Mechanical Engineer – Precision Instrumentation (Mid-Career to Senior)

Hummingbird Scientific is seeking a Mechanical Engineer to develop advanced precision instrumentation for in-situ electron microscopy. Our products are used by leading universities and national laboratories worldwide to study materials at the atomic scale, and they operate under demanding conditions: high vacuum, nanometer-level stability, heating, electrical biasing, and liquid and gas flow, often within extremely constrained spaces.

We are looking for a hands-on engineer who can turn challenging technical concepts into manufacturable, working products. This role requires more than CAD proficiency. We value practical engineering judgment, strong analytical fundamentals, curiosity, and the ability to take ownership of complete mechanical and mechatronic systems. You do not need to be an expert in every technology we use, but you do need the engineering foundation, initiative, and ability to learn what each new project requires.

Requirements

What You'll Do

Precision Mechanical Design and Product Development

• Design complete precision mechanical assemblies and mechatronic systems from initial concept through manufacturing, testing, and product release, working at the assembly and system level: kinematics, stiffness, tolerances, thermal behavior, interfaces, manufacturability, assembly, and serviceability.
  
• Develop and modify custom TEM holders, precision stages, mechanisms, and scientific instrumentation for specialized research applications, involving high-stability motion, vacuum, heating, gas and liquid flow, sensors, actuators, and instrument controls.
  
• Collaborate directly with machinists, assemblers, and other engineers to turn designs into reliable, manufacturable products.
  

Engineering Analysis and Problem Solving

• Apply first-principles analysis to design problems involving mechanics, dynamics, thermal behavior, vacuum, fluid flow, and other physical phenomena, using analytical models and calculations to guide decisions, with simulation and experiments where appropriate.
  
• Make sound engineering tradeoffs, balancing performance, complexity, manufacturability, cost, and schedule.
  

Prototyping, Testing, and Troubleshooting

• Build, assemble, test, and troubleshoot prototypes and production hardware, working hands-on across mechanical, electrical, and control systems to resolve integration and performance issues.
  
• Design experiments and analyze test data to find the root causes of performance limitations, rather than simply reporting pass/fail results, and use what you learn to validate performance and drive design improvements.
  

Project Ownership and Execution

• Take ownership of assigned projects, including technical quality, schedules, and deliverables. Plan proactively, identify risks and dependencies, and maintain realistic, predictable schedules.
  
• Complete all aspects of product release, including drawings, BOMs, purchased components, packaging, testing, and documentation.
  
• Maintain organized engineering records so project information is accessible for future development, manufacturing, and support.
  

Requirements

Key Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience designing complete mechanical assemblies, mechanisms, or products, rather than primarily individual parts or CAD models.
  
• Strong mechanical engineering fundamentals, including kinematics, dynamics, structural behavior, tolerancing, and system design, and the ability to apply them from first principles to produce workable designs.
  
• Strong 2D/3D CAD proficiency, preferably SolidWorks, including engineering drawings and GD&T.
  
• Practical understanding of machining, manufacturing processes, assembly, and design for manufacturability.
  
• Hands-on experience building, testing, troubleshooting, and improving mechanical or mechatronic hardware.
  

Education and Experience

• BS in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Physics, or a closely related field; MS or PhD is a plus.
  
• Meaningful industry experience in mechanical design and hands-on product development, typically at a mid-career or senior level, including taking substantial assemblies or products through design, prototyping, testing, iteration, and release.
  
• The depth, breadth, and nature of your engineering experience matter more than the number of years worked.
  

Optional Qualifications

• Background in precision engineering, scientific instrumentation, or mechatronics.
  
• Experience with vacuum systems, cryogenics, or thermal systems.
  
• Working knowledge of electronics, sensors, actuators, and electrical system integration.
  
• Programming experience in LabVIEW, Python, C/C++, or equivalent environments, preferably involving instrumentation, controls, or data acquisition.
  

Why Join Hummingbird Scientific

• Full-loop engineering: Design, machining, microfabrication, assembly, calibration, and microscope testing all happen in-house, close together. You take ownership of complete products and follow your design from first concept through release and into the next revision.
  
• The shop is part of engineering: Our machinists are technical partners, not downstream support. You work side by side with machinists, assemblers, technicians, and scientists, and some of the most useful design reviews happen at the machine.
  
• See your hardware prove itself: We validate instruments in our own TEM and cryo-EM labs, so you see how your work performs under real microscope conditions.
  
• Breadth that keeps you learning: Projects span precision mechanics, vacuum, thermal and cryogenic systems, fluidics, motion control, electronics, and software, and rarely have off-the-shelf solutions. You will help build the next generation of in-situ TEM holders, precision stages, and instruments for automated, AI-driven microscopy.
  
• Small team, visible impact: You join a small, technically driven global engineering team where your individual contribution shows up in the product.
  
• Global reach: Our instruments are used by universities, national laboratories, and research institutions in more than 30 countries and have supported over 500 research publications.
  
  

We are particularly interested in engineers who have personally taken designs from initial calculations through machining, assembly, troubleshooting, and a working finished product.

Job Location: This position is located on-site in Lacey, Washington, USA.

Apply here with your resume and cover letter.

Benefits

Compensation: Hummingbird Scientific offers a generous compensation package based on experience and demonstrated capabilities.