Hardware Engineer, Mechatronics Bengaluru · Full-time →

Dognosis; Bengaluru; Hybrid; INR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Flexible hours

Remote-friendly days

Gym stipend

Job summary

Dognosis is building the machines that present breath samples to detection dogs as SniffSpace scales from hundreds to thousands of samples daily. Based in Bengaluru, India, we develop brain-computer interfaces and AI models to standardise canine olfaction and enable proactive cancer detection.

You will join a small interdisciplinary team and own electromechanical subsystems end-to-end. The role emphasizes hands-on mechatronics, CAD, and practical field readiness, with flexible hours and

Qualifications

• 2 to 5 years of hands-on mechatronics, robotics or machine-building experience.
• Proficient in CAD (SolidWorks or similar).
• Able to wire, test and debug motors, actuators and sensors, and read a schematic.
• Think in tolerances and failure modes, and design for the field.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and test mechanisms that capture, handle and present samples with repeatable precision.
• Bring up and debug the electromechanical side: motors, actuators, sensors, wiring and the controllers that run them.
• Find out why things fail in the field, and fix them: tolerances, materials, wear and misalignment.
• Turn prototypes into parts vendors can make, with drawings, tolerance stack-ups and assembly notes.
• Help build, deploy and maintain platforms at our sites.

Skills

Mechatronics/Robotics

CAD (SolidWorks)

Wiring, testing & debugging

Tolerance analysis

Schematic reading

Tools

SolidWorks

Job description

Build the machines that present breath samples to our detection dogs, as SniffSpace goes from hundreds of samples a day to thousands.

Dognosis is a deeptech company devoted to unleashing the superpowers of humanity's best friends. We build brain-computer interfaces, wearable sensors, robotic platforms and AI models to standardise, scale and augment canine olfaction. Our focus is a breath-based multi-cancer test that triages risk at population scale, so early cancer detection can reach everyone. Our mission is informed peace of mind for people and their companions, through interspecies technology that makes medicine truly proactive. We are based in Bengaluru, India, backed by Boost VC and 1517 Fund, selected for the Accel and Prosus Atoms X LeapTech cohort, and we work with healthcare and research institutions across India, the UK and the US.

We think from first principles, question the status quo, take responsibility, move fast and keep bureaucracy to a minimum. If you are new to startups, you may find the constant contact with reality, and the freedom to act on it, refreshing.

About the role

SniffSpace is how we present breath samples to our detection dogs, and it needs to go from hundreds of samples a day to thousands, from one platform to many around the world. You will build, test and improve the machines that make that happen, working hands-on alongside our Principal Hardware Engineer.

The System

Our platforms present breath samples to the dogs with linear actuators, servo systems, vacuum and latch mechanisms. They run on Raspberry Pi, ESP32 and custom PCBs. We prototype in-house with 3D printing, CNC and laser cutting, and work with vendors across more than 600 parts.

What You Will Do

• Design, build and test mechanisms that capture, handle and present samples with repeatable precision.
• Bring up and debug the electromechanical side: motors, actuators, sensors, wiring and the controllers that run them.
• Find out why things fail in the field, and fix them: tolerances, materials, wear and misalignment.
• Turn prototypes into parts vendors can make, with drawings, tolerance stack-ups and assembly notes.
• Help build, deploy and maintain platforms at our sites.

What Success Looks Like (6 Months)

• You own one SniffSpace subsystem, end to end, and it runs reliably day after day.
• Field faults on that subsystem are traced to a cause and fixed, not worked around.
• New units can be built from your drawings and notes without you in the room.

You Are a Good Fit If

• You have 2 to 5 years of hands-on mechatronics, robotics or machine-building experience.
• You are comfortable in CAD (SolidWorks or similar) and on the shop floor.
• You can wire, test and debug motors, actuators and sensors, and read a schematic.
• You think in tolerances and failure modes, and design for the field, not the bench.

Valuable but Not Required

• You have built automation or lab equipment that runs unattended.
• You have worked with vendors on machining, sheet metal or injection-moulded parts.
• You have written firmware for microcontrollers or Raspberry Pi.

What You Will Get

• Hands-on ownership of the machines behind a test published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
• Work that shapes whether cancer gets caught early, at population scale.
• A small, interdisciplinary team of engineers, scientists, clinicians and working detection dogs. The office is never boring.
• Health insurance for you, through Plum.
• Flexible hours, and work-from-home days where the role allows.
• Up to ₹10,000 a year towards a gym, a sport or any regular fitness activity.