Germantown, Maryland · On-site · Reports to CEO, John Peeler · Executive team · About 15 people and growing

Own every product JumpLights ships, from concept through certification to the customer. A hands-on chief engineer seat on the executive team of a patented agtech life sciences company.

The role

JumpLights spent ten years building the LED grow lights commercial cannabis and greenhouse growers actually trust, including the industry’s first purpose-built under-canopy fixture and a patented thermal architecture that powers over-canopy lights. The company is now shipping across five product families and launching multiple new fixtures every year, and it needs a builder who can own the full lifecycle of every product from concept to customer.

This is a hands-on chief product engineer role at a small, mission-driven company, not a management seat at a large one. You will join the executive team, report to the CEO, and be part of the company’s long-term succession plan.

If you want a comfortable role at a well-established company, this is not it. If you want to build products growers depend on and help shape where JumpLights goes next, keep reading.

What you will own

  • End-to-end product ownership. Design and ship products across every family, including ETS MAX, Catalyst, Vert, Lumia, and lighting controllers. Own components, performance specs, roadmap, and continuous improvement.
  • New product development. Lead from concept through launch, hands-on across system-level design, prototyping, testing, and production readiness.
  • Certification. Run certification for new and existing products with Underwriters Laboratories (UL), ETL, DesignLights Consortium (DLC), and equivalent bodies.
  • Change management. Build and maintain the engineering change management system that keeps product updates traceable, reviewed, and correctly documented.
  • Vendors and supply chain. Select and manage vendors, contract manufacturers, design partners, contract engineers, and part-time contributors across the US and Asia.
  • Quality. Define incoming and outgoing product and component specifications and help manage compliance.
  • Executive partnership. Partner directly with the CEO, COO, and the rest of the executive team on company strategy, customer relationships, and the decisions that shape where JumpLights goes next.

What you need

  • Knowledge. Bachelor’s in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, mechatronics, or industrial engineering. Master’s is a plus.
  • Experience. Five or more years of hands-on product development, with at least one physical product you personally took from concept to market. Ten or more years is preferred.
  • Vendors. Direct experience managing vendors, contract engineers, and external contributors.
  • Certification. Hands-on experience running product certification such as UL, ETL  and DLC.
  • System design. System-level design experience across electrical or mechanical domains, and ideally both.

What will set you apart

  • Builder’s instinct. You would rather prototype something than write a memo about it, and you have the technical depth to design at the system level yourself, not just review someone else’s work.
  • Innovation. Rather than just designing to spec, you come up with breakthrough concepts and approaches to create industry-leading products.
  • Startup temperament. Comfortable with ambiguity, a small team, and doing whatever the moment requires. You have done this before, or you know that you want to.
  • Executive presence with humility. You are ready to earn the trust of the team over time, contribute at the leadership level from day one, and grow into a larger role as the company grows.
  • Reliability depth. Strong background in reliability engineering and design for manufacturability (DFM), with a track record of shipping products that hold up in the field.
  • Supply chain range. Comfortable working with Asian manufacturers and supply chains, including managing quality remotely.
  • CAD and simulation. Mechanical CAD (SolidWorks, OnShape) or electrical CAD (Altium, Eagle), and ideally both. Simulation across mechanical (ANSYS, COMSOL), electrical (LTspice, PSpice), or optical domains is a plus.
  • AgTech curiosity. Background in horticultural or agricultural technology, or a genuine interest in learning it quickly. Able to explain technical tradeoffs to non-technical stakeholders, including customers, sales, and the Board.

Why this role

  • The portfolio. Own the full product portfolio at a category-defining hardware company with real customers, patents, and momentum.
  • The seat. Join the executive team, report to the CEO, and be part of JumpLights’ long-term succession plan.
  • The upside. Participate in the company’s success through equity, base salary, and bonus.
  • The work. Shape products used by real growers in the field.
  • The culture. Join a learning culture where the best idea wins.

Compensation and location

Base salary, performance bonus, and meaningful equity. Relocation support if necessary. JumpLights sets pay based on your experience, skills, and qualifications.

This role is based in Germantown, Maryland.

Awards and recognition, 2021 to 2026.

  • 2026 — Technology C-Suite of the Year ICON Award. CTO Matteo del Ninno named a finalist by the Maryland Tech Council.
  • 2026 — Maryland Manufacturing 4.0 grant, $48,000. Maryland Department of Commerce, funding automated LED quality control and production data.
  • 2025 — Emerging Technology Company of the Year. Winner of the Maryland Tech Council ICON award.
  • 2025 — Star Entrepreneurs. Founders John Peeler and Matteo del Ninno honored by DCA Live.
  • 2023 — $125,000 investment. Maryland Department of Natural Resources with the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute.
  • 2021 — TEDCO ARR Challenge grant, $200,000. With Catoctin Mountain Growers, a 15 acre greenhouse in Keymar, Maryland.
  • 2021 — Maryland Industrial Partnerships grant, $100,000. Advanced thermal design techniques for LED lighting, with University of Maryland faculty.

JumpLights is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law.