specification, reviewing their design, defining acceptance, and holding the line on deviations or changes, and executing change management when it is required

• The ability to troubleshoot across domains (mechanical, electrical, controls, software, and operations), and to take on the problems that sit between owners

• A track record of raising the technical bar around you: mentoring less experienced engineers, reviewing others' designs or architecture decision, and getting a cross-functional group to converge on a decision without holding authority over anyone

• Working fluency with industrial communications and controls: Modbus, OPC UA, CAN, TCP/IP, PLCs, servo and motor drives, safety-rated I/O, and sensing (depth, vision, position, temperature, current)

• Enough Linux and Python to pull logs apart and test a hypothesis yourself. You do not need to be a software engineer, but you do need to be able to read one's work

• Literacy in safety and agency certification: hazard analysis, risk assessment, creating functional safety concepts, and the practical realities of UL, IEC, ISO, and CE

• A high tolerance for ambiguity, and the judgment to know when to resolve it with a decision versus a test

• Writing that holds up: a specification a vendor can build to and a test report a reader can act on

Desired qualifications

• Advanced engineering degree

• Experience with software development in ROS/ROS2, C++, and/or Python

• AGV/AMR fleet integration generally and more applicable VDA5050 or comparable interface protocols

• Vertical transport and material handling: VRCs, scissor lifts, and conveyors, and the standards that govern them (ASME B20.1, ISO 13849, and for automated parking specifically, EN 14010)

• EV charging, including automated or robotic charging, OCPP, and NFPA 70 Article 625

• Work with building codes and authorities having jurisdiction: IBC, IMC, NFPA, permit review, alternative means and methods

• Requirements and model-based systems engineering tooling, used because it helped rather than because it was mandated

• Automotive or vehicle integration, debugging and troubleshooting experience

• Having built the process, not just followed it and ideally in early-stage environments where the standard is whatever you wrote down and others adhere to it because its the right way to execute

• Formal training or experience with problem resolution processes

On level

We have written this at the Senior level, and the band above reflects that. If you are operating at a principal level, apply anyway and let us know. We would rather have that conversation than miss you over a title.

Why this is worth your time

Most systems integration roles are about defending an architecture someone else set a decade ago. This one is about setting it. Volley is early enough that the interfaces you define become the product, and far enough along that you will watch them get realized in a building and carry real cars for real customers a year from now.

Benefits

Base salary range listed above. Offer amount determined by experience and skills. This role also includes an equity stake in Volley. Volley’s benefit package includes: Medical, Dental and Vision coverage covered up to 90% for employee and 75% for dependents. Volley has a 401(k) plan with matching contributions and enrollment starts immediately as well as generous paid time off, paid Holidays, Life & Disability coverage and more.

Applicant must provide proof of his or her eligibility to work in the United States if selected for hire.

Volley Automation is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, association with a member of a protected class, bereavement leave, color, disability (physical, intellectual/developmental, or mental health/psychiatric), exercising the right to family care and medical leave related to serious health condition of employee or family member, child bonding, or military exigencies, engaging in protected activity, gender identity or expression, genetic information or characteristic, marital status, medical condition (cancer or genetic characteristic), military and veteran status, national origin (includes language restrictions), pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions, Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL), race (includes hairstyle and hair texture), religious creed (includes dress and grooming practices), reproductive health decision making, sex/gender, and sexual orientation.

We are not accepting resumes from third-party vendors or agency recruiters representing candidates. Direct Applicants Only.