R&D Engineer II

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 153,000 - 191,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) match

Paid time off to volunteer

Relocation support

Family-forming benefits

Job summary

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative seeks an R&D Engineer II for the Advanced Single Cell Technologies group in Biohub NY. You will create high-throughput single-cell devices and assays, bridging engineering and biology to study immune cell interactions and human disease.

You’ll design, prototype, and test hardware concepts, document results, and collaborate across universities to publish findings and advance therapeutic technologies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master’s Degree in Engineering and 5+ years post-graduate hands-on engineering experience; non-engineering degrees require 6+ years of hands-on hardware experience.
• Track record of developing diagnostic or point-of-care medical devices.
• Experience handling biological samples.
• Proficiency in CAD.
• Experience with 3D printing and rapid prototyping.
• Independently design rigorous experiments, troubleshoot workflows, drive projects to completion.
• Strong documentation habits.
• Collaborative mindset and strong scientific communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and test prototypes for point-of-care sample processing, optimizing reproducibility.
• Design mechanisms for controlled timing and sequencing of biochemical processes within a device.
• Perform hands-on preparation and handling of biological specimens, and conduct assay validation experiments.
• Apply domain knowledge across device engineering, cell biology, and materials science to guide hardware design decisions.
• Establish test protocols and acceptance criteria for reproducible performance across prototypes and production lots.
• Participate in discussions with project collaborators.
• Carefully document work and report on progress.
• Contribute to publications and patent applications.

Skills

Engineering degree & experience

Medical device development

Biological sample handling

CAD proficiency

3D printing & prototyping

Experimental design

diligent documentation

Scientific communication

Education

Bachelors or Masters in Engineering

Equivalent non-engineering degree +6 yrs experience

Tools

CAD

3D printing

Python

Job description

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 by Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg to harness the power of technology to pursue some of society’s most ambitious goals — from curing or preventing all disease to transforming how students learn.

At CZI, you’ll join a deeply collaborative, mission-driven community where your work helps drive breakthroughs across our flagship nonprofit organizations, Biohub and Learning Commons. Whether enabling scientific breakthroughs via open science and AI-powered biology or strengthening the tools teachers and students rely on every day, your contributions help turn bold ideas into real-world impact.

Our teams operate at the intersection of innovation and scale, building the infrastructure, partnerships, and capabilities that allow scientists, educators, and innovators to tackle some of the most complex challenges of our time — and to do so with urgency, integrity, and optimism.

The Team

Our immune cell reprogramming team integrates foundational research on immunology and disease biology with AI-modeling to develop engineered cells that harness our own immune system to detect and treat early signs of age-related diseases, like cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. These technologies will enable precise, context-dependent therapeutic responses only when and where it is needed. You can learn more about our work here.

Our work brings together three powerhouse universities - Columbia University, The Rockefeller University, and Yale University - into a single collaborative technology and discovery engine.

Our Vision

• Pursue large scientific challenges that cannot be pursued in conventional environments
• Enable individual investigators to pursue their riskiest and most innovative ideas
• Facilitate research by scientists and clinicians at our home institutions and beyond

We are a team of passionate individuals powered by technology, guided by scientific research, and driven by collaboration, working toward a mission to cure or prevent all disease.

The Opportunity

The Advanced Single Cell Technologies group provides critical single cell profiling and perturbation assays, technology, and expertise to the Biohub NY community. The goal of the platform is to develop cutting-edge single-cell technologies in collaborations related to studying human disease and the interaction of immune cells with human organs. More information can be found on the lab website (https://biohub.org/single-cell-technology-platform/).

The R&D Engineer II will create new technologies and devices for high throughput single-cell screening and will have demonstrated experience in designing, prototyping, testing and troubleshooting diagnostic or point-of-care medical devices. We are seeking a creative, methodical, resourceful, and technically rigorous engineer capable of driving projects independently and on a team. This role sits at the intersection of device engineering, cell biology/immunology, and reagent formulation, and requires an ability to own a problem end-to-end, from proof-of-concept demonstration to prototype and beyond. This role offers substantial design freedom with direct lab access for rapid testing.

What You'll Do

• Design, build and test prototypes for point-of-care sample processing, iterating based on performance data and optimizing for reproducibility
• Design mechanisms for controlled timing and sequencing of biochemical processes within a device (e.g., controlled reagent release, passive valving, or equivalent)
• Perform hands‑on preparation and handling of biological specimens, and conduct assay validation experiments (e.g., timing precision, reagent activity, sample/cell quality at endpoint)
• Apply domain knowledge across device engineering, cell biology, and materials science to guide hardware design decisions
• Establish test protocols and acceptance criteria to ensure reproducible performance across prototype iterations and production lots
• Participate in discussions with project collaborators
• Carefully document work
• Clearly report on project progress
• Contribute to scientific publications and patent applications

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor's or Master’s Degree in Engineering (especially biomedical, chemical or mechanical engineering) plus 5+ years of relevant, post‑graduate hands‑on engineering experience. Holders of non‑engineering degrees must have at least 6 years of hands‑on engineering experience developing hardware.
• Track record of developing diagnostic or point‑of‑care medical devices
• Experience with handling biological samples
• Proficiency in CAD
• Experience with 3D printing and rapid prototyping
• Ability to independently design rigorous experiments, troubleshoot complex workflows, and drive projects to completion
• Strong documentation habits
• Collaborative mindset and strong scientific communication skills

Nice to have

• Wet lab experience (cell culture, basic molecular biology)
• Experience with reagent stabilization/lyophilization or dried‑reagent formulation
• Knowledge of and proficiency in Python
• Experience with microfluidics and microfabrication

Compensation

The New York City, NY base pay range for a new hire in this role is $153,000 - $191,000. New hires are typically hired into the lower portion of the range, enabling employee growth in the range over time. Actual placement in range is based on job‑related skills and experience, as evaluated throughout the interview process.

This position may be eligible to participate in our discretionary annual performance bonus program. Bonus eligibility and targets are determined in accordance with our total rewards philosophy and may vary by role.

Better Together

As we grow, we’re excited to strengthen in‑person connections and cultivate a collaborative, team‑oriented environment. This role is a hybrid position requiring you to be onsite for at least 60% of the working month, approximately 3 days a week, with specific in‑office days determined by the team’s manager. The exact schedule will be at the hiring manager’s discretion and communicated during the interview process.

Benefits For The Whole You

We’re thankful to have an incredible team behind our work. To honor their commitment, we offer a wide range of benefits to support the people who make all we do possible.

• Provides a generous employer match on employee 401(k) contributions to support planning for the future.
• Paid time off to volunteer at an organization of your choice.
• Funding for select family‑forming benefits.
• Relocation support for employees who need assistance moving