Mechanical Electrical Engineer

BOSTON LABS Design + Manufacturing; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 55,000 - 110,000; Part time

Job summary

Boston Labs is seeking a contract Mechanical Engineer with genuinely high mechanical aptitude to help transform concepts into working prototypes across a range of product development projects. This role goes beyond CAD, requiring hands-on bench work, testing, and iteration on real hardware.

You will collaborate directly with the principals, take concepts from sketch to build-ready prototypes, and perform 3D printing, basic machining, assembly, and bench testing.

Qualifications

• Must have hands-on prototyping experience and be able to take concepts to prototypes.
• Ability to think through mechanisms, model them, and build/test iteratively.
• Strong CAD capability with an eye for design for manufacturability (DFM).
• Comfort with bench work, basic machining, and evaluating hardware in real use cases.

Responsibilities

• Take concepts from sketch and requirements through to functional prototypes.
• Generate and evaluate multiple mechanical concept directions, including feasibility and failure modes.
• Produce build-ready parametric CAD with proper tolerances and DFM thinking.
• Build prototypes: 3D printing, basic machining, assembly, and bench testing.
• Iterate hands-on to diagnose binding, slipping, or breaking and solve it.

Skills

Mechanical design

Prototyping

CAD modeling

Hands-on engineering

3D printing

Tools

CAD software

3D printing

Job description

Boston Labs is a full-stack product design and manufacturing firm. We take products from napkin sketch to production — industrial design, mechanical and electrical engineering, prototyping, design for manufacturability, and sourcing through our US and overseas manufacturing network. Since 2016, our work has powered tens of millions of products across medical, juvenile, outdoor and sporting goods, defense, water filtration, and consumer categories.

We're small, senior, and lean by design. No layers, no handoffs — the people who sketch the concept also run the CAD and stand on the shop floor. We move faster than big firms and we care about one thing above all: products that actually get built and actually work.

The Role

About Boston Labs

Boston Labs is a full-stack product design and manufacturing firm. We take products from napkin sketch to production — industrial design, mechanical and electrical engineering, prototyping, design for manufacturability, and sourcing through our US and overseas manufacturing network. Since 2016, our work has powered tens of millions of products across medical, juvenile, outdoor and sporting goods, defense, water filtration, and consumer categories.

We're small, senior, and lean by design. No layers, no handoffs — the people who sketch the concept also run the CAD and stand on the shop floor. We move faster than big firms and we care about one thing above all: products that actually get built and actually work.

The Role

We're looking for a contract Mechanical Engineer with genuinely high mechanical aptitude and strong hands-on prototyping skills to help us take concepts to working prototypes across a range of product development projects.

This is not a role for someone who only lives in CAD. We need an engineer who can think through a mechanism, model it, then walk to the bench and build it, test it, break it, and iterate — the full loop. If you're the kind of person who has a 3D printer running at home, a tap-and-die set within arm's reach, and a drawer of prototypes you've made yourself, keep reading.

You'll work directly with the principals on live client projects. The work is varied and mechanism-focused — think moving parts, actuation, and real-world functional requirements, not static enclosures. We'll give you a problem, align on approach, and count on you to drive it from concept through a prototype that demonstrably works.

Starting at roughly 20 hours/week, with a real path to more hours and ongoing work for the right person as we prove out the working relationship and the pipeline grows.

What You'll Do

• Take concepts from sketch and requirements through to functional prototypes
• Generate and evaluate multiple mechanical concept directions; think through feasibility, trade-offs, and failure modes
• Produce clean, build-ready parametric CAD — properly toleranced, with real DFM thinking baked in
• Build prototypes yourself: 3D printing, basic machining, assembly, and bench testing
• Iterate hands-on — diagnose what's binding, slipping, or breaking, and solve it