Hardware Production Lead

Location: Vancouver, BC (in person in Mt Pleasant)

About the Role

We are looking for a process-oriented leader with technical understanding to help us scale the production of our proprietary IoT product Smart Return Bin to go from 50 units deployed in 24 months to over 200 in 12 months. The Hardware Production Lead owns the full lifecycle of Reusables' hardware products - from supplier relationships and component sourcing through to manufacturing, testing, shipping, and ongoing reliability.

This role's contribution to Delivery is reliability. You are accountable for the development and delivery of hardware products, measured against incidents: preventing them through rigorous testing and process, and reducing them through continuous product improvement.

This is a technical and operational leadership role that requires both hands-on hardware expertise and the ability to build and develop a team. You are responsible for making sure the hardware works, the team is equipped to deliver, and the supply chain can support growth. You bring a genuine passion for hardware and the discipline to build repeatable, scalable systems around it.

This is not a heads-down role. You'll be working closely with internal teams and external partners - suppliers, contractors, and consultants - so strong communication and relationship management matter as much as technical depth.

What You'll Do

Manufacturing, Testing, and Quality

• Oversee hardware manufacturing and assembly processes
• Define and own testing protocols for reliability and usability across all hardware products
• Establish and uphold quality standards
• Ensure documentation for all hardware is thorough, accurate, and kept up to date
• Analyze feedback and incident data to drive documentation and product improvements

Team Leadership and Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop the Hardware Production team
• Set clear expectations and support team members in building capability over time
• Build a team culture grounded in quality, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Manage workload and capacity across the hardware team to support delivery timelines

Hardware Roadmap and Strategy

• Own and maintain the hardware product roadmap in partnership with the Product Lead
• Identify and prioritize improvements to existing hardware products based on field data, incident patterns, and user feedback
• Conduct market research on components and configurations to keep the hardware offering current and competitive
• Translate roadmap priorities into clear delivery plans for the team

Supplier and Supply Chain Management

• Own all strategy for procuring, re-evaluating, and off-boarding supplier relationships
• Establish and maintain a reliable supply chain that can scale with customer growth
• Stay ahead of the supplier landscape, knowing when to re-evaluate on quality, cost, or sourcing reliability so issues can be anticipated before they arise
• Coordinate with an external customs broker and duty/tariff consultant to stay ahead of the changing tariff landscape

Research and Development

• Identify and lead small R&D cycles with the goal of improving component durability or cost optimization
• Build relationships with external contractors and hand off to Hardware Technician(s) for ongoing management
• Keep hardware projects in scope, on time, and within budget

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work with Sales and CS to ensure hardware timelines and customer needs are understood and met
• Anticipate likely hardware-related issues for CS and AM to support their pre-launch quality assessments (e.g. ergonomics of equipment placement, new climates and environments such as outdoor or humid settings, unique campus conditions like brown-outs or poor WiFi)
• Collect insights from CS and AM on field issues to inform product improvement and R&D priorities
• Partner with the Product Lead on roadmap prioritization and cross-functional delivery planning
• Collaborate with internal and external IP experts to ensure IP standards are upheld, infringement risks are avoided, and IP value is maximized

Requirements

• Hands-on hardware experience spanning focused on production - you've taken products through development as well as manufacturing, assembly, and shipping (we're not looking for someone who has only overseen production, or only done R&D)
• Proven ability to manage a hardware product through its full build-and-ship lifecycle
• Experience managing supplier and supply chain relationships, including sourcing, procurement, and re-evaluation
• Track record of building repeatable, scalable processes so quality doesn't depend on any one person
• Strong testing, quality assurance, and reliability discipline
• Experience leading or developing a team, with a focus on building others' capability rather than doing it all yourself
• Excellent communication and relationship management skills - this is a people-facing role with significant external stakeholder contact
• Strong documentation habits and attention to detail
• Based in or able to work in person in Vancouver, BC (this is a local, in-person role)

Nice to Haves

• Familiarity with customs, duties, and tariffs for imported components
• Experience working with IP considerations (patents, infringement risk, IP strategy)
• Exposure to field-deployed hardware operating in variable real-world environments (outdoor, humid, unstable power or connectivity)
• Experience owning or contributing to a hardware product roadmap
• Background in a growth-stage company where systems are still being built

What Good Looks Like

• Knows the hardware inside and out, and stays curious about how to make it better
• Builds systems and processes so quality doesn't depend on any one person, including themselves
• Treats incidents as data - every failure is an input into something that gets fixed or improved
• Develops their team rather than doing it all themselves; success means the team can deliver without the lead being in every detail
• Keeps the supply chain ahead of demand, not chasing it
• Communicates proactively with Sales, CS, and Product when hardware timelines or constraints will affect customers
• Maintains documentation like it matters, because when something breaks at 2am, it does

Benefits

Compensation

• Salary: $90,000-115,000 CAD plus stock options
• Health & dental benefits
• Outdoor prolink membership for discounted outdoor gear
• Unlimited vacation policy