R&D Mechanical Engineer — Precision Medical Instrumentation

EMPIRI INC.; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

EMPIRI is a Houston-based cancer-diagnostics company developing a benchtop instrument to run as a laboratory-developed test in a CLIA lab, generating data for FDA and payer approvals.

You will be the primary in-house engineer, owning end-to-end design and build of the instrument, tackling mechanical design, fluid handling, temperature control, and machine-vision integration with rapid prototyping and external partners.

Qualifications

• BS in bioengineering, mechanical engineering, or a related field, plus 3+ years of hands-on engineering experience.
• Experience and knowledge of how to automate a manual process
• Hands-on experience with pick-and-place, motion control, machine vision, and mechatronics.
• Experience and knowledge of modern manufacturing methods for rapid prototyping and low volume production for the consumables and building the instrument that handles them.
• Experience and knowledge of design for manufacture principles (injection molding, stamping, etc.)
• Experience developing a regulated medical device or IVD under design controls (verification, validation, design history file) — or a strong record of building to rigorous, documented standards and readiness to own our design-control process.
• Willing to live in Houston and work onsite, full-time.

Responsibilities

• Design, prototype, and refine precision mechanisms for handling and cutting tissue samples.
• Design for the physics of small fluid volumes, including surface tension and wetting effects.
• Design and implement temperature-control systems.
• Develop and integrate pick-and-place, motion control, and machine-vision feedback into a cohesive mechanical system.
• Design single-use consumable components with DFM in mind for rapid prototyping and production quantities.
• Build aseptic processing, cleanability, and usability into the instrument from the start.
• Use rapid prototyping and benchtop breadboarding to prove concepts before tooling or automation.
• Partner with a 3rd party engineering firm to realize validated instruments for lab use.

Skills

Automation

Pick-and-place

Motion control

Machine vision

Mechatronics

Education

BS in bioengineering or mechanical engineering

Tools

Opentrons

Python

Job description

EMPIRI is a Houston-based cancer-diagnostics company developing a benchtop instrument to run as a laboratory-developed test in a CLIA lab, generating data for FDA and payer approvals.

You will be the primary in-house engineer, owning end-to-end design and build of the instrument, tackling mechanical design, fluid handling, temperature control, and machine-vision integration with rapid prototyping and external partners.