Gridware

Research Engineer, Mechanical

Join Gridware in San Francisco as a Research Engineer focusing on mechanical systems and sensor data analysis. This role involves hands-on experiments and fleet-scale data interpretation to enhance edge grid monitoring. Enjoy benefits like paid parental leave and a unique two-week paid break called 'Off the Grid.'
Gridware
Gridware
San Francisco, California, United States On-site Full time US$140,000–165,000 annually UTC-07:00

Gridware

Company Overview

Name

Gridware

Headquarters

California, United States

Founded

2020

Size

Approximately 30 employees (source: businessinsider.com).

What They Do

Gridware is a pioneering startup focused on enhancing grid resilience through innovative technology. Their core offering, Active Grid Response (AGR), utilizes pole-mounted Gridscope sensors that monitor various conditions on distribution power lines in real-time. These sensors are powered by solar energy and communicate through device-to-device, cellular, and satellite networks, ensuring continuous operation regardless of grid voltage (source: gridware.io). The technology is designed to detect a range of issues, including vegetation contact, downed lines, and equipment failures, enabling utilities to perform predictive maintenance and dynamic de-energization to prevent wildfires and outages (source: cbsnews.com). Target markets include U.S. electric utilities, particularly in wildfire-prone areas like California and the Midwest, with plans for international expansion in the future (source: promptloop.com). Their products integrate seamlessly with utility operations management systems, covering over 90 million field hours and serving 40% of U.S. customers through partnerships (source: gridware.io).

Projects & Track Record

Gridware has successfully deployed approximately 13,000 sensors across eight states, particularly in California's high-risk wildfire areas, covering around 1,000 miles of power lines. Their technology has been credited with preventing wildfires, as evidenced by reports of alerts that stopped smoldering vegetation from igniting (source: cbsnews.com). Notable integrations include partnerships with PG&E for high impedance fault detection and a pilot project with Puget Sound Energy aimed at improving storm and wildfire repair prioritization. In one instance, a Northern California circuit experienced a 70% reduction in outage patrol times, while a Midwest utility saved 400,000 outage minutes across four circuits (source: gridware.io). Ongoing projects include a 2024 pilot with NorthWestern Energy in Montana City, focusing on real-time asset monitoring to mitigate wildfire risks (source: northwesternenergy.com).

Recent Developments

In the past two years, Gridware has raised significant funding to support its growth and expansion efforts. In 2024, they announced a $26.4 million Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital, following a $10.5 million seed extension in 2023 co-led by Lowercarbon Capital and Fifty Years (source: gridware.io). This funding is aimed at enhancing their U.S. operations and preparing for international deployments. Additionally, Gridware has received recognition for its innovative technology, including being named one of Time magazine's Best Inventions in 2022 for their Gridscope sensors and having founders featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2023 (source: engineering.berkeley.edu). The company continues to deepen its partnerships with utilities, including a pilot program with NorthWestern Energy set for late 2024 (source: northwesternenergy.com).

Working There

Gridware offers a variety of engineering-focused roles, including positions in software engineering, electrical design engineering, data engineering, and technical recruiting. The company is built by linemen and engineers, reflecting a culture that emphasizes collaboration with field workers and a mission-driven approach to wildfire prevention (source: climatepeople.com). Hiring is concentrated at their Bay Area headquarters, where they are rapidly expanding their team to support sensor production and deployment efforts. The culture at Gridware is described as rigorous and mission-oriented, with a strong focus on achieving real-world results, such as the significant field hours logged by their technology (source: gridware.io). While specific employee benefits are not detailed in the sources, the venture-backed nature of the company suggests competitive startup perks may be available (source: cbsnews.com).


Last updated on Jul 28, 2026 | Report an issue

We are seeking a Research Engineer to join our Physical R&D team. You will help build the measurement and validation infrastructure for a new product that expands Gridware's edge grid monitoring and observability platform.

This role blends hands-on experimentation with fleet-scale data analysis. You will analyze novel measurements across our deployed fleet, design and run physical tests to validate what those measurements mean, and build the tools and workflows that connect the two. You will need deep physical intuition for the behavior of mechanical systems to interpret what the measurements mean in the real world, guide how we validate them experimentally, and identify where performance limitations exist.

Responsibilities

In this role you will

  • Analyze sensor-derived measurements across our fleet. Identify anomalies and characterize measurement behavior across device populations.
  • Develop analysis pipelines and tooling - using Python, SQL, and related tools - that connect sensor outputs to physical metadata and develop narratives about where our measurements are and are not effective.
  • When more data is needed to solve a problem, execute physical experiments to collect that data. Instrument test articles (e.g., strain gauges, load cells, IMUs), implement data acquisition systems, and prepare comparison datasets to characterize measurement error.
  • Work closely with algorithm developers, product managers, and other engineers to move new capabilities from measurement to customer delivery.
  • Communicate findings clearly through documentation, presentations, and technical write-ups.

Required Skills

  • MS or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Civil/Structural Engineering, Engineering Mechanics, or a closely related field.
  • Strong fundamentals in solid mechanics: beam theory, stress analysis, structural loading. Able to reason from first principles about what physical conditions produce the stresses and deflections we measure.
  • Scientific computing: comfortable building analysis pipelines in Python, MATLAB, or equivalent to investigate and report system performance across large datasets.
  • Experience with exploratory data analysis-identifying patterns, anomalies, and cohort-level behavior in noisy real-world data.
  • Clear technical communication and documentation skills.
  • Comfortable working on ambiguous technical problems and learning new domains quickly.

Relevant Depth Areas

You do not need to match every area below. Strong candidates will usually bring depth in two or more of these areas.

  • Sensor data interpretation for physical systems: experience using sensor signals to draw conclusions about the physical state of a system-developing metrics, identifying signal features, or building monitoring workflows that translate raw measurements into actionable information.
  • Statistical analysis of physical systems: experience with extreme value statistics, reliability analysis, survival analysis, or probabilistic methods applied to structural or mechanical systems.
  • Fleet-scale data analysis and data engineering: experience working with sensor data from large deployed populations-including SQL-based analysis on structured telemetry, population-level trend identification, and data quality assessment across thousands of units.
  • Validation and test design: experience designing validation studies, defining acceptance criteria, and systematically characterizing measurement system performance.

Bonus Skills

  • Experience with wood mechanics, timber engineering, or natural/biological materials.
  • Experience with geotechnical or foundation mechanics (soil-structure interaction).
  • Familiarity with GIS tools or spatial analysis for infrastructure data.
  • Experience operationalizing analytical workflows into production systems (dashboards, automated reporting, alerting).

$140,000 - $165,000 a year

This describes the ideal candidate; many of us have picked up this expertise along the way. Even if you meet only part of this list, we encourage you to apply!

Gridware Technologies Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Benefits

Health, Dental & Vision (Gold and Platinum with some providers plans fully covered)

Paid parental leave

Alternating day off (every other Monday)

"Off the Grid", a two week per year paid break for all employees.

Commuter allowance

Company-paid training

Apply now

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About the role

August 5, 2026

August 5, 2026

Full time

On-site

Company

US$140,000–165,000 annually

Smart Grid

Gridware

gridware.io

  •  San Francisco, California, United States

MS or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or related field

UTC-07:00