Technical Lead Autonomy Hardware (m/f/d)

Join Quantum-Systems and help bring autonomous ground systems into real-world operations. As Team Lead Autonomy Hardware, you will own the hardware backbone of our ground autonomy stack: the compute platform, the full sensorset (camera, radar, lidar, IMU, connectivity), and its integration into a wide range of vehicles, from partner truck OEMs and UGV manufacturers to our own Mandrill UGV.

This is a player-coach role: you will build and lead a high-performing, flexible, and experienced team while staying hands-on in design, verification, and integration. You will work at the intersection of autonomy software, vehicle manufacturers, our air and sea domains, and central supply chain, making sure our hardware is robust, reusable, and scalable.

What is your Day to Day Mission:

Team Leadership

• Build, lead, and enable a high-performing, flexible, and experienced Autonomy Hardware team.

• Set priorities, ensure delivery quality, and establish best practices for design, documentation, and review.

• Stay hands-on: you challenge the design, review prototypes, and test alongside your team.

Autonomy Hardware Ownership (Compute & Sensorset)

• Ensure that you and your team:
  • Own the autonomy compute platform and sensorset architecture: camera, radar, lidar, IMU, and connectivity.
  • Define and evolve the network topology of the autonomy kit.
  • Benchmark compute platforms and sensors and drive make/buy and vendor decisions.
  • Integrate the autonomy hardware kit into various vehicle types: trucks from OEM partners, UGVs from external partners, and our own Mandrill UGV.
  • Own mechanical, electrical, and electronic integration: mounting concepts, power, schematics, harness design, and interfaces.
  • Design for robustness and demanding environmental conditions (vibration, temperature, EMC).
  • Drive the full design process from concept to industrialisation: schematics, harness design, CAD, and simulation.
  • Build and run VnV setups from breadboards and yellow boards to vehicle-level testing.
  • Ensure designs are manufacturable and scalable: robust design principles, composition, and industrialisation.

Cross-Functional & Cross-Domain Collaboration

• Work hand-in-hand with our Software and Prototyping teams to align hardware with the autonomy stack.

• Collaborate closely with vehicle manufacturers (truck OEMs and UGV partners) as external and internal stakeholders.

• Align with our Air and Sea domains to reuse hardware and leverage economies of scale across Quantum-Systems.

• Partner with central Supply Chain Management across the full lifecycle: early vendor engagement, sourcing, service agreements, and delivery schedules.

What you bring to the team:

• Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, or a comparable field.

• 10+ years of hands-on hardware development experience; 2+ years in a leadership or team lead role.

• Background in automotive, defense, or robotics, ideally with experience integrating hardware into vehicles and working with OEMs.

• Strong expertise in sensor technologies (camera, radar, lidar, IMU) and embedded/edge compute platforms.

• Proven VnV experience: breadboards, yellow boards, benchmarking, and network topology design.

• Command of the full hardware design process: robust design for harsh environmental conditions, schematics, harness design, CAD, simulation, and industrialisation.

• Experience working with supply chain teams, from early vendor engagement to service agreements and delivery schedules.

• Strong communication and project management skills across engineering, partners, and suppliers; comfortable representing hardware topics towards OEMs and internal leadership.

• Fluent in German and English.

• Player-coach mindset: high ownership, pragmatic, and thriving in a fast-paced environment.

Your Benefits:

• Direct impact: See your contributions rapidly integrated from cutting-edge research into industrialized products, flying in the field within short development cycles.

• Culture & Environment: A dynamic, fast-paced, and collaborative startup environment with flat hierarchies, efficient collaboration, and a strong emphasis on continuous learning opportunities.

• Work-life Balance: We offer flexible work schedules, and 30 days of paid vacation each year to support your personal and professional life.

• Lunch Benefit: We promote healthy eating and the well-being of our employees with a monthly lunch budget.

• Health & Wellness: We support your physical well-being with a company-subsidized eGym Wellpass membership, giving you access to thousands of gyms and sports facilities.