Senior Mechatronics Engineer
On-siteEmeryville, California, United States
Job Summary
Lead the design, development, and deployment of mechatronics infrastructure for automating high-throughput lab processes, owning end-to-end SolidWorks CAD design for custom mechanical assemblies and detailed drawings. Design, program, and optimize robot trajectories for industrial six-axis robot arms to ensure safe, repeatable motion in workcell environments. Define design standards, collaborate with biologists to translate scientific requirements into engineering solutions, and manage vendor evaluations for new instruments. Mentor junior engineers, drive cross-functional coordination between Hardware, Software, and Systems teams, and maintain mechanical BOM accuracy within Aligni PLM. Support change management and retrofit deployment across existing hardware fleets.
Required Qualifications
- BS or MS in Mechanical, Mechatronics, Systems, Robotics Engineering or equivalent
- 5+ years of relevant industry experience
- Advanced proficiency in SolidWorks (2020 or later), including part modeling, assemblies, detailed drawings, and PDM Vault
- Demonstrated experience both simulating/offline-programming and validating robot trajectories for industrial six-axis robot arms in a physical workcell
- Basic software engineering proficiency; comfortable reading and writing simple scripts or recipe-language logic (e.g., Python or equivalent) to support automation workflows
- Experience in 3 or more of the following areas: Laboratory automation systems and experimental workflow development; Experience with making both 2D and 3D parts; familiarity with metal and/or plastic fabrication techniques including milling, turning, laser/waterjet/plasma methods; Basic knowledge of wiring circuits, terminating cables with various connector types, power budgets, etc.; Fundamentals with PLCs, safety circuits and safety sensors, power electronics, etc.
- Systems engineering mindset with strong attention to detail
- Proven ability to independently own and execute complex, multi-month engineering projects with minimal supervision
Desired Qualifications
- Experience with Mecademic and/or Universal Robots
- Familiarity with lab automation equipment fundamentals (liquid handlers from Agilent, Hamilton, and Beckman/Labcyte; plate sealers, bulk dispensers, etc.)
- Experience in an 'integrator' role: sourcing and combining technologies from various vendors and industries to create an integrated robotic workcell or assembly line
- Experience with conveyor or transport systems (e.g., MagneMotion or similar)
- Demonstrable fabrication experience or hands-on 'workshop' skills
- Experience with motion control software stacks (e.g., Beckhoff TwinCAT, Siemens, or equivalent)
- Prior experience in life sciences, biotech, or pharmaceutical automation environments
- Portfolio or examples of SolidWorks designs and/or robot trajectory programming work
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