BME/ME Research and Prototyping Engineer (co-op)

Current Surgical; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 28,000 - 41,000; Full time

Job summary

Current Surgical Inc. in San Francisco is seeking a mechanical or biomedical engineer (with a mechanical focus) to help design, develop, and test our clinical prototype—a smart microinvasive needle that targets tumors with precision.

You will work directly with the co-founders across design, hands‑on development, and experimental oversight, contributing to preclinical study planning and collaboration with clinicians. This is an exciting opportunity in a hardtech biotech startup.

Qualifications

• BS, MS, or PhD candidates in mechanical or biomedical engineering or closely related fields.
• Ideal candidates have prior research lab experience or internships.
• Position requires a minimum of a 6 month commitment.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and test our clinical prototype with the co-founders.
• Perform hands-on mechanical development and experimental oversight.
• Assist in designing preclinical studies and interfacing with clinicians.

Skills

CAD tools

Matlab/Python

Mechanical design

Biomedical research

Education

BS/MS/PhD in mechanical or biomedical engineering

Job description

About Current Surgical Inc.

Current Surgical is a startup company developing technology on the frontier of engineering and biology. Our first product is a smart microinvasive needle that precisely destroys tumors without damaging healthy tissue, allowing doctors to treat cancers that are untreatable today.

About Current Surgical Inc.

Current Surgical is a startup company developing technology on the frontier of engineering and biology. Our first product is a smart microinvasive needle that precisely destroys tumors without damaging healthy tissue, allowing doctors to treat cancers that are untreatable today.

Our technology is backed by the National Science Foundation, and the company is funded by top tier venture capital firms interested in dramatically improving the accuracy and accessibility of surgery.

About You

We are looking for a mechanical engineer or biomedical engineer (with a mechanical engineering focus) who is excited to develop technology at the forefront of medical devices and precision surgery. You will work directly with the co-founders to design, develop, and test our clinical prototype. This is a difficult hands‑on engineering challenge that integrates precision mechanics, novel electronics, microfluidics, and ultrasound physics.

The ideal candidate is someone who is a ‘maker’ at heart, interested in working at a startup, and eager to challenge their technical development. This is a unique opportunity, as one of the first employees, you will have the opportunity to work across many areas of a hardtech biomedical startup, including helping to design preclinical studies and interfacing with clinicians. We are expecting you to be a core team member supporting mechanical development, which at this stage requires design, hands‑on development, and experimental oversight and execution.

Educational background

• BS, MS, or PhD candidates in mechanical or biomedical engineering or closely related fields (e.g. mechatronics, robotics).
• Ideal BS candidates are juniors or seniors with experience in a research lab and/or prior internships. Ideal MS candidates have prior research and/or internship experience. Ideal PhD candidates are those interested in learning more about R&D roles in industry and enjoy developing experimental techniques.
• Position requires a minimum of a 6 month commitment (an academic semester and summer).

Desired Skills

• Basic experience with a range of fabrication approaches and their tradeoffs, with different materials (metal, polymers, ceramics, etc.).
• Experience with CAD tools (e.g., Solidworks, Fusion 360) and ability to design complex mechanical parts and assemblies.
• Interest in biomedical research and conducting benchtop experiments that may include ex vivo tissue.
• Elementary data analysis experience with Matlab and/or Python.
• General knowledge of medical imaging is a plus.