Hardware Engineer Precision Instrumentation
Posted Updated
Summary
Designs, fabricates, and iterates precision hardware for neuroscience experiments at Astera Institute's Emeryville HQ — building mechanical systems, custom microscope/optics components, lab instrumentation, robotics, and electronics/control hardware while establishing the prototyping facility's tooling and workflows.
You will design, fabricate, integrate, and iterate on precision hardware for neuroscience experiments. You will build mechanical systems, custom microscope and optical components, laboratory instrumentation, robotics, and electronics and control hardware. You will also help establish the tooling, workflows, and fabrication capabilities of the design and prototyping facility.
Responsibilities
- Design precision mechanical systems for experiments
- Build components for custom microscopes and optical systems
- Design and iterate custom laboratory instrumentation and experimental robotics
- Develop electronics and control hardware for mechanical systems and data acquisition
- Build the design and prototyping facility's tooling, workflows, and fabrication capabilities
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in mechanical, electrical, biomedical engineering, physics, or a related field
- Experience building precision hardware in a high-precision industry
- Experience designing, building, and maintaining hardware used for real work
- Mechanical design and fabrication expertise with practical electronics or optics ability
- Experience owning complex instruments from concept through reliable operation
- Experience making design tradeoffs across performance, manufacturability, cost, and timeline
- Experience equipping and running a workshop, makerspace, or prototyping facility
- CAD/CAM proficiency, machining, and 3D printing
- Experience with PCB layout, embedded systems, and sensor or actuator integration
- Experience integrating hardware with DAQ, TTL synchronization, and serial or SPI protocols
