Head of Engineering

startups corporations communities investors mission companiesJobsHead of EngineeringArcticarOther Engineering, Product · Full-timeOakland, CA, USAUSD 180k-200k / yearPosted on Jun 3, 2026About Arcticar Cold-chain logistics consumes more energy than datacenters and is one of the last hard problems in decarbonization — and Arcticar is here to solve it. The transport refrigeration units bolted onto today’s reefer trailers run on diesel: loud, dirty, and increasingly out of step with where regulators, fleets, and customers are headed. Arcticar’s all-electric system retrofits onto standard trailer mounts and runs from shore power, NACS, J1772, CCS1, or solar. No diesel. Lower operating costs. Cleaner air. Arcticar is headquartered in Alameda, California, and was co-founded by Jim Castelaz (previously Founder and CEO of Motiv Power Systems), Rene Griemens (previously at Antora Energy, Mighty Buildings, Volocopter, with billions of dollars raised across the companies he’s helped build), and Cat Dela Cruz (previous experience in eMobility branding, marketing and enterprise sales). We’re hiring the founding team that will turn it into the category-defining product in trailer refrigeration. Learn more at arcticar.com. The Role As Head of Engineering, you’ll be a founding member of Arcticar’s leadership team and the principal voice on engineering, technical strategy, and product roadmap, and the leader accountable for getting our product from prototype to production-ready, on time and on budget, reporting to the CEO. You’ll build and lead the team that designs, validates, and delivers a hardware product that has to be excellent on every dimension that matters: performance, weight, cost, manufacturability, serviceability, and compliance. You’ll own the supplier strategy, run the pilots, and make the calls on what we build, what we buy, and who we partner with. AI-enabled workflows are core to how we expect to operate and we want a leader who is genuinely excited about using these tools to ship better products, faster, with a smaller team than would have been possible even two years ago. We have a strong preference for someone who is willing to work from our office near Alameda, CA, though we will consider exceptional remote candidates. Expect regular travel: customer and supplier visits, manufacturing partners, and time in the field with pilot fleets. Currently, outside engineering services are provided by Detroit-area consultants and development is presently split between Detroit and Alameda, with expansion expected to include consultants and test labs based in China. What You’ll Own On-time, on-budget delivery: ship a product (hardware and software) that hits its targets on performance, weight, cost, manufacturability, and serviceability. System specifications: define and evolve specifications based on customer requirements; run disciplined change control through development and pilots. Validation and compliance: design the test program that proves the product works, and the regulatory program that lets us sell it. Supply chain: select partners and suppliers, negotiate terms, and build relationships that scale with us. Product roadmap: set technical direction, prioritize ruthlessly, balance customer pull with engineering reality, and keep the leadership team aligned. Documentation: technical, service, and training materials so our team, customers, and partners can actually use the product. Pilot execution: build the first units, get them into the hands of fleet operators, and learn fast. The team: hire, develop, and retain a world-class engineering organization, and orchestrate the consulting and service providers that complement them. About You This role is for a builder. You’ve shipped real, complex hardware products before, you’ve led the engineering teams that did it, and you’re as comfortable in a CAD review as you are...