Hardware Engineer Jobs in San Francisco, CA

Hardware Engineering Technician

Kodama Systems · San Francisco Bay Area (up to 50% travel) · Full-time, on-site

About Kodama

Kodama Systems builds the technology that makes forestry operations safer, faster, and more scalable. We design teleoperation and autonomy retrofit kits for heavy forestry equipment — starting with skidders — so operators can run machines remotely from a safer, more comfortable environment.

It's hard, hands-on engineering in an unforgiving environment, and the systems we build have to survive heat, dust, vibration, shock, and impacts in remote environments.

The Role

We're hiring a Hardware Engineering Technician to be the hands behind our hardware. You'll build, install, and debug the custom electromechanical systems that turn a piece of heavy equipment into a Kodama machine — in our prototyping lab and out in the field on OEM factory floors and dealer lots.

This is a broad, generalist role for someone who's equally comfortable with a soldering iron, a crimp tool, a DIN-rail cabinet, and a cordless drill. You'll work shoulder-to-shoulder with our engineers, and your craftsmanship and field judgment will directly shape whether a prototype becomes a product. Expect frequent travel — up to 50% — to OEM factories and dealer lots where the integration work happens. The role is based in the Bay Area to keep you close to the majority of the engineering team, where designs are built and problems get solved together before they head to the field.

What You'll Do

• Build custom hardware using a wide range of skills: wire harness fabrication, electrical cabinet and control panel assembly, mechanical fabrication, and soldering.
• Install and integrate our hardware onto new machines — traveling to OEM factories and dealer lots to fit our systems to equipment as it comes off the line.
• Run the prototyping lab: keep it organized, stocked, and ready, and maintain the tools and equipment the team relies on.
• Execute engineering tests to validate hardware and feed results back to the design team.
• Debug prototype hardware in the lab and in the field — chasing down electrical, mechanical, and integration issues and getting machines running.

What You'll Bring

Core skills (must-haves):

• Hands-on experience building and debugging electromechanical hardware — you've soldered, crimped, and assembled real systems, not just touched them once in a class.
• Comfort with bench debug tools — multimeter and oscilloscope — to troubleshoot from first principles.
• Wire harness fabrication: crimping, connectorization (e.g., Deutsch, Molex), and building to a drawing.
• Electrical panel / cabinet assembly, including the ability to read and follow electrical schematics and wiring diagrams.
• Mechanical fabrication fundamentals: hand and power tools, drilling, tapping, fastening, and basic shop work.
• Willingness and ability to travel to factories and dealer lots, and to work in field and shop environments. Expect up to 50% travel.
• Able to occasionally lift and carry up to 50 lbs, work on your feet, and work around heavy equipment and outdoor conditions.

Nice to have (we'll teach the rest):

• Soldering proficiency, including through-hole and ideally surface-mount work.
• Experience with heavy equipment, agriculture, automotive, off-road, or other rugged field-deployed systems.
• Familiarity with low-voltage DC systems (12V/24V/48V), automotive-grade wiring, and CAN bus.
• Basic CAD literacy (we use Onshape) — enough to read drawings and propose fixes.
• Comfort with a Linux command line, SSH, and basic embedded/robotics tooling.
• Prior work in a startup or fast-moving prototyping environment.

Who Thrives Here

You're resourceful and self-directed. You take pride in clean wiring and tidy builds, you communicate clearly with engineers, and you genuinely like the mix of bench work and travel. You want your work to matter — and here it ships on real machines doing real work in the field.

Why Kodama

• Work on first-of-their-kind automation systems for commercial forestry.
• Small, senior team where your hands-on skill is visible and valued.
• Real ownership: you'll see your builds go from bench to forest.
• Compensation range: $75,000–$115,000 per year, depending on experience.

Kodama Systems is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.