Electrical Engineer

Electrical Engineer

On-site · Palo Alto, CA

About Sphinx

Sphinx is building the first refrigerated smart feeder platform for wet cat food — think Keurig, but for cats. Our sealed food pod system keeps wet food fresh and delivers it on schedule, solving the #1 barrier to wet feeding: convenience. We hold issued patents on both the device and food pod system, pre-sold \~1,600 units on Kickstarter ($540K\+ in 30 days), and have signed distribution partners covering 4,000\+ veterinary and retail locations. We're a seed-stage team based in Palo Alto backed by the co-founder of MongoDB.

The Role

We're looking for an Electrical Engineer to own the electrical system across our feeder platform — from PCB design through production bring-up. You'll work directly alongside our Head of Hardware, and Mechanical Engineering team to take our next-generation hardware from engineering validation through mass manufacturing.

This is a foundational role at an early-stage company. You'll have significant ownership over architecture decisions and will see your work ship to real customers.

What You'll Do

Own schematic design, PCB layout, and board bring-up for the Sphinx feeder platform

Design and validate power management, motor control, sensor, and connectivity subsystems

Work hands-on with firmware engineers to define hardware/software interfaces

Manage relationships with contract manufacturers in China — review DFM feedback, resolve production issues, and support build runs (travel may be required)

Drive electrical subsystems from EVT through DVT and into PVT

Source and qualify components, manage BOMs, and optimize for cost at scale

Debug and resolve electrical issues across prototype and production units

What We're Looking For

BS/MS in Electrical Engineering or equivalent

\~3-4 years of experience, with at least one product shipped from prototype through mass production

Strong PCB design skills (Altium or KiCad) — both schematic capture and layout

Experience with embedded systems (ARM Cortex-M or similar), motor drivers, power regulation, and wireless (Wi-Fi/BLE)

Familiarity with working alongside Chinese CMs — reviewing Gerbers, managing pilot runs, and debugging production issues remotely or on-site

Comfortable in a fast-moving startup where you'll wear multiple hats and own outcomes end-to-end

Nice to Have

Experience with consumer electronics or connected hardware products (smart home, kitchen appliances, pet tech)

Thermal management experience (our system includes active refrigeration)

EMC/EMI pre-compliance testing experience

Mandarin language skills

What We Offer

Competitive salary \+ meaningful early-stage equity

On-site in Palo Alto with a small, experienced hardware team

• The chance to define a new product category in the $147B\+ pet industry