What are the responsibilities and job description for the Product Hardware Engineer position at Alpaca Research?
Product Hardware Engineer
Location: Cambridge, MA - In Person
Type: Full-time
Compensation: $140,000 - $170,000 Equity
Who we are
Today, AI is something you rent. Alpaca is building the full stack of hardware, software, models, and applications together to make it something you own.
We are developing a new computer architecture that breaks the economics keeping frontier models trapped in datacenters. On top of that, we’re building a platform of models, applications, and services that give that hardware meaning.
Personal AI is moving from the datacenter to the desk, and we are driving that change.
Our team is based in Cambridge, MA.
About the role
We want to make powerful AI as accessible as the personal computer. To do that, we need to turn our technology into a well designed physical product that people can put on their desks, plug in, and use every day.
We are looking for a hardware engineer who can take a product from an idea to a working consumer device. You'll work across electrical engineering, computer systems, and industrial design to develop the hardware that brings our AI platform into people's homes and businesses.
This is a role for someone who loves hacking and building things. The kind of people that grew up watching Linus Tech Tips, rooting their phone, and playing around with Luckypatcher. You should be excited about designing a PCB, bringing up a Linux system, figuring out thermals and power delivery, and making a product look and feel beautiful. You'll own the process of rapidly prototyping, testing, and iterating on our hardware until it's ready to manufacture.
What you’ll do
Own the hardware stack: Design, assemble, and iterate on complete computer systems, from component selection to working prototypes.
Develop electronics: Design and prototype PCBs, power delivery, wiring, and custom electronics for our products.
Engineer a system: Integrate compute, memory, storage, networking, firmware, and operating systems into reliable hardware.
Design the product: Develop enclosures, mechanical layouts, cooling solutions, and physical designs that look and feel great.
Prototype rapidly: Use 3D printing, CNC machining, and other fabrication methods to quickly build and test new designs.
Prepare for production: Refine designs for cost, reliability, manufacturability, and eventual large-scale assembly. Potential trip to Shenzhen?
Who we’re looking for
Passion for consumer electronics: You care about performance, cost, reliability, and aesthetics, and can balance engineering tradeoffs to build a great product. You spend your free time on tech youtube and hacking with random electronics.
Electrical engineering fundamentals: Experience with circuit design, PCB layout, soldering, and electronics prototyping, using tools like KiCad or Altium.
Computer systems knowledge: Strong understanding of PC hardware, Linux, firmware, PCIe, storage, networking, and hardware/software integration.
Hands-on prototyping: Comfortable assembling, testing, debugging, and modifying hardware, from individual circuits to complete computers.
Industrial design: Familiarity with CAD tools such as Fusion 360, SolidWorks, or Onshape, and an interest in designing beautiful consumer electronics.
Software skills: Experience with Python, C/C , Linux scripting, or low-level systems programming for hardware bring-up and automation.
Independence: You can take an ambiguous idea, figure out how to make it real, and build it with minimal direction.
How to apply
Send us your resume and examples of projects you've designed or built, along with a short note about why Alpaca interests you.
More than credentials, we want to see what you've made, researched, designed, or shipped.
If the role sounds like you but your background is unconventional, apply anyway.
Salary : $140,000 - $170,000