Mechanical Engineer

European Recruitment BV; United States; On-site; USD 95,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical and dental insurance

401(k)

Unlimited PTO

Weekday team dinners

Job summary

European Recruitment BV is seeking a Mechanical Engineer to join its early engineering team in San Francisco. This hands-on role focuses on designing, prototyping, testing, and scaling mechanical systems for robotic laboratory automation, with ownership across disciplines.

The position is 100% on-site in San Francisco, with relocation support. Benefits include medical and dental insurance, 401(k), unlimited PTO, and weekday team dinners.

Qualifications

• 1–7 years of hands-on mechanical design experience.
• Experience designing and shipping physical hardware into manufacturing.
• Experience in a small team, startup, or early-stage company.
• Breadth across hardware domains or component families.
• Strong mechanical intuition and hands-on problem-solving.

Responsibilities

• Analyze, test, validate, and iterate on mechanical systems for robotic lab automation.
• Create CAD designs, drawings, assemblies, and production-ready docs.
• Build, test, and iterate hardware prototypes across development cycles.
• Develop mechanical and robotic solutions to manipulate lab tools.
• Take hardware from concept to validation and manufacturing.
• Apply design-for-manufacturing principles and work with suppliers.
• Debug mechanical issues hands-on and implement practical fixes.
• Collaborate across mechanical, robotics, electrical, software, and science teams.

Skills

Hands-on mechanical design

Hardware debugging

Prototyping

DFM

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Portfolio of projects

Rapid iteration mindset

Education

BS/MS in Mechanical Engineering or related

Tools

At least one professional CAD package

Job description

A fast-growing technology company is developing a new generation of AI-powered laboratory automation, combining robotics, artificial intelligence, and biology to accelerate scientific research. The team is building physical systems capable of operating scientific instruments with high dexterity while using AI to analyze results, determine next steps, and automate complex laboratory workflows.

We are looking forMechanical Engineersto join the team as one of its early engineering hires. This is a highly hands-on role focused on designing, prototyping, testing, and scaling the mechanical systems that enable robotic automation of customer workflows. You will work in a fast-paced experimental environment, with significant ownership and the opportunity to work across mechanical engineering, robotics, manufacturing, and mechatronics.

This is a100% on-site position in San Francisco. Relocation support is available for candidates moving to the area. Benefits include medical and dental insurance, 401(k), unlimited PTO, and weekday team dinners.

Key Responsibilities:

• Analyze, test, validate, and iterate on mechanical systems for robotic laboratory automation.
• Create detailedCAD designs, engineering drawings, assemblies, and production-ready documentation.
• Design, fabricate, assemble, and test hardware prototypes through multiple development iterations.
• Develop mechanical and robotic solutions that allow robots to manipulatelaboratory and biological tools designed for human operation.
• Take hardware from initial concept and prototyping through validation and manufacturing.
• Apply design-for-manufacturing principles and work closely with manufacturing processes, materials, and suppliers.
• Debug mechanical and hardware issues hands-on and rapidly develop practical solutions.
• Collaborate across mechanical, robotics, electrical, software, and scientific disciplines to solve complex problems.
• Contribute across a broad range of engineering responsibilities as the company and product evolve.

Key Qualifications:

• 1-7 years of hands-on mechanical design experiencefollowing graduation.
• Demonstrated experiencedesigning and shipping physical hardware into manufacturing, rather than working exclusively on concepts or CAD support.
• Experience working within asmall team, startup, or early-stage company.
• Breadth across multiple product domains, hardware systems, or component families.
• Strong mechanical intuition, hardware debugging, assembly, and hands-on problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency withat least one professional CAD package.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes anddesign for manufacturability (DFM).
• Experience designing, building, testing, and scaling physical hardware.
• Strong understanding of part design, material selection, tolerances, manufacturing techniques, and engineering best practices.
• Comfortable with rapid prototyping and hands-on fabrication.
• A practical, highly iterativehacker mindset, with the ability to quickly develop and test good-enough solutions.
• Willingness to work across disciplinary boundaries and take ownership beyond a narrowly defined job description.
• BS/MS inMechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• Technical portfolio covering multiple projects, including written explanations of the engineering decisions and work involved, available before the hiring manager interview.

Nice to Have:

• Experience withPLM or document-control systems.
• Background in mechatronics or circuit design.
• Knowledge of robotics, motion control, cameras, or force/torque sensing.
• Experience working withrobotic arm manipulators.
• Experience developing robotics systems in laboratory, manufacturing, or other highly automated environments.
• Experience writing software or scripts for robotics systems.
• University engineering projects involving significant hands-on hardware development.