Mechanical Engineer, Optomechanical Systems

Elio; San Mateo (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

Job summary

Elio is hiring a Mechanical Engineer to own the optomechanical and industrial design of our sensing platform. You will turn general system architecture into mounts, fixtures, and housings that hold micron-level alignment, survive shipping, and can be built at scale.

You will work directly with the Head of Hardware, optical systems engineers, and lab techs who assemble and align the systems. This is a hands-on design role with real ownership: from a tolerance stack on to a part on the bench to a

Qualifications

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering +/or equivalent hands‑on experience.
• 3+ years of experience of demonstrated optomechanical design work.
• Fluency in a parametric CAD package (SolidWorks, Fusion360, NX, or similar) including assemblies, drawings, and GD and T.
• Working command of tolerance analysis: stack-ups, datum schemes, and fits, and the judgment to know which dimensions actually matter.
• Experience releasing parts to machine shops: DFM, materials, finishes, and fabrication needs.
• Comfort on the bench. You are happy to assemble, prototype, measure, and iterate alongside engineers and techs building the system.
• Experience with motorized stages and motion systems and how they integrate mechanically and electrically.
• Enclosure and industrial design experience: packaging for a product.

Responsibilities

• Design opto-mechanical systems and system integration: mounts and assemblies for optics, light modulators, mirrors, dichroics, filters, and cameras.
• Own end to end custom modules mechanical architecture: housings, enclosures, alignment fixtures, lab instruments.
• Run tolerance stack-up analysis from the optical sensitivity budget, allocate mechanical tolerances, and define datums and reference faces that propagate from the optical model into CAD and onto the shop drawings.
• Design kinematic mounts to stabilize alignment and design fixtures and jigs that make assembly fast and deterministic.
• Design the instrument enclosure: covers, panels, light-sealing, cable management, and access for service.
• Translate the industrial design intent into manufacturable machined, and molded or printed parts.
• Design for manufacturing and assembly.
• Address thermal and vibration considerations at the enclosure and structural level.
• Manage third party equipment manufacturers for prototyping and system component production.
• Produce fully toleranced drawings and STEP models, design reviews, and release packages to the machine shops.
• Support assembly and alignment on the bench alongside the lab techs, provide feedback into the next system design.
• Maintain the CAD source of truth, revision control, and the bill of materials for mechanical parts.

Skills

Optomechanical design

Tolerance analysis

GD&T knowledge

Bench troubleshooting

Education

BSc in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

Fusion360

NX

Job description

Elio is building next-generation sensing systems that combine advanced optics and AI to transform light into structured, actionable information. Our platform uses real-time machine learning to extract rich physical signals beyond traditional imaging, enabling deeper insight and better decision making. While our first applications are in biology and drug discovery, the technology is designed to extend across industries for example robotics, semiconductors and more, where understanding complex physical environments is critical.

Elio's hardware team owns the full scope of the physical instrument development: optics, optomechanics, motion, electronics, and the industrial design that ties it together. This role sits at the center of how the system is built, packaged, and reproduced.

We are hiring a Mechanical Engineer to own the optomechanical and industrial design of our sensing platform. You will turn general system architecture into mounts, fixtures, and housings that hold micron-level alignment, survive shipping, and can be built at scale. You will work directly with the Head of Hardware, optical systems engineers, and lab techs who assemble and align the systems.

This is a hands-on design role with real ownership: from a tolerance stack on to a part on the bench to a fully functional system.

Responsibilities

• Design opto-mechanical systems and system integration: mounts and assemblies for optics, light modulators, mirrors, dichroics, filters, and cameras.
• Own end to end custom modules mechanical architecture: housings, enclosures, alignment fixtures, lab instruments.
• Run tolerance stack-up analysis from the optical sensitivity budget, allocate mechanical tolerances, and define datums and reference faces that propagate from the optical model into CAD and onto the shop drawings.
• Design kinematic mounts to stabilize alignment and design fixtures and jigs that make assembly fast and deterministic.
• Design the instrument enclosure: covers, panels, light-sealing, cable management, and access for service.
• Translate the industrial design intent into manufacturable machined, and molded or printed parts.
• Design for manufacturing and assembly.
• Address thermal and vibration considerations at the enclosure and structural level.
• Manage third party equipment manufacturers for prototyping and system component production.
• Produce fully toleranced drawings and STEP models, design reviews, and release packages to the machine shops.
• Support assembly and alignment on the bench alongside the lab techs, provide feedback into the next system design.
• Maintain the CAD source of truth, revision control, and the bill of materials for mechanical parts.

Qualifications

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering +/or equivalent hands‑on experience.
• 3+ years of experience of demonstrated optomechanical design work.
• Fluency in a parametric CAD package (SolidWorks, Fusion360, NX, or similar) including assemblies, drawings, and GD and T.
• Working command of tolerance analysis: stack-ups, datum schemes, and fits, and the judgment to know which dimensions actually matter.
• Experience releasing parts to machine shops: DFM, materials, finishes, and fabrication needs.
• Comfort on the bench. You are happy to assemble, prototype, measure, and iterate alongside engineers and techs building the system.
• Experience with motorized stages and motion systems and how they integrate mechanically and electrically.
• Enclosure and industrial design experience: packaging for a product.
• Background in laser systems, semiconductor, sensing or precision‑instrument hardware (a plus).
• Familiarity with thermal management and vibration isolation for sensitive optical instruments.
• Exposure to FEA for structural and thermal checks (a plus).
• Collaboration experience across disciplines. Fundamental functional understanding between optics, electronics, assembly and integration.

Elio offers a fast-paced, creative, and inspiring environment with talented teammates, competitive salary and benefits package including medical, dental & vision.

Chance to make a significant impact in the field of advanced sensing and AI.