Proper Voltage

Proper Voltage

Chief Engineer - Robotics

Carlsbad, CA · Exec

No sponsorshipDetected 22 days ago
MIL-STDSystems EngineeringRoboticsPower ElectronicsLeadershipMentoring

About the role

  • About Proper Voltage Proper Voltage is unlocking the next generation of battery technology across robotics, data centers, and defense.
  • Data centers get safer, cheaper backup power.
  • Drones and autonomous vehicles get higher energy density without lengthy integration cycles.

Responsibilities

  • Own the system architecture for our robotics product line, defining how electrical, mechanical, thermal, firmware, and software subsystems integrate into a cohesive, manufacturable, and serviceable product.
  • Establish and maintain the requirements framework for the product line - from customer and system-level requirements down through subsystem and component specifications - ensuring traceability, testability, and configuration control throughout the development lifecycle.
  • Drive the verification and validation strategy, ensuring that every requirement has a defined method of verification and that our test programs produce evidence sufficient to qualify the product for its intended service environment.
  • Partner with the Head of Product to translate customer needs, market inputs, and competitive realities into technical requirements that are ambitious, achievable, and grounded in engineering first principles.
  • Partner with the Head of Programs to ensure that technical scope, dependencies, and risks are reflected accurately in the execution plan, and that schedule decisions preserve engineering integrity.
  • Lead design reviews, architecture reviews, and technical deep-dives with a standard of rigor that raises the engineering bar across the organization and develops the technical judgment of the team.
  • Own the technical risk register for the product line, identifying engineering risks early, driving mitigation plans, and ensuring that accepted risks are visible and consciously chosen rather than inherited by default.
  • We're building intelligent battery systems that make advanced chemistries (sodium-ion, lithium-titanate, lithium-silicon) work in products that were never designed for them.
  • You will define what we're building, establish the requirements that govern how it performs, and hold the line on engineering rigor across every discipline contributing to the product.

Requirements

  • Proven success leading the technical development of complex electromechanical products through to volume production, with clear personal ownership of system-level outcomes.
  • Deep expertise in systems engineering practice, including requirements definition and management, interface control, verification and validation planning, and configuration management.
  • 10 or more years of engineering experience with demonstrated progression into senior technical leadership roles such as Chief Engineer, Systems Architect, or Principal Engineer.
  • Bachelor's or graduate degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Systems, or Aerospace Engineering.
  • Strong multidisciplinary technical foundation with the ability to engage credibly across electrical, mechanical, thermal, firmware, and software domains.
  • Track record of making difficult technical trade-offs under schedule and resource pressure while maintaining product integrity.

Nice to have

  • Experience in startups or high-growth technology companies where the Chief Engineer role required hands-on depth alongside system-level leadership.
  • Experience bringing products through relevant safety, environmental, or regulatory qualification programs (UL, IEC, MIL-STD, ISO, or equivalent).

Company info

  • Represent the product line's technical position to customers, partners, and certifying bodies, serving as the senior engineering voice in external technical engagements.
  • Model the behaviors and leadership qualities that define our culture, serving as a visible advocate for engineering excellence, intellectual honesty, and continuous improvement.
  • Please note that we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position.
  • Your job is to ensure that what leaves our facility works predictably, repeatably, and to specification in the hands of our customers.

Visa & Work Authorization

  • Please note that we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position
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This listing is sourced directly from Proper Voltage's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.