Lead Mechanical Engineer, POC Diagnostics Instrumentation

Sarmal; San Diego, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 165,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Company-paid life insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Generous paid time off

Voluntary benefits & discounts

Job summary

Sarmal, Inc. in San Diego is seeking a Principal Mechanical Engineer to lead the mechanical and electromechanical architecture for our point-of-care molecular diagnostic platform, from concept to product launch.

This hands-on senior individual contributor role requires driving the instrument and consumable designs, setting technical direction for CDMOs and external vendors, and establishing internal hardware practices as the platform matures. On-site in San Diego, California.

Qualifications

• Proven track record designing electro-mechanical, fluidic, optical and thermal systems throughout product development lifecycle.
• Experience with fluidic-driven designs, preferably microfluidics in life sciences or POC fields.
• Experience designing or supporting custom consumables and alignment mechanisms.
• Fluency across fluidic, optical, mechatronic and electrical systems for system-level decisions.
• Proven DF(M) capabilities across manufacturing processes including molding and machining.
• Strong collaboration with vendors, outsourcing partners, and CDMOs.
• Hands-on contributor in an early-stage environment.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Translate requirements into robust mechanical/electromechanical architectures for instrumentation.
• Lead instrument development from concept through transfer to manufacturing.
• Oversee design and integration of fluidics, motion, thermal, optical interfaces, and mechatronics.
• Design custom consumables and disposable cartridges with precise interfaces.
• Develop thermal modules for amplification and thermal cycling.
• Build breadboard systems, prototypes, and reliability test setups.
• Apply FEA, CFD, GD&T and tolerance analysis to guide designs.
• Manage outsourced design partners, CDMOs, and key vendors.
• Drive DFM/DFM across injection molding, machining, and automated assembly.
• Define verification tests and risk analyses for qualification.
• Maintain design history files and design inputs/outputs.
• Mentor engineers and grow internal hardware capabilities.

Skills

Electro-mechanical

Fluidic systems

Optical systems

Thermal management

Vendor management

Project leadership

GD&T

Education

B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or related field

Tools

SolidWorks CAD

Job description

Sarmal, Inc. in San Diego is seeking a Principal Mechanical Engineer to lead the mechanical and electromechanical architecture for our point-of-care molecular diagnostic platform, from concept to product launch.

This hands-on senior individual contributor role requires driving the instrument and consumable designs, setting technical direction for CDMOs and external vendors, and establishing internal hardware practices as the platform matures. On-site in San Diego, California.