Director of AI

Mission: We're on a mission to make Raycon the most loved electronics brand in the world, and our AI device portfolio, starting with the Raycon AI Notetaker, is how we get there next. We're hiring a Director of AI to own the technical backbone of every AI-powered device we ship: the hardware-software integration, the vendor relationships that build it, and the engineering team that runs it. If you love turning ambitious hardware bets into products customers can't put down, read on.

Growth: Profitable growth with 5M+ customers, international expansion underway, and a rapidly-evolving AI device portfolio.

Location: Hong Kong or Shenzhen preferred. Open to remote.

Compensation: Competitive base + discretionary bonus + equity options.

Team: Reports to the VP of Product. Directly oversees our software and AI device portfolio today, with room to grow the team as the AI device portfolio expands. Partners closely with hardware/ID, operations, marketing, and CX.

Why Now: Raycon is expanding beyond audio into a new category: AI-powered devices, starting with the Raycon AI Notetaker. This is our first generation of hardware where the software, the AI, and the vendor relationship all have to work in lockstep, and right now, no one owns that end-to-end. This role exists to close that gap: to build the technical foundation, the vendor playbook, and the engineering team that lets Raycon scale an entire portfolio of AI devices with the speed and quality our customers expect.

You'd be a fit if you have:

• 5+ years in software engineering, with real ownership of hardware-connected products: firmware, embedded systems, BLE/wearables, or similar
• Direct experience working with China-based hardware or component vendors, comfortable with the time zones, communication style, and quality-assurance rhythm of overseas manufacturing partners
• A track record of managing and scaling engineering teams: hiring, mentoring, and setting the technical bar as headcount grows
• Fluency across native mobile (Swift/SwiftUI, Kotlin/Java) and hybrid frameworks (React Native, Flutter), plus backend (Node.js/TypeScript): you know when to reach for which, and why
• Comfort with the fundamentals of our current stack: iOS (Swift 6, SwiftUI, Combine), Android (Kotlin, Java, AGP), Backend (Node.js, TypeScript, Koa, PostgreSQL, Objection.js/Knex.js), infrastructure (Terraform, CloudFormation): the stack will evolve, but the fundamentals shouldn't be a stretch
• Excellent communication skills: you translate cleanly between engineers and management, in both directions, without losing precision
• A genuinely customer-first mindset: you pressure-test technical decisions against how they'll actually feel to the person using the device
• A strong bias for speed and urgency, paired with high attention to detail: you move fast and iterate against real customer feedback without cutting corners
• Experience building engineering programs and processes that scale as the team and product line grow

Nice to have:

• Ideally based in Hong Kong or Shenzhen; fluent in Mandarin and/or Cantonese, plus English
• Direct experience with AI/ML-powered consumer hardware: voice capture, transcription, or on-device/cloud AI processing
• Hands-on DevOps/infrastructure experience (Terraform, CloudFormation) beyond the basics
• Experience scaling a product line from a single SKU to a multi-device portfolio

Key Responsibilities:

• Team Leadership & Scaling: Build, manage, and grow Raycon's software engineering team: hiring, mentoring, and raising the technical bar as the AI device portfolio expands
• Hardware-Software Integration: Own the architecture connecting our AI devices, including the Raycon AI Notetaker, to their companion apps and backend from firmware constraints through cloud AI processing to the in-app experience
• Vendor Management: Serve as the primary technical point of contact for our China-based hardware and component vendors, driving software/firmware quality, resolving integration issues, and protecting delivery timelines
• Product & Roadmap Ownership: Partner with the VP of Product to translate product vision into a real technical roadmap across the AI device portfolio
• Cross-Functional Communication: Translate technical tradeoffs into terms management can act on, and business priorities into terms engineers can build against
• Customer Feedback Loop: Build the systems and cadence to move fast on customer feedback bug reports, feature requests, app store reviews, without sacrificing stability
• Quality & Scalability: Balance speed with rigor, building the code review, testing, and release processes that hold up as the team and product line grow

A Day in the Life: Sample projects may include the below.

• Deciding whether a Bluetooth pairing issue flagged by our China-based vendor is a hardware fix or a software workaround
• Pairing with your Software Engineer on a transcription-accuracy bug affecting the AI Notetaker
• Presenting a native-vs-hybrid tradeoff (Swift vs. React Native/Flutter) to the VP of Product for an upcoming companion app feature
• Turning a spike in AI Notetaker support tickets into a prioritized engineering fix list
• Interviewing a senior engineering candidate as you build out the team

What Success Looks Like:

• The AI device portfolio, including the AI Notetaker, ships reliably, with hardware-software integration issues caught before they reach customers
• The software engineering team is staffed, mentored, and scaling ahead of the product roadmap
• China-based vendor relationships run smoothly, with fast issue resolution and no software-related delays to production timelines
• Customer feedback turns into shipped improvements on a fast, predictable cycle
• Both management and engineers describe you as the person who makes technical decisions clear and fast

Why Work at Raycon:

• Impact: You'll define the technical backbone of Raycon's newest product category of AI devices
• Autonomy: Own the architecture, the vendor relationships, and the team from the ground up
• Team: Grounded, ambitious, and kind coworkers who get sh*t done

Company Values:

• Customer First
• Think Big
• Raise the Bar Every Day
• GSD: Get Sh*t Done

Perks and Benefits:

• 50% team discount on all Raycon products
• $1,500 annual L&D stipend for conferences, certifications, and seminars
• $200 StubHub gift card for a cultural event
• Team-building budget for dinners, happy hours, and employee appreciation
• Monthly team lunch + snack/soft drink budget
• March Madness bracket
• Annual charity event (City Harvest, Bowery Mission, etc.)

Interview Process:

1. Initial Call: Intro with our recruiter focused on culture fit and your experience
2. Hiring Manager Interview: A conversation with the VP of Product to dive deeper into your prior experience and align on vision, values, and impact
3. Case Study: A practical exercise tailored to the role, designed to highlight how you think and build
4. Leadership Chat: A conversation with a senior leader to align on expectations and growth
5. Final On-site Round: Visit us in the office and meet the team