Senior Mechatronics Engineer

Ginkgo Bioworks; Emeryville (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Ginkgo Bioworks in Emeryville, CA is seeking a Senior Mechatronics Engineer to lead hardware engineering for automated lab workcells and integrated robotic systems. You will design, program, and deploy advanced automation with cross-functional teams across biology, software, and hardware domains.

You will collaborate with biologists and software engineers, own CAD designs in SolidWorks, program robot trajectories, mentor junior engineers, and help scale our automation platform from concept to

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Mechanical, Mechatronics, Systems, Robotics Engineering or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and deployment of mechatronics infrastructure for automating lab processes.
• Own end-to-end SolidWorks CAD design for custom mechanical assemblies, including detailed drawings, PDM Vault management, and design reviews.
• Design, program, and optimize robot trajectories for six-axis robot arms, ensuring safe, repeatable, and efficient motion in workcell environments.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior engineers.
• Drive cross-functional coordination between Hardware, Software, and Systems teams on integration projects.
• Manage mechanical BOM accuracy and revision control within our PLM system.
• Source off-the-shelf equipment and deliver custom hardware solutions; lead technical evaluations of new instruments.

Skills

SolidWorks CAD

Robot trajectory programming

DFM/DFA

Python scripting

Six-axis robots

Mechatronics design

Vendor management

Mentoring engineers

Cross-functional collaboration

PLC & safety systems

Education

BS or MS in Mechanical, Mechatronics, Systems, Robotics Engineering

Tools

PDM Vault

Beckhoff TwinCAT

Siemens PLCs

3D printing / fabrication

Job description

Our mission is to make biology easier to engineer. Ginkgo is constructing, editing, and redesigning the living world in order to answer the globe's growing challenges in health, energy, food, materials, and more. Our bioengineers make use of an in-house automated foundry for designing and building new organisms.

Ginkgo Introduction

Ginkgo is a high-growth, well-capitalized public biotech company headquartered in Boston that is redesigning the living world to solve some of the globe's growing challenges in health, energy, food, materials, and more. Ginkgo is constructing, editing, and redesigning the living world in order to answer the globe's growing challenges in health, energy, food, materials, and more. Our mission to "make biology easier to engineer" is poised to disrupt multiple industries by leveraging our innovative data, automation, and scale in biological engineering.

Team Introduction

We’re looking for talented senior engineers who are excited by the challenges of scaling and improving our Automation Technology. The Automation Team is creating integrated robotic workcells, designing processes around walk-up robotic systems, improving how data is handled, working with scientists on scaling their processes, and much more.

Ginkgo is hiring a Senior Mechatronics Engineer to join our in-house automation and integration team. This team is responsible for designing, developing, and deploying automation solutions to both internal labs and external automation customers. Ginkgo’s Automation team is building the technology for a scalable, reconfigurable, highly automated industrial factory.

Job Description

As a Senior Mechatronics Engineer, you will serve as a technical lead working hand in hand with biologists, software developers, and other engineers to co-develop the hardware and aid in the development of software infrastructure that enables walkaway automation for various applications. You will bring deep expertise in CAD and mechanical design, complemented by working knowledge of robot trajectory programming, to bear on some of our most complex integration challenges.

The Automation Mechatronics Team is responsible for designing and deploying the mechanical, electrical, and control systems that form the basis for our novel integrated robotic systems. As a senior member of the team, you will be responsible for identifying and sourcing off-the-shelf equipment, delivering custom hardware solutions, leading robot trajectory design and programming, managing assembly vendors, programming PLCs, and mentoring junior engineers. You will own your designs through the complete product lifecycle from concept, to requirements gathering, to delivery, to second tier support.

Like all Mechatronics engineers on the team, you will have tasks sourced from a number of different projects on your to-do list. You should expect variety in your day-to-day work, along with an agile environment where priorities shift quickly in response to new projects and updated customer needs. At the senior level, you are expected to provide technical direction, identify risks early, and drive cross-functional alignment on mechatronics architecture decisions. We’re open to learning new tools or methodologies to get the job done more efficiently, and we hope that you will bring new ideas and perspectives to the team!

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of mechatronics infrastructure for automating various lab processes
• Own end-to-end SolidWorks CAD design for custom mechanical assemblies, including detailed drawings, PDM Vault management, and design reviews
• Design, program, and optimize robot trajectories for industrial six-axis robot arms, ensuring safe, repeatable, and efficient motion in workcell environments
• Refine and reinforce mechatronics design standards, best practices, and documentation requirements across the team
• Collaborate with biologists on automation equipment design and operation to translate scientific requirements into robust engineering solutions
• Work with vendors to build mutual understanding of needs and capabilities; lead technical evaluations of new instruments and components
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior and mid-level Mechatronics Engineers
• Drive cross-functional coordination between Hardware, Software, and Systems teams on integration projects
• Manage mechanical BOM accuracy and revision control within our PLM system
• Support change management and upgrade/retrofit deployment across our existing fleet of deployed enclosures and hardware configurations, helping balance standardization goals with the practical realities of a diverse installed base

Minimum Requirements

• BS or MS in Mechanical, Mechatronics, Systems, Robotics Engineering or equivalent; 5+ years of relevant industry experience
• Advanced proficiency in SolidWorks (2020 or later), including part modeling, assemblies, detailed drawings, and PDM Vault - deep, hands-on mechanical design experience is the most heavily weighted technical requirement for this role
• Proven experience applying Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) principles to production hardware
• Basic software engineering proficiency; comfortable reading and writing simple scripts or recipe-language logic (e.g., Python or equivalent) to support automation workflows
• Minimum robotics experience required:
• Trajectory design: can build, simulate, and validate robot paths, including path planning, collision/reach checking, and cycle-time optimization
• Motion fundamentals: understands joint-space vs. Cartesian motion and can structure approach-contact-retract sequences
• Hands-on teaching: experience jogging and teaching points on a physical six-axis or SCARA arm, not limited to simulation alone
• Experience in 3 or more of the following areas:
• Laboratory automation systems and experimental workflow development
• Experience with making both 2D and 3D parts; familiarity with metal and/or plastic fabrication techniques including milling, turning, laser/waterjet/plasma methods
• Basic knowledge of wiring circuits, terminating cables with various connector types, power budgets, etc.
• Fundamentals with PLCs, safety circuits and safety sensors, power electronics, etc.
• Systems engineering mindset with strong attention to detail
• Proven ability to independently own and execute complex, multi-month engineering projects with minimal supervision

Preferred Capabilities and Experience

• Familiarity with lab automation equipment fundamentals (liquid handlers from Agilent, Hamilton, and Beckman/Labcyte; plate sealers, bulk dispensers, etc.)
• Experience in an 'integrator' role: sourcing and combining technologies from various vendors and industries to create an integrated robotic workcell or assembly line
• Experience with conveyor or transport systems (e.g., MagneMotion or similar)
• Demonstrable fabrication experience or hands-on 'workshop' skills
• Experience with motion control software stacks (e.g., Beckhoff TwinCAT, Siemens, or equivalent)
• Prior experience in life sciences, biotech, or pharmaceutical automation environments

Closing

We also feel that it’s important to point out the obvious here - there’s a serious lack of diversity in our industry, and that needs to change. Our goal is to help drive that change. Ginkgo is deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of its practices, especially when it comes to growing our team. Our culture promotes inclusion and embraces how rewarding it is to work with people from all walks of life.

We’re developing a powerful biological engineering platform, so we must remain mindful of the many ways our technology can - and will - impact people around the world. We care about how our platform is used, and having a diverse team to build it gives us the best chance that it’s something we’ll be proud of as it continues to grow. Therefore, it’s critical that we incorporate the diverse voices and visions of all those who play a role in the future of biology.

It is the policy of Ginkgo Bioworks to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants.

It is the policy of Ginkgo Bioworks to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees, employment applicants, and EOE disability/vet.

Special Requirements / Materials to be Provided by Candidates

• Portfolio or examples of SolidWorks designs and/or robot trajectory programming work are strongly encouraged
• In all applications, application source and EEO (equal employment opportunity) data fields along with links (LinkedIn, GitHub) are included in the post for the candidate to populate.

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