Head of Hardware Operations

The role

You will lead a 0 to 1 effort to establish and build out the hardware operations department. You will own the full hardware manufacturing operations function and lead a multidisciplinary team to deliver physical AI hardware products.

What you will do

• Own the full hardware manufacturing operations function and build out the department from 0 to 1
• Select, manage, and drive domestic and international manufacturing suppliers and global supply chains
• Build and lead a high-performing team of Operations Program Managers, Manufacturing Engineers, and Reliability / Quality Engineers
• Drive NPI, DFx, quality assurance, and mass production setups for physical AI hardware
• Oversee committed hardware product deliverables across automotive, trucking, defense, construction, mining, and agriculture verticals
• Manage global supplier selection, yield optimization, contract negotiation, and factory audit processes

Required qualifications

• BS or MS degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain Management, or a related technical field
• 12+ years of experience in hardware operations and supply chain management
• 7+ years of direct experience building and leading engineering and operations teams (OPMs, MEs, Quality/Reliability Engineers)
• Experience managing consumer electronics manufacturing
• Experience in one or more of the following: automotive, trucking, defense, construction, mining, or agriculture
• Deep technical expertise in contract manufacturing management, printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), final assembly, test execution (FATE/ATE), and yield optimization
• Hands-on proficiency managing global supplier pipelines, bill of materials (BOM) costing, vendor audits, and quality control systems (ISO 9001/IATF 16949)

Nice to have

• Experience shipping complex hardware products from early prototyping (0 to 1) through high-volume production
• Deep domain experience handling dual-use or defense hardware operational compliance and export requirements
• Track record of working directly with global tier-1 suppliers and contract manufacturers across domestic and international regions

About the company

Applied Intuition, Inc. is a Silicon Valley company creating digital infrastructure for physical AI. It services the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining and agriculture industries.