What Does A Hardware Engineer Do?

WHAT DOES A HARDWARE ENGINEER DO?

Published: Feb 19, 2025 - The Hardware Engineer designs hardware using modern schematic capture tools to meet customer and market requirements, developing and testing complex circuits, modules, or systems. This position contributes to the design and testing of high-speed products while applying engineering skills such as analysis, investigation, and simulation to ensure functionality and compliance with technical specifications. This role provides technical support for regulatory affairs, customer care, and marketing teams while collaborating with management and development teams to establish best practices and manage resources effectively.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Hardware Engineer

1. Hardware Engineer Duties

Re-Designing Instruments: Re-Design instruments to correct engineering defects or replace obsolete components.
Hardware Debugging: Analyze and debug hardware to the component level.
System SW Tools Troubleshooting: Troubleshoot hardware using System SW Tools.
Design Validation: Create and execute design validation plans, including data collection and analysis.
Cost Reduction & Product Enhancement: Drive cost-down initiatives, product enhancement, and new feature implementation projects.
Yield Improvement: Evaluate and implement engineering-related yield improvements.
Cross-functional Team Collaboration: Work with cross-functional teams, interface with Account Teams, Global Customer Service, Operations, and Supply Line Management.
Product Life Cycle Management: Assist in managing the product life cycle of existing product lines.
Hardware Design Management: Manage hardware design processes to ensure timely delivery of design and integration into the production of electrical and PCB designs.
Test Strategy & Design Verification: Aid in test strategies and execution of design verification.
Product Documentation: Aid in the creation of product and development documentation in compliance with Laborie QMS, ISO, and other standards.
Product Change Delivery: Design, implement, and deliver product changes to support sales, marketing, production, and service.
Compliance Collaboration: Collaborate with new product development, manufacturing engineering, and quality engineering staff to ensure compliance of new or modified products and processes with company design control and quality system requirements.

2. Hardware Engineer Details

Process Management: Own, manage, and maintain program-specific processes and procedures.
Change Management: Control change management in the event of customer, supplier, or internal design changes.
Schedule Estimation: Provide schedule estimates through impact assessments driven by change.
Obsolescence Management: Identifying and managing obsolescence issues.
Technical Liaison: Provide technical liaison between design teams, customers, quality teams, and suppliers.
Data Pack Review: Generate, review, and sign off hardware data packs (e.g., change notes, technical drawings, etc.).
Customer Liaison: Liaise with customers on-site and undertake modification.
Wiring Modification: Work within confined spaces to carry out wiring modifications.
Electrical Diagnosis: Diagnose electrical engineering problems and make key stop/go decisions.
Assembly Inspection: Inspect electrical wiring and assemblies in a quality-assured environment.
Drawing Interpretation: Interpret electrical drawings, schematics, and instructions.
Equipment Handling: Use equipment, tools, and measuring instruments associated with the manufacturing and testing of electrical assemblies.
Factory Acceptance Testing: Support preparation and execution of Factory Acceptance Test procedures.
Inspection Guidance: Provide hardware preparation guidance for quality inspection, testing, and qualification purposes.

3. Hardware Engineer Responsibilities

Hardware Design: Design hardware using modern schematic capture tools.
Circuit Development: Creatively design, develop, and test/verify complex circuits, modules, or systems to meet customer and market requirements.
Engineering Application: Apply engineering skills including analysis, investigation, and simulation.
Structured Hardware Creation: Create well-documented, structured hardware that delivers required functionality.
High-Speed Systems Design: Contribute to the design or test of complex, high-speed products and systems.
Data Evaluation: Compile and evaluate design and test data and prepare technical specifications.
Technical Expertise: Under supervision, perform work assignments requiring technical expertise in one area/domain/system.
Task Management: Perform a variety of tasks such as the preparation of plans, designs, calculations, costs, and bills of material in accordance with established codes, standards, and procedures, gradually contributing to designing features/solutions.
Feature/solution Design: Contribute to the design of features/solutions in technology studies or on projects.
Training & Development: Receive training and development in various phases of engineering work.
Documentation Creation: Create documentation according to standards.
Product Support: Provide technical support to regulatory affairs, customer care, and marketing staff for product support issues and country registration processes.
Best Practices Collaboration: Work with management and development teams to establish best practices.
Requirements Documentation: Support collection and documentation of user requirements, development plans, time estimates, and resource management.

4. Hardware Engineer Job Summary

Embedded Design Expertise: Develop expertise in embedded designs including PCB, analog/digital circuits, Ethernet, USB, Op-amps, Power Management, manufacturing test, and RF technologies including WiFi, GNSS, Cellular, and Bluetooth.
Hardware Verification: Responsible for verification of new and existing hardware architectures, electrical design work including schematic creation, and PCB layout work.
Test Methodology Design: Contribute to the design and implementation of test methodologies to ensure products meet manufacturing requirements and product targets.
Certification & Regulatory Approval: Participate in certification and regulatory approval activities.
Functional & Regulatory Design: Design, iterate, and document hardware that meets functional and regulatory requirements while optimizing user/installer experience and manufacturability.
Requirements & Procedure Development: Develop and document requirements, procedures, and tests.
Material Research: Research and obtain materials for prototyping and Lumin lab improvements.
Cross-functional Collaboration: Support and collaborate with manufacturing, supply chain, software engineering, and customer success teams.
Third-party Collaboration: Work with manufacturers, suppliers, testing laboratories, and other third parties for product development and support.
Industry Engagement: Engage continuously with relevant industry sectors to understand co-located products, customer expectations, opportunities, and constraints.

5. Hardware Engineer Accountabilities

Solution Integration Design: Design customer solution integration (Clean Integration with OEM, e.g., door manufacturer) for plug-and-play customer experiences.
IoT Hardware Development: Develop proof-of-concept IoT hardware to validate end-to-end product integrations and demonstrate new business value.
Customer Support: Assist and support customers during system bring-ups, installations, and debugging.
Technical Documentation: Produce technical documentation to the highest standards of all hardware designs and help customers use products.
Hardware Solution Design: Specify, design, and develop new LRT hardware solutions.
PCB Design & Assembly: Design, layout, and assembly of PCB boards.
System Bring-up & Validation: Lead the bring-up, validation, and launch of hardware systems.
Schematic & Layout Development: Own schematic and layout development based on the architecture created.
Design Collaboration: Collaborate with internal teams and PCB vendors to continually improve design.
PCB Documentation: Document PCB design revisions, BOM, and instructions for PCB assembly.
Rapid Prototyping: Rapidly prototype and quickly translate product design needs into prototype forms ready for evaluation.
Test & Data Analysis: Perform test protocols, data collection, data analysis, and presentation of test data to increase reliability of overall solutions.
Hardware Architecture: Work with suppliers and internal teams to architect and define new hardware designs in collaboration with product and engineering teams.
Continuous Improvement: Continuously improve products, prototypes, and development processes with an eye toward adding value and improving efficiency.