Hardware Engineering Manager, Winnow
+ Equity
More information about location
5 days a week in office (Farringdon, London)
Digital tools driving improvements in kitchen production
Be an early applicant
Digital tools driving improvements in kitchen production
101-200 employees
Be an early applicant
+ Equity
More information about location
5 days a week in office (Farringdon, London)
101-200 employees
Company mission
To connect the commercial kitchen, create a movement of chefs, and inspire others to see that food is too valuable to waste.
Role
Who you are
- Degree in Electronic Engineering or equivalent; or significant hands-on experience that demonstrates equivalent technical depth
- Significant hands-on experience building and delivering hardware solutions, ideally including IoT or edge device products
- Proven track record leading the full product lifecycle of an electronic design end-to-end—from inception and design specification through prototyping, PCB design, testing, finalised product, documentation, public release, design changes for latent defects, and product end-of-life
- Experience leading or managing a team through product delivery and continuous improvement, with a track record of mentoring and developing other engineers
- Expertise identifying suitable components for designs, designing electronic subsystems, and implementing subsystems into larger designs
- Proven experience managing Contract Manufacturer relationships and/or global supply chains, including bid processes, vendor negotiation, and compliance/certification programmes
- Practical experience using Claude to support engineering work—whether accelerating documentation, debugging, code/firmware review, or research—and comfort evaluating where these tools add value versus where hands-on expertise is essential
- You are a creative problem-solver who enjoys generating hypotheses for unknown issues, rigorously testing and documenting solutions, and sharing learnings with the team
- You are structured in your thinking with a disciplined approach to diagnosing and solving complex problems; you independently seek solutions and are comfortable making decisions with incomplete information
- You are results-driven and can demonstrate how you have delivered effective solutions in a timely manner, balancing speed with quality
- You are comfortable taking ownership and accountability for your work whilst working effectively as part of a larger team; you hold yourself and others to a high standard
- You are assertive when needed, and able to challenge the thinking of others in a respectful, non-confrontational way; you suggest and implement creative and innovative solutions to improve how things are done
- You are persuasive and personable, building strong relationships with both internal teams and external manufacturing partners; you enjoy the challenge of managing stakeholder expectations and gaining buy-in
- You are able to organise yourself effectively, including scheduling, prioritisation, and time management; you manage multiple complex projects in parallel and deliver to tight deadlines
- You are motivated and curious, absorbing new information quickly and applying it reliably; you have the courage to learn new technology and adapt your approach when circumstances change
What the job involves
- We are seeking an experienced Hardware Engineering Manager to take strategic ownership of our hardware portfolio and devise and execute the strategy for scaling our hardware solutions
- This is a hands-on leadership role where you will operate with significant autonomy: you will own the full product lifecycle from EVT through to MP, devise the hardware roadmap and system architecture, establish and embed world-class engineering processes, and take ownership of our Contract Manufacturer relationships and global supply chain strategy
- You will independently lead and mentor a Hardware team of three, holding full accountability for their development, performance, and delivery
- You will challenge the status quo, identify opportunities to improve how we engineer and manufacture our hardware, and act as the ambassador for the hardware function across Winnow
- You will translate our longer-term product vision into actionable tactical plans, and execute these plans with little guidance, escalating strategically where needed
- Reporting to the company Founder, you will make critical decisions around design direction, manufacturing partnerships, and supply chain strategy, while staying hands-on in the lab
- Devise and execute the hardware roadmap and system architecture, independently prioritising development efforts and identifying where to invest R&D resources to scale active units into the thousands
- Own the full product lifecycle end-to-end—from EVT through DVT, PVT, and MP - making tactical decisions about design trade-offs, cost reduction, and functionality without requiring approval on standard execution
- Lead and mentor the Hardware team of three with full accountability for their performance, development, and delivery; proactively coach them through the complete hardware development process and empower them to solve problems independently
- Establish and embed new engineering processes — such as job pack release protocols, version control systems for PCBA design, and design change management — that raise standards and scale across the organisation
- Drive new product development from conception to field deployment, aggressively reducing landed costs whilst adding functionality and improving reliability
- Take ownership of the Contract Manufacturer (CM) bid process and CM relationship strategy across domestic and overseas vendors, making independent decisions on vendor selection and negotiation with strategic input from finance and operations as needed
- Establish and manage CM relationships end-to-end, overseeing PCBA manufacturing, full box-builds, comprehensive testing regimes, and quality assurance; challenge CM performance and drive continuous improvement
- Build and execute a global supply chain strategy, identifying technology partners, assessing component suitability, negotiating commercial terms, and managing warranty and support contracts independently
- Implement and evolve manufacturing best practices—including rigorous stock control, handling procedures, quality control, and traceability—establishing these as the standard across all manufacturing partners
- Navigate and independently manage global compliance testing and certification processes, including RF, EMC, and Safety standards (CE, UL, CSA, MET); own responsibility for maintaining and updating our compliance roadmap as products evolve
- Collaborate with software engineering teams to integrate hardware with operating systems, managing edge device configurations and firmware operations; challenge technical assumptions and propose creative solutions where integration challenges arise
- Establish and own a robust failure analysis framework for hardware returns, utilising serial number tracking and failure mode data to drive continuous improvement and prevent recurrence
- Engage in hands-on lab work when necessary—prototyping, testing, debugging, and PCBA re-work—bringing practical engineering insight to team decisions and acting as a technical problem-solver
- Act as the ambassador for the hardware function across Winnow, building relationships with product, software, and commercial teams; effectively communicate hardware constraints and opportunities to non-technical stakeholders
Salary benchmarks
Our take
Food waste costs the hospitality industry over 100bn annually. Kitchens can waste up to 20% of food purchased, often equivalent to their total net profits. This is because chefs too often lack the necessary tools to accurately measure and manage waste. What gets measured gets managed, and by using data intelligently, kitchens can be made more efficient. This is what Winnow has set out to achieve.
The company has developed technology to help chefs achieve greater visibility in their kitchens and make better decisions that lead to dramatically reduced food waste and costs. It does this via the Winnow Waste Monitor, a set of smart scales, and an accompanying tablet app that lets kitchen staff easily log what food is thrown away. That data is then uploaded to the cloud, analysed by Winnow’s algorithm, and disseminated so that food waste can be reduced.
The company has IKEA, Compass Group, and AccorHotels as customers, and estimates its clients are saving 4,300 tonnes of food waste annually by using Winnow. As well as helping kitchens to be more environmentally friendly, it also saves them money (restaurants are an industry where margins tend to be thin). With the growing trend towards sustainability and cutting down food waste, Winnow should have a growing market to expand into.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 6 rounds)
Jun 2023
$10m
SERIES C
Oct 2019
$12m
SERIES B
Total funding: $34m
Company HQ
Old Street, London, UK
Leadership
Mark Zornes
(Co-Founder)Graduated from INSEAD with an MBA in International Buisiness. Previously an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company.
Kevin Duffy
(Co-Founder)Graduated from INSEAD with an MBA in Business Administration and Management. Previously an Investment Banker at BNP Paribas, and a Consultant at Capco.
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