WHAT IS FARMBOT?

Farmbot is a fast-scaling Australian Agritech company that is leading the evolution of a new phase of technology development in agriculture. www.farmbot.com.au

Combined with its strong go-to-market strategy, commitment to customer service and unique intellectual property, Farmbot is helping farmers think differently about how they manage their water ecosystems and related infrastructure, and is enhancing productivity, profitability and sustainability in many agri-businesses across Australia and, through Ranchbot, the United States.

Farmbot’s award-winning technology is designed to be installed quickly by the customer without technical support. Its monitors work anywhere in the world by utilising leading satellite networks, or can connect to local cellular networks where available. Real-time alerts instantly inform customers of water level trends, changes and issues via SMS, email and/or the Farmbot cloud dashboard.

Farmbot’s core focus is water for livestock, with high adoption in cattle and sheep grazing operations. It is now expanding its core water monitoring offering to a range of its own and third-party technology, including sensors for rainfall, flow, pressure, cameras, pump control, trough monitoring and more.

The company’s software platform gathers data from its on-farm monitors and converts it into actionable insights that inform better farm management decisions and help customers make better use of their assets and resources.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

Farmbot is looking for a hands-on electronics engineer who is passionate about building rugged, reliable hardware that customers love. You will join a dynamic, fast-paced environment where you will design, build and bring to market the devices at the heart of Farmbot’s platform, while leading a small R&D; team.

This is a hands-on role. Around 70% of your time will be your own engineering work: designing, prototyping, testing and certifying hardware, and getting it into production. The remaining 30% is leading a team of four engineers, planning R&D; work and reporting to the CEO and CTO.

You will own the technical delivery of Farmbot’s hardware roadmap, from concept through certification, manufacture and field performance, working closely with the CEO, CTO and the wider business to keep R&D; aligned with company strategy and customer needs.

This role will be based in our Sydney office in Roseville.

ABOUT YOU

- A hands-on hardware engineering leader with a track record of designing and shipping commercial electronics/IoT products
- Understands what it takes to design a product for production, not just a prototype
- Has taken products through compliance and certification (EMC, radio, electrical safety) and can own that process end to end with test labs, certifiers and network carriers
- Comfortable leading a small team while also technically contributing to projects
- Manages multiple projects and priorities to deliver on time and on budget
- Explains technical trade-offs clearly to non-technical stakeholders

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Hands-on Engineering (approx. 70%)

Design & development





- Capable of defining system architecture, component selection, schematic capture, PCB layout, board bring-up and debug
- Must be capable of independently reviewing or producing system architecture, power architecture, analogue/digital interfaces, MCU-based designs, schematic/PCB design, board bring-up and hardware debugging
- Build and test prototypes at the bench, and iterate designs through to production release
- Design for remote, battery- and solar-powered IoT devices: low-power design, power management, sensor interfacing, and satellite and cellular communications
- Work alongside the firmware and software teams to integrate hardware, firmware and the cloud platform
- Apply design for manufacture (DFM) and design for test (DFT) practices, and run peer design reviews
- Plan and run environmental and reliability testing for harsh agricultural conditions (heat, dust, water ingress, UV and vibration)

Compliance & certification
- Own compliance for Australian and US markets (e.g. RCM/ACMA, FCC, carrier and satellite network approvals, IP ratings and electrical safety)
- Run pre-compliance testing in-house, prepare technical files, and manage test labs and certifiers through to approval
- Keep certifications current as designs, components and regulations change

Manufacturing & suppliers
- Work directly with contract manufacturers and component suppliers to transfer designs into production
- Manage component lifecycle, obsolescence and supply chain risk
- Define quality checks, and lead root-cause analysis of manufacturing issues
- Engage specialist contractors where in-house expertise is not available

Field performance

- Plan and run field trials, and monitor product performance after launch
- Investigate field failures with Customer Success and Tech Support, and implement fixes
- Use field and device data to drive product improvements and next-generation designs

Team Leadership & Reporting (approx. 30%)
- Lead and support a team of four engineers: set priorities, review their work and help them develop
- Maintain the R&D; project plan and roadmap, with clear scope, milestones, budgets and risks
- Prepare business cases and cost estimates (cost of goods, ROI, timelines) for new products
- Report progress, risks and decisions to the CEO and CTO
- Support product launches with production, marketing and sales

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

Essential

- Tertiary qualification in Electronics Engineering or Mechatronics Engineering
- Proven hands-on electronics hardware design experience, taking products from concept through to volume production
- Demonstrated ownership of at least one commercial electronics product through the complete product lifecycle




- Experience leading a small engineering team or mentoring engineers while remaining hands-on
- Solid understanding of embedded systems, microcontrollers, power management and sensor interfacing
- Hands-on experience with schematic capture and PCB design tools (e.g. Altium Designer, KiCad) and lab equipment (oscilloscopes, power profilers, spectrum analysers)
- Experience with product compliance and certification processes (EMC, radio and safety)
- Track record of delivering projects on time, on budget and to high quality standards
- Strong analytical and budgetary skills, with meticulous attention to detail
- Excellent written and verbal communication and stakeholder management skills

Desirable

- Experience with IoT devices, particularly remote, low-power or off-grid products
- Knowledge of RF and wireless technologies (satellite, LTE-M/NB-IoT, LoRa, Bluetooth) and antenna integration
- Experience designing ruggedised products for outdoor or harsh environments
- Working with contract manufacturers, including in Asia
- Some experience with mechanical CAD (preferably SolidWorks) and enclosure design
- Firmware development experience (C/C++)
- Familiarity with agile or stage-gate product development processes
- Enthusiasm for agriculture, IoT and great technology

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

- Methodical and detail-oriented with a passion for quality and continuous improvement.
- Curious and analytical, with strong problem-solving skills.
- Proactive and self-motivated, able to work independently while collaborating effectively within multidisciplinary teams.
- Practical, hands-on approach with a willingness to build, test and troubleshoot hardware in both laboratory and field environments.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to clearly document findings and influence technical decisions.
- A supportive, approachable leader who sets clear priorities, gives honest feedback and helps engineers grow.
- Adaptable and resilient, with the ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced R&D; environment.

LOCATION The role will be based at our head office location. Farmbot HQ – 15B / 390 Eastern Valley Way, Roseville NSW 2069

WHY JOIN US

- Join a growing global agritech company transforming agriculture through technology.
- Work on innovative IoT and connected solutions with real-world impact.
- Be part of a team-oriented, agile and quick-moving team.
- Gain exposure to global markets and emerging technologies.
- Grow your career as the business expands internationally.
- Enjoy a modern office, onsite parking and a welcoming team culture with regular team events.

We have an agile approach to product development and operations, encouraging every team member to contribute ideas, drive improvements and help shape the future of our business.

Join us in building the next generation of connected agricultural technology through our Farmbot and Ranchbot brands - delivering smarter monitoring and control solutions that help farmers and producers make better decisions worldwide.

For further information or to apply in complete confidence, please contact [email protected]

📌 R&D Engineering Lead (Sydney)
🏢 Farmbot Monitoring Solutions
📍 Sydney