Electrical Engineer
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Overview
Job Description
About us
Vale Matcha is a Seattle startup making magic through cutting-edge technology and automation. We are a dynamic and highly cross functional team with Fortune 500 experience in food service, food automation, software engineering, aerospace and consumer electronics. We are developing the Matcha experience of the future; unattended self-serve Matcha bars that craft beautiful drinks from fresh ingredients.
The role
We are seeking a highly skilled Electrical Engineering Contractor to manage hardware design and integration for our next-generation automated systems as we move from prototyping to detailed design and production.
You will be bridging the gap between custom PCB development and complex electromechanical integration in our second-generation machine program. You will be a key contributor to the iterative development process, supporting everything from test units to the production PCBs and wiring.
Key Responsibilities
- Hardware & PCBA: Manage the end-to-end lifecycle of proprietary PCBs board layout to prototyping, validation, and small-batch production management.
- Power Architecture: Design and optimize systems within a tight power budget.
- Electromechanical Integration: Provide hands-on electrical and firmware support for complex subsystems.
- Embedded Systems: Write, test, and maintain robust embedded firmware for sensor and actuator control, ensuring real-time system communication.
- Harnessing & Routing: Define wiring diagrams, select connectors, and manage harness routing with a strict adherence to electrical safety and food-grade sanitation standards (NSF/UL).
- Design for Manufacturing (DFM) & Testing: Implement DFx best practices and utilize lab equipment (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers) to debug hardware. Liaise with Contract Manufacturers (CMs) to resolve production issues.
- AI-Accelerated Engineering: Utilize generative AI software tools (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor) to accelerate development cycles, optimize codebases, and troubleshoot complex technical hurdles.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
- 5+ years of industry experience in hardware design and electromechanical integration.
- Demonstrated proficiency in modern ECAD tools (Altium Designer, Eagle, or similar) for schematic capture and PCB layout.
- Strong foundation in embedded software development for real-time motor and sensor control.
- Deep understanding of standard communication protocols (CAN bus, I2C, SPI, UART).
- Hands-on experience with hardware lab equipment and board bring-up.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's degree in a relevant engineering discipline.
- Prior experience with consumer-facing automation, robotics, high-throughput kiosks, or food-tech appliances.
- Familiarity with regulatory compliance testing (UL, FCC, CE, NSF).
- Proven ability to integrate AI-assisted coding tools into traditional engineering workflows.
- Experience working in agile, cross-functional teams comprising mechanical, software, and industrial engineers.
Project Impact
You will join at a critical inflection point, moving our core automation technology from concept validation to functional hardware testbeds. Your engineering decisions will directly shape the reliability, safety, and manufacturability of our premier product.
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