Head of Hardware

Elections are the foundation of democracy, and democracy depends on elections that are broadly trusted. Over the last 20 years, public trust in the technology that powers our elections has dropped significantly. With this distrust, democracy itself is at stake. VotingWorks is a non-partisan not-for-profit building election technology that every American can trust.

VotingWorks is entering a pivotal growth phase where we’re scaling up to become a national contender with deployments of voting machines in up to 10 states by 2028. We’ve had a fantastic Head of Hardware for the last 2.5 years, focused on hardware engineering and design. We now need a new Head of Hardware who can lead on Hardware Operations and Manufacturing. Our current Head of Hardware, will stay on as Lead Hardware Engineer.

You might be our new Head of Hardware if you know how to take us from hundreds of units to thousands and possibly tens of thousands. You will report to the Executive Director and sit on the VotingWorks Executive Team and be a key contributor to organizational strategy.

Manage all hardware functions

• Oversee all hardware engineering and design
• Oversee warehouse and assembly team
• Oversee product lifecycle management (PLM)
• Manage and expand as needed hardware operations roles (e.g. program management)
• Provide exemplary leadership and management for a growing expert team
• Define and implement product development stage-gate processes

Evolve and define the hardware product

• Work closely with our Lead Hardware Engineer and our Head of Product
• Manage the refinement of our current hardware product for scalability
• Assist Lead Hardware Engineer on definition and roadmap of our next generation hardware products
• Collaborate with the Compliance & Governance Partnerships Team to define and maintain quality assurance standards across suppliers, products, and manufacturing processes

Coordinate and scale up production, warehousing, and logistics with our Head of Business Operations:

• Ensure high-quality assembly and high-security warehousing as we scale up
• Work closely with our Head of Business Operations on the production, transportation, and delivery of our products
• Develop the make vs. buy strategy for the product portfolio
• Source and quality contract manufacturing (CM) partners to execute against the outsourcing strategy

‍

• 10+ years in Hardware roles
• 5+ years in Hardware leadership role(s) with an emphasis on Hardware Operations, and people management experience.
• Extensive experience in scale-up environments, building new systems from scratch and adapting existing systems as needed.
• Deep strategic thinking & a highly collaborative work style.