Mechatronic or Mechanical Engineering Manager

Hummingbird Scientific•Lacey, WA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Hummingbird Scientific is entering a new era, building next-generation in-situ electron microscopy products designed for a world moving fast toward automation, autonomy, and AI-assisted microscopy workflows. Our instruments are used by national labs and top-10 research universities. We are growing capacity, expanding our production floor, and scaling our engineering team to support what's next. We’re hiring an Engineering Manager who is a true player-coach: a hands-on precision mechanical/mechatronics engineer who also knows how to build a team, run execution, and deliver. If you love pulling people together, hiring great engineers, and turning complex ideas into reliable, manufacturable products - this role has your name on it.

Requirements

Have been the direct manager of a small engineering team, with real ownership in hiring (and the maturity to handle performance decisions when needed).
Are still a current, strong mechanical designer—not someone who left hands-on engineering a decade ago.
Have deep experience designing precision mechanical systems / mechatronics, and you’ve worked closely with machinists and builders.
Believe in and practice formal project management (whatever the toolset): plans, milestones, dependency thinking, risk management, communication rhythms, and execution discipline.
Are energized by growth, pace, and responsibility—this is a “build the next level” role, not a comfort role.
8+ years in precision mechanical design / product development (scientific instruments, robotics, automation, or similar)
3+ years in people leadership (or equivalent), with demonstrated hiring and team-building success
Strong system thinking: mechanisms + integration + manufacturing realities
Comfort working across engineering, machining, assembly, and operations
SolidWorks proficiency (or equivalent) required

Nice To Haves

Experience with vacuum, cryo, microscopy-related systems (TEM/SEM), or high-stability motion/positioning systems.
Familiarity with quality systems, inventory, process improvement, or shop-floor workflows.

Responsibilities

Lead and build the team: Manage and develop a small, high-output engineering group (with real ownership of hiring and performance). Recruit, hire, and scale the team as programs expand—setting expectations, coaching, and building an accountable culture.
Own project execution: Be the “master of project management” inside engineering: translating goals into plans, schedules, milestones, risks, and daily progress. Drive cross-functional alignment between engineering, assembly, machining, and production operations so work flows smoothly and predictably.
Stay hands-on: Contribute daily to new product development: precision mechanisms, stage hardware, mechatronics integration, and design-for-manufacturing. Work directly with machinists and assembly to solve real-world build issues fast—and raise the bar on design quality and throughput.
Shape the next generation of products: Help lead the development of: Next-gen TEM in-situ precision mechanical design, In-situ and sample prep workflow automation, Software integration for automated and AI-enabled tool.