Lead Hardware Engineer — Scientific Instrumentation & Robotics

Cultivarium; Watertown (MA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Healthcare benefits

401(k) with employer match

Job summary

Cultivarium in Watertown, MA is seeking a senior hardware engineer to design and own custom instruments for imaging, culturing, and engineering organisms—from prototype to daily-use tools. You will partner with wet-lab scientists and external contractors, bridging mechanical, electrical, and firmware disciplines to deliver robust, maintainable instruments and the datasets they enable.

Responsibilities include hardware design, testing, debugging, improving manufacturability, and supporting

Qualifications

• 3–7+ years designing and shipping real hardware for instruments or lab equipment.
• Hands-on prototype to production experience.
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration.
• Ability to reason across mechanical, electrical, and firmware domains.
• Authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.

Responsibilities

• Design and own custom instruments for imaging, culturing, and engineering organisms across the tree of life, spanning mechanical systems, electronics and firmware, and the integration between them.
• Harden prototypes into reliable equipment that runs unattended for long experiments, designing for robustness, manufacturability, and serviceability.
• Build and extend key subsystems: precision motion and gantry systems, high-voltage electroporation electronics, imaging and illumination, and thermal and environmental control.
• Integrate instruments with robotic automation and liquid-handling platforms.
• Scope and manage focused external engineering contractors,.
• Bring high agency and high standards: take ownership, give and receive candid feedback, and push the team to be its best in service of the science.

Skills

Hardware design

Electronics

Firmware fundamentals

Mechanical design

Prototyping

Robotics

Education

Bachelor's in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering

Tools

CAD (SolidWorks)

PCB design

Job description

Cultivarium in Watertown, MA is seeking a senior hardware engineer to design and own custom instruments for imaging, culturing, and engineering organisms—from prototype to daily-use tools. You will partner with wet-lab scientists and external contractors, bridging mechanical, electrical, and firmware disciplines to deliver robust, maintainable instruments and the datasets they enable.

Responsibilities include hardware design, testing, debugging, improving manufacturability, and supporting