Founding Hardware Engineer

HerdCycle is building the Fitbit for cowsWe design low-cost smart IoT ear tags and software that detect heat cycles, illness, and activity in real time — helping cattle and dairy operators catch problems before they get expensive.Founded by a 4th-generation cattle rancher, HerdCycle is built in the field, not a lab. In the past few months, we've:Shipped and deployed working hardware on live ranchesSecured paid pre-ordersBeen backed by Founders Inc.This is a real hardware company shipping real devices to real customers.The RoleWe're hiring a Founding Engineer to join the company at its earliest stage and help own core technical systems end-to-end.You'll work directly with the founder to design, build, and scale the full stack:hardware ? firmware ? data ? softwareThis is a high-ownership role with real technical responsibility. You will ship production systems that run on live devices deployed in the real world.What You'll DoDepending on your strengths, you'll take ownership of areas such as:Embedded systems and firmware (low-power sensing, LoRa data, reliability)Backend systems for ingesting and processing IoT dataData pipelines and analytics for health and heat-cycle detectionInternal tools and dashboards for herd monitoringDebugging and improving system performance across hardware and softwareYou'll help shape technical architecture, product roadmap decisions, and early engineering culture.Who We're Looking ForWe're looking for builders with strong technical fundamentals and high ownership.You should have:Strong programming ability (Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, C/C++, or similar)Experience shipping real systems (startup, research lab, production software, or hardware)Comfort working across the stack and learning quicklyStrong problem-solving skills and bias toward actionWillingness to work on-site and build hands-onNice to have (not required):Embedded systems or hardware experienceIoT, sensors, or wireless communication experienceCloud infrastructure experience (AWS, GCP, Supabase, etc.)Frontend frameworks (React, Next.js)Prior early-stage startup experienceEducation:BS/MS/PhD in CS, EE, ME, or a related technical fieldWhy Join HerdCycleReal ownership at an early-stage, venture-backed hardware startupWork on live systems deployed in the real worldSee the full system end-to-end, not a narrow sliceCompetitive salary + meaningful equityOpportunity to grow into a long-term technical leadership roleJ-18808-Ljbffr