Senior Hardware Engineer — Drug-Platform Systems Lead

Capable Labs; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity options

Wellness budget

Healthcare coverage

HSA/FSA/401K

Daily meals

Job summary

Capable Labs in San Francisco is seeking a technical leader to own the physical systems behind our drug-development platform. You will guide system architecture and remain hands-on through prototyping and validation, shaping how Capable designs, tests, and improves reliable hardware.

You will collaborate with chemists, biologists, and software teams to decide what to automate next, while building clear standards, documentation, and development workflows for a growing hardware function.

Qualifications

• Experience owning complex physical systems from unclear requirements to validated hardware.
• Hands-on debugging and root-cause analysis across hardware and processes.
• Ability to make architectural tradeoffs and fast tests to resolve risks.
• Clear technical communication and cross-functional leadership without losing touch with hardware.

Responsibilities

• Own system architecture and technical direction for lab automation or drug-delivery hardware.
• Design and integrate fluidic, electromechanical, sensing, control, and UI subsystems.
• Solve design and integration problems on flow paths, sealing, materials, actuation, thermal control, dose accuracy.
• Define test strategies, acceptance criteria, and failure-analysis methods.
• Build and debug critical prototypes while guiding collaborators and vendors.
• Partner with chemists, biologists, and software teams to decide what to automate next.
• Establish engineering standards, docs, component choices, and workflows.

Skills

Mechanical design

Electrical systems

Fluidics

Controls

Automation

Laboratory instrumentation

Root-cause analysis

Technical communication

Job description

Capable Labs in San Francisco is seeking a technical leader to own the physical systems behind our drug-development platform. You will guide system architecture and remain hands-on through prototyping and validation, shaping how Capable designs, tests, and improves reliable hardware.

You will collaborate with chemists, biologists, and software teams to decide what to automate next, while building clear standards, documentation, and development workflows for a growing hardware function.