Lead Engineer - Hardware & Thermal Systems

Coherence Labs is seeking an exceptional, deeply hands-on hardware and thermal systems leader to help take a novel wearable platform from a well-developed technical framework to the first functional prototype.

Our platform sits at the intersection of neuroscience, thermal engineering, embedded systems, and consumer hardware. Over the past year, we have developed the scientific and technical framework underlying the technology and filed a comprehensive provisional patent covering the platform.

The core engineering challenge is thermal: achieving controlled thermal performance within a compact, power-constrained wearable while preserving the form factor, safety, and user experience expected of a refined consumer product.

We are looking for an engineer who wants meaningful ownership in solving that problem and building the technology around it.

The first objective
Your immediate focus will be development and validation of Coherence Labs’ first functional bench prototype.

You will be starting from a developed technical framework and thesis—not a fixed specification. We expect you to challenge assumptions, refine the technical approach, identify risk, and own the engineering decisions required to make the system work.

We are looking for someone who can move efficiently from technical evaluation into hands-on prototyping, testing, instrumentation, debugging, and iteration. Progress toward a validated prototype matters more to us than a prescribed weekly schedule.

Who we’re looking for
We are specifically seeking an established engineer with substantial experience in thermal systems, heat transfer, or compact thermal management.

Additional relevant experience may include:

Thermoelectric or other actively controlled thermal systems

• Wearables, consumer hardware, or miniaturized electromechanical systems
• Embedded control, power, sensing, and integrated hardware systems
• Productization, validation, DFM, or manufacturing
• We value systems thinkers who understand how these disciplines interact, recognize the important engineering tradeoffs, and know when additional expertise is needed.

Most importantly, we care about what you’ve personally built and the difficult technical problems you’ve solved.

The opportunity
Coherence Labs is pre-seed and has resources allocated for prototype development.

Prototype materials, components, testing needs, and development resources will be funded by the company; we are not asking the person who joins us to finance the build.
This role is equity-based until financing.

The level of equity, title, responsibility, and long-term scope will reflect the individual’s technical capability, experience, involvement, and mutual fit.

For an exceptional candidate with the technical depth, leadership ability, and long-term interest to become a true technical counterpart to the existing team, we are open to a founder-level structure. Other strong candidates may join in a senior technical leadership capacity with meaningful equity and ownership of the engineering function.

As the company grows, the role may expand from hands-on development into ownership of technical strategy, product development, manufacturing, engineering recruiting, and the broader technical organization.

Structure & location
We are flexible about how the role begins. It may start part-time or on a more substantial basis and evolve with the company and the relationship. We care more about capability, momentum, and execution than a predetermined number of hours.

Coherence Labs is based in Los Angeles. Proximity is helpful, but we are open to remote or hybrid arrangements for an exceptional candidate when the engineering setup makes sense.

The team
Coherence Labs is being built around the convergence of neuroscience, business, and engineering.

Lauren Salminen, PhD in behavioral neuroscience (USC)
President and Chief Science Officer — leads the scientific and perceptual foundation of the platform.

Dan Fetzner, MBA (Google, WebMD, NBC)
CEO — leads company strategy, commercialization, operations, and business development.

We’re now looking for the engineering leader who can become the third foundational element of our team.