About the Role
This is a founding-level hardware role at a Y Combinator–backed startup building an AI-powered wearable in the emotional intelligence space. The company — a small, fast-moving team of five — is developing a consumer wrist device that reads real-time emotional states using a proprietary AI inference model across audio and biometric signals. Prototypes are already on users' wrists.
As the Founding Electrical Engineer, you will own all things electronics — from schematic to board layout to production handoff. You'll work directly alongside the founder (an ex-Apple hardware product designer) and have a defining impact on the product as the company scales. This is a high-ownership role with meaningful equity.
What You'll Do
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Own the full electrical and PCB/board design for the wearable device end-to-end
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Drive rapid hardware iteration across device revisions in a fast-paced, prototype-heavy environment
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Lead consumer hardware from functional prototype through to mass production
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Collaborate closely with firmware and mechanical teams to ensure tight hardware integration
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Define and uphold electrical engineering standards and processes as the team grows
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Take on a leadership role in the hardware org as the company scales
What We're Looking For
Required
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3+ years of hands-on experience in PCB/board design
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Demonstrated track record of shipping physical, consumer-grade hardware products
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Strong background in consumer electronics and embedded hardware
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Experience integrating sensors (biometric, audio, or similar) into compact form-factor devices
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Comfort operating at the pace of an early-stage startup — iterating quickly, wearing multiple hats
Nice to Have
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Experience at a consumer electronics company (wearables, mobile hardware, or similar)
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Background taking devices from EVT/DVT/PVT through to mass production
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Familiarity with low-power design and BLE/wireless integration in compact hardware
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Experience with signal processing or biosensor hardware
Compensation & Benefits
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Base salary: $150,000 USD annually
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Equity: Up to 1–2% (founding-level grant)
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Seed-stage company backed by Y Combinator (S26)
Location
This is an on-site role, with San Francisco also considered. The primary listed location is New York, NY, USA.
Visa sponsorship: No new visa sponsorship is available. H-1B transfers are accepted.
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