Collar Tech Lead
Merck
June 25, 2026
Remote friendly (San Diego, CA)
United States
IT
Role Summary
As the Collar Tech Lead, provide technical leadership for the animal wearable (collar) from concept through mass production. Ensure the device is robust, manufacturable, reliable, and scalable in real farm environments. Accountable for technical architecture, system integration, validation, risk management, and technical readiness for launch and ongoing support.
Key Responsibilities
- Translate customer needs into technical collar solutions with the Collar Product Manager.
- Lead collar architecture and system design (electronics, mechanics, embedded software, RF communications, integration, validation).
- Define engineering solutions meeting performance, reliability, manufacturability, and cost constraints.
- Ensure compatibility with relevant Core Platforms; avoid duplicating platform responsibilities.
- Evaluate feasibility, complexity, and risk for design changes.
- Own collar outcomes/metrics (field failure/returns, installation/activation success, battery life, robustness, unit cost).
- Drive product discovery and experiments/trials with Customer Success and field teams (installation, comfort, durability, reliability).
- Define/oversee validation strategy and acceptance criteria; identify and mitigate risks early.
- Support mass-production launch/ramp and ongoing issue resolution; stay current on IoT/wearable tech.
Required Qualifications
- BSc/MSc in Electrical Engineering (or related).
- 5+ years in technical leadership or technical project management for multidisciplinary hardware products.
- Product-team experience and cross-functional collaboration.
- 5+ years in medium/large-scale companies.
- Expertise in IoT architecture, embedded systems, hardware/mechanics, integration, and validation.
- Experience with mass-production wireless IoT/wearables.
- End-to-end lifecycle experience (discovery → concept → design → validation → mass production).
- Ability to coordinate complex products across geographies.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with geofencing, animal technology, or similar field-deployed hardware.
Preferred Skills
- Change Controls, Portfolio/Programme/Project Support, Problem/Release/Risk Management, Strategic Planning, System Designs.
Application Instructions
- Current employees apply HERE; current contingent workers apply HERE.
As the Collar Tech Lead, provide technical leadership for the animal wearable (collar) from concept through mass production. Ensure the device is robust, manufacturable, reliable, and scalable in real farm environments. Accountable for technical architecture, system integration, validation, risk management, and technical readiness for launch and ongoing support.
Key Responsibilities
- Translate customer needs into technical collar solutions with the Collar Product Manager.
- Lead collar architecture and system design (electronics, mechanics, embedded software, RF communications, integration, validation).
- Define engineering solutions meeting performance, reliability, manufacturability, and cost constraints.
- Ensure compatibility with relevant Core Platforms; avoid duplicating platform responsibilities.
- Evaluate feasibility, complexity, and risk for design changes.
- Own collar outcomes/metrics (field failure/returns, installation/activation success, battery life, robustness, unit cost).
- Drive product discovery and experiments/trials with Customer Success and field teams (installation, comfort, durability, reliability).
- Define/oversee validation strategy and acceptance criteria; identify and mitigate risks early.
- Support mass-production launch/ramp and ongoing issue resolution; stay current on IoT/wearable tech.
Required Qualifications
- BSc/MSc in Electrical Engineering (or related).
- 5+ years in technical leadership or technical project management for multidisciplinary hardware products.
- Product-team experience and cross-functional collaboration.
- 5+ years in medium/large-scale companies.
- Expertise in IoT architecture, embedded systems, hardware/mechanics, integration, and validation.
- Experience with mass-production wireless IoT/wearables.
- End-to-end lifecycle experience (discovery → concept → design → validation → mass production).
- Ability to coordinate complex products across geographies.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with geofencing, animal technology, or similar field-deployed hardware.
Preferred Skills
- Change Controls, Portfolio/Programme/Project Support, Problem/Release/Risk Management, Strategic Planning, System Designs.
Application Instructions
- Current employees apply HERE; current contingent workers apply HERE.