Senior Hardware System Architect, Pixel Watch

About the Job

The Watch Hardware Engineering team is looking for a system architect responsible for defining and implementing the hardware architecture for wearable products to enable ambient and edge computing applications.

In this role, you will provide thought leadership in architecting the end-to-end system design and platform architecture for next generation wearable products. You will ensure all subsystems work together effectively to meet performance, power, and cost goals for all critical user journeys. You will drive strong cross-functional collaboration both internally and externally with silicon vendors and technology partners. This role involves a strong understanding and deep analysis of the data processing paths and associated hardware, silicon, and software solutions.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $159000 - $230000 (USD) + 15% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities

• Design complete data processing paths and hardware-software interfaces for ambient and edge computing on wearable hardware.
• Define system-level metrics for performance, power, thermals, and key features like on-device AI audio and ecosystem interoperability.
• Evaluate power, performance, cost, and form factor to select optimal chipsets and shape supplier technology roadmaps.
• Partner with software, hardware, silicon suppliers, and product teams to ensure seamless solution integration into wearable products.
• Oversee system integration and performance optimization while investigating emerging technologies and architectures for future product generations.

Qualifications

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
  
• 4 years of experience working in a consumer electronics technical environment, or 3 years of experience with an advanced degree.

Preferred qualifications:

• 7 years of experience in computer architecture, processor, or system-on-chip (SoC) design.
• Experience with low-power edge/ambient computing, data processing, and memory management.
• Experience optimizing machine learning models and neural processing units (NPUs).
• Experience architecting Android-based consumer hardware and mobile ecosystems.
• Experience in balancing complex design trade-offs across performance, power, cost, and form factor within hardware and software domains.
• Ability to drive cross-functional consensus and navigating ambiguity across matrixed engineering and product teams.