Associate Director, Systems Engineering

About Wonder

Everything’s on the menu ept compromise. Wonder is the mealtime platform built to feed every craving in one order. With Wonder, you can mix and match hundreds of dishes from 20+ exclusive restaurants in a single order, so everyone gets exactly what they’re craving. Enjoy everything from tacos to Thai with $0 delivery fees, plus dine‑in or pick up at a Wonder location near you.

Each dish is made to order on‑site by our culinary team and served hot. Behind the scenes, Wonder owns and operates every step of the dining experience, from recipe development to the technology that powers our experience, allowing us to deliver quality, variety, and consistency n us as we work to make great food more accessible.

We’re looking for an Associate Director of Systems Engineering to lead the development of our next‑generation automated beverage platform. This role requires a principal architect who can bridge high‑level product strategy with technical execution across the entire development lifecycle. You will have ultimate authority and accountability for the product, driving a complex, multi‑disciplinary program from a blank slate to a fully realized, high‑performance system.

You will operate at the intersection of hardware, software, and controls to ensure we deliver a world‑class solution that meets Wonder’s high standards for quality and scale.

• Own the Product
  
  Roadmap:
  
  Act as the ultimate accountable person for the success of the automated beverage system, defining the product requirements and driving the technical vision.
• Architect Complex Systems:
  Lead the high‑level architecture across mechanical, electrical, and software domains, making the "big‑picture" decisions that balance performance, reliability, and timeline.
• Drive 0‑to‑1 Development:
  Navigate the full product lifecycle, from initial concepts and prototyping, to a high fidelity prototype to real world pilots.
• Lead Cross‑Functional Teams:
  Guide a diverse team of hardware and software engineers, fostering a culture of high performance, rapid iteration, and technical excellence.
• Manage Timelines & Risk:
  Build and maintain aggressive but achievable development timelines, proactively identifying and mitigating technical and operational risks.
• Cross‑Departmental
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Work closely with our culinary platform team to ensure the product we build matches our culinary and business ambitions.
• Drive "Buy vs. Build" Strategy:
  Lead the evaluation and selection of key technology partners and sub‑components deciding when to outsource or leverage off‑the‑shelf parts versus developing proprietary solutions in‑house.
• Identify, onboard, and cultivate strategic third‑party vendor relationships in the beverage equipment industry, ensuring partners are deeply aligned with and invested in our product vision.

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Mechatronics Engineering or a related technical field.
• Proven Leadership: 12+ years of experience in engineering, with a significant track record of leading large‑scale, complex hardware/software projects from scratch ideally in the robotics or industrial automation industry.
• Technical Breadth:
  Deep expertise in systems integration, robotics, or industrial automation. You should be equally comfortable discussing controls architecture, mechanical design and software.
• The "Architect" Mindset:
  Demonstrated ability to synthesize competing requirements into a cohesive, elegant system architecture. You are comfortable with ambiguity and making difficult architectural, technical and product decisions.
• Execution Focus: A "builder" mentality with the grit to manage through the challenges of hardware development and the leadership to keep a large team aligned and motivated.
• Communication Excellence:
  Ability to distill complex technical concepts for executive leadership while providing granular technical guidance to individual contributors.
• Strategic Precision:
  Exceptional organizational skills and a mastery of modern project management tools (Jira, Confluence, Miro, etc.), with the ability to architect these tools for a matrixed team.
• Product and…