Electrical & Hardware Engineer
Listing checked September 26, 2026 · pay as published by Mercor
Overview
Mercor needs experienced electrical and hardware engineers for an advanced engineering and AI research effort with a major technology company. The work centers on real hardware that has been designed, built, tested, brought up, debugged, or validated in production settings. Engineers from RF, power electronics, analog and mixed-signal, PCB design, and signal integrity backgrounds all fit the scope. The project values practical judgment about physical products, not just theory, and it asks engineers to evaluate designs, workflows, and troubleshooting choices.
What You'll Do8
- 1Apply deep electrical and hardware engineering knowledge to hard technical tasks tied to physical products.
- 2Review hardware designs, engineering workflows, technical analyses, and troubleshooting plans.
- 3Analyze design trade-offs, failure modes, measurements, test data, and system-level engineering decisions.
- 4Judge whether proposed solutions are correct and workable for real hardware problems.
- 5Spot errors, missing assumptions, unrealistic recommendations, and design or implementation risks.
- 6Build or review rigorous engineering problems, reference solutions, evaluation criteria, and supporting documents.
- 7Use hands-on experience with development, validation, bring-up, debugging, manufacturing, and testing.
- 8Give clear technical feedback rooted in engineering practice and industry standards.
Requirements10
- 1Five or more years in industry, including at least three recent years of active hands-on work in hardware development, testing, bring-up, validation, or troubleshooting.
- 2Direct ownership as the responsible engineer for substantial parts of a hardware workflow, rather than a background spent only managing engineering teams or projects.
- 3Advanced skill in one specialty such as RF systems, antennas, electromagnetic design, or RF validation.
- 4Advanced skill in power electronics, power conversion, motor drives, or power delivery.
- 5Advanced skill in analog or mixed-signal circuit design.
- 6Advanced skill in PCB architecture, schematic design, board bring-up, or hardware debugging.
- 7Advanced skill in signal integrity, power integrity, high-speed interfaces, or system-level electrical validation.
- 8Working knowledge of component selection, tolerances, measurement, manufacturing, reliability, thermal limits, and system integration.
- 9Hands-on debugging experience with lab equipment, simulation tools, and engineering instruments.
- 10A clear way of explaining technical decisions, trade-offs, and failure modes.
Who Should Apply
Hardware engineers with five or more years in industry and a current hands-on practice fit this work best. The role suits someone who has owned RF validation, power conversion, signal integrity, or board bring-up work and can point to production hardware they helped debug or validate. A background at a company that designs and manufactures physical products, such as aerospace, space, automotive, semiconductors, consumer electronics, robotics, or medical devices, adds weight. This role is less suitable for engineers who have moved into pure management, systems architecture without lab work, or academic research without production hardware. Candidates often lose fit when they list team leadership instead of personal hardware ownership, or when they claim broad electrical knowledge without naming specific tools, interfaces, failure modes, or test results.
Salary Insight
The engagement pays $100 to $120 per hour. That band fits senior, hands-on hardware engineering work. Niche skills like RF, power electronics, or signal integrity often command contract rates above general electronics roles. The listing does not mention benefits or a full-time salary.
Pay and demand for Hardware & Embedded Systems roles
AggregatedTypical pay
$75/hour
This role
$100–$120/hr
Most Hardware & Embedded Systems roles pay $59–$98 per hour. This role's pay sits above that range.
Based on 287 similar roles that publish pay · 42 publish only a top rate; those count at the rate they gave
Rates shown per hour. Yearly and monthly pay converted; one-time fees and non-USD pay are not included.
- Live similar roles
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- Listed in last 30 days
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Hiring most right now: micro1 (137) · Mercor (47) · AfterQuery (42)
Most requested skills · share of roles
- python22%
- technical writing13%
- Typescript10%
- JAVA10%
Figures from Hardware & Embedded Systems roles live on NearSkill when this page loaded. A role can close before you apply, so check the listing itself.
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Compensation
$100–120/hr
Required Skills
Application Tip
Lead with one deep specialty, such as RF validation, power conversion, or signal integrity, and quantify your hands-on results. Name boards brought up, failures debugged, production units shipped, or validation cycles completed. Include the exact lab tools, simulation software, and high-speed interfaces you used. Reviewers score direct hardware ownership and debugging evidence above team management claims, so make your personal work visible in the first few lines.
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