About the role
About 1X
We're building humanoid robots that work in home - doing the chores, handling the tasks, and giving people their time back. Simple, but it's not.
To do this right, we have to solve robotics, AI, manufacturing - at the same time, at scale, in a form factor that has to be safe enough to live with your family. If you're inspired by this, you'll thrive here. We've been at this since 2014 and we're at the point where the hard problems are behind us and the hard work is in front of us.
NEO is our flagship - a home robot designed to move, learn, and operate in the real world alongside real people. We're not demoing it - we're shipping it. We're excited to meet you, if this excites you.
If you've spent your career working on problems that matter and want to see them actually reach the world - this is that moment. We're scaling, we're hiring with intention, and we need people who want to build something that will genuinely change how humans spend their time - safely creating abundance for all.
About the Team
The Talent team builds the organization that builds NEO. We partner with leaders across AI, software, hardware, manufacturing, and the business to hire the people on 1X's critical path, and every hire we make shapes how fast robots reach homes.
Your Charter
The mission of this role is to build the hardware engineering teams that design NEO: mechanical, electrical, actuator and motor, systems, and test engineering. You will partner with hardware leaders to find niche specialists, often people who are happy where they are and not looking, and bring them to 1X. This role owns the teams that design the robot; a separate recruiter owns the manufacturing engineering teams that take those designs into production. You report to the Lead Hardware Recruiter (the Head of Talent until that seat is filled).
Key Outcomes
- Deliver hardware engineering hires across mechanical, electrical, actuator, systems, and test roles against a monthly hiring target set with your manager.
- Build sourced pipelines for niche hardware skills where few qualified people exist, such as actuators, motors, transmissions, and power electronics.
- Partner with hardware leaders on what each role must deliver, and reshape specs, levels, or target pools when the market says the original plan will not work.
- Drive search health with funnel data, finding where searches stall and fixing the constraint before it costs us a candidate.
- Close passive hardware engineers through competing offers and relocation decisions, with an honest and fast candidate experience.
Key Competencies
- Understands hardware engineering well enough to probe what a candidate actually designed, built, tested, and shipped.
- Finds talent in adjacent industries (electric vehicles, aerospace, consumer electronics, medical devices) when the robotics pool runs dry.
- Distinguishes the top 10% of hardware engineers from the top 40%, and can explain why to a hiring manager.
- Earns credibility with hardware leaders and changes their minds with evidence.
- Owns outcomes end to end, with urgency and follow-through across many searches at once.
Minimum Requirements
- 4+ years of full-cycle recruiting for mechanical, electrical, or other hardware engineering roles.
- Proven track record of hiring senior hardware engineers who were not actively looking.
- Experience partnering with hardware leaders on technical interview processes and candidate calibration.
- Demonstrated ability to run many searches end to end and manage them with funnel data.
Preferred Skills
- Experience recruiting in robotics, automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics, or medical devices.
- Familiarity with hardware product development from prototype through production.
- Experience closing candidates who need to relocate.
- Experience using AI tools to accelerate sourcing, talent mapping, or market research.
What does a successful 1X Team Member look like
Team members at 1X who thrive here are builders. They move fast, own their work completely, and treat time like it's the one thing you can't get back - because it is. They say what they mean, finish what they start, and hold themselves to a standard before anyone has to ask. We push each other to be better, and we do it with honesty and respect.
Compensation Range
$110,000 - $186,000 per year
Benefits
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
- Generous paid time off, company holidays, and parental leave
- 401(k) plan with company match (100% on the first 3% of contributions, 50% on the next 2%)
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) options
- Commuter benefits (transit and parking)
- Short-term and long-term disability, and life insurance
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for mental health, financial, and personal support
- Onsite snacks and catered lunches
Equal Opportunity Employer
1X is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, medical condition, genetic information, disability, military or veteran status, justice system impact, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.