Hardware Manager

Location: San Diego, CA

Department: Engineering

ABOUT US

At RADAR, we're transforming the way the world thinks about physical retail. RADAR has raised over $104M from top investors, retailers, and strategics and works with some of the world's retail brands including American Eagle and Gap. We’re building the future of in-store experience where every product and every person can be precisely located in real time.

Our platform combines RFID and AI to unlock hyper-accurate product visibility and automation at scale. From real-time inventory tracking to seamless checkout experiences, our technology empowers some of the world’s largest retailers to streamline operations, reduce loss, and elevate both employee and customer experiences.

We’re a fast-growing, mission-driven startup where bold ideas, collaboration, and impact are at the core of everything we do. Join us as we reshape the physical world with digital precision, starting with retail and expanding far beyond!

OUR VALUES

Mission-Driven: We're transforming retail with cutting-edge technology and building something that truly matters.

Collaborative Team: We thrive on curiosity, shared goals, and solving complex problems together.

High Impact: You’ll make meaningful contributions from day one and help shape the future of our product and company.

Clear Communication: We value honesty, humility, and respectful dialogue—everyone’s voice matters.

Balanced Lives: We work hard, but not at the expense of well-being. We respect time, boundaries, and life outside of work.

Diverse Perspectives: We believe better ideas come from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints.

Empathy-Driven Design: We build with deep respect for our end users, listening closely to their feedback and needs.

ABOUT THE JOB

We are looking for a hands-on Hardware Team Manager to lead a small, high impact engineering team developing mixed-signal products that combine an extensive RF front end with an FPGA-based digital subsystem. This person will own end-to-end hardware delivery—from architecture and design through validation, manufacturing handoff, and successful product shipment. 

The ideal candidate is equally comfortable doing deep technical work and guiding others. You’ll drive technical decisions, enforce disciplined engineering execution, and ensure boards are tested, reliable, and delivered on schedule. Demonstrated experience shipping products to production are required.

Responsibilities:

• Own system-level hardware architecture for products with a complex RF front end and FPGA/digital backend. 
• Translate product requirements into board-level specifications, block diagrams, and design tradeoffs. 
• Lead design reviews and ensure architectural coherence across RF, high-speed digital, power, and mixed-signal domains. 
• Partner closely with FPGA/embedded/software teams to define interfaces, timing, and validation strategies.
• Drive full PCB development lifecycle: schematic → layout oversight → bring-up → validation → revisions → release. 
• Manage board delivery schedules, risk tracking, and cross-functional dependencies. 
• Ensure design for manufacturability (DFM), design for testability (DFT), and compliance requirements are met. 
• Own the hardware release process, including BOM health, AVL selection, ECOs, and documentation.
• Define and execute comprehensive test plans for RF performance, FPGA/digital functionality, and system-level behavior. 
• Oversee lab bring-up, debug, characterization, calibration, and regression testing. 
• Establish test automation and measurement processes to improve repeatability and throughput. 
• Lead failure analysis and root-cause investigations in development and production.
• Manage and mentor a small hardware team; set goals, prioritize work, and support career growth. 
• Maintain high execution standards: clear ownership, realistic estimates, and disciplined follow-through. 
• Recruit and onboard new team members as needed. 
• Foster a culture of technical rigor, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

ABOUT YOU

Required:

• BS/MS in Electrical Engineering or related field. 
• 10+ years of hardware engineering experience, including RF front-end design.
• 3+ years managing or leading small hardware teams (formal manager or strong technical lead). 
• Demonstrated experience shipping hardware products to production—not just prototypes. 
• Understanding of RF concepts: gain/noise budgets, matching networks, filtering, mixers/LOs, LNA/PA chains, isolation, spur management, calibration, etc.
• Strong mixed-signal and high-speed digital design experience (interfaces to FPGA/SoC, DDR, SERDES, JESD, LVDS, etc.). 
• Proven capability in board bring-up, lab debug, and performance characterization.
• Familiarity with PCB layout constraints for RF and high-speed digital (stackups, controlled impedance, shielding, grounding strategies). 
• Experience with manufacturing handoff: DFM/DFT, test fixtures, production yield triage, and sustaining engineering.

Preferred:

• Experience with phased arrays, radar, wireless sensing, or other RF-intensive systems.
• Prior ownership of RF regulatory/compliance testing (FCC/CE/ETSI), EMI/EMC, and environmental qualification. 
• Familiarity with FPGA-adjacent hardware validation (clocking, timing closure considerations, power integrity for large FPGAs). 
• Experience designing RF test setups and automating measurements (VNA, spectrum analyzer, signal generator, power meter, etc.) 
• Track record of improving engineering processes for speed and reliability.

At RADAR, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package. The expected base salary range for this position is $170,000 - $240,000. Individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors,  including job-related skills, experience and relevant education or training.You will also be eligible to receive other benefits including: equity, comprehensive medical and dental coverage, life and disability benefits, 401k plan,  flexible time off, and paid parental leave. The pay range listed for this position is a good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible base compensation at the time of posting. 

Research has shown that women & underrepresented minorities are more likely to read lists of requirements and consider themselves unqualified if they don't meet every single one. This list represents what we're ideally looking for, but everyone has unique strengths & weaknesses, and we hire for strength & potential, not lack of weakness.

Use of artificial intelligence or a LLM such as ChatGPT during the interview process will be grounds for rejection of your application process.