Sr Staff Engineer, R&D, Mechanical Engineer

Foresite Labs (Stealth Co)•San Diego, CA

About The Position

In this role as a Sr Staff Mechanical Engineer, you’ll drive the design of an innovative automation system for precision handling and processing of custom parts, with modules for transfer & positioning, thermal control, and controlled fluid storage and dispense. The role will exercise expertise in precision machine design, electro-mechanical control systems, and metrology development. You will be a key member of the core engineering team responsible for defining and delivering our flagship platform.

Requirements

B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
10–15+ years of experience designing precision electromechanical or fluidic systems for production instruments or automation platforms.
Proven ownership of complex systems from concept through product launch.
Expert in 3D CAD (SolidWorks) with strong proficiency in GD&T and detailed mechanical drawings.
Deep expertise in machine design and precision motion systems.
Strong analytical and modeling skills — mechanical, thermal, and system-level.

Nice To Haves

Experience in bioinstrumentation, analytical devices, or medical instruments
Working knowledge of embedded controls, sensors, and mechatronic integration.
Experience mentoring other engineers and influencing design culture.

Responsibilities

System Architecture:
Define requirements, specifications, tolerance stacks, and error budgets for mechanical subsystems.
Conduct trade studies to optimize architecture for performance, manufacturability, cost, and reliability.
Own the mechanical system architecture for part processing and precision fluid management modules.
Design & Development
Design, develop, and validate complex, high-performance electromechanical assemblies for:
Part transfer and precision positioning
Thermal control and temperature uniformity
Fluid storage and precision dispense
Controlled environmental systems (temperature, humidity, air purity)
Develop metrology solutions for system monitoring, including:
Machine vision for position and alignment measurement
Optical or imaging-based fluid contamination detection
Dynamic spatial temperature measurement and calibration
Select and integrate key components such as motors, bearings, encoders, drives, pneumatics, pumps, valves, sensors, seals, heaters, and thermoelectrics.
Cross-Functional Integration
Collaborate closely with systems, electrical, and software engineers to align mechanical and control architectures.
Partner with assay scientists to ensure mechanical designs meet biological and chemical requirements.
Work with operations, manufacturing, and supply chain to ensure scalability, cost-efficiency, and high-quality builds.
Prototyping, Testing & Validation
Lead prototype builds and iterative design improvements based on empirical test results.
Define and execute mechanical and system-level verification and validation plans.
Analyze performance data and reliability metrics to drive continuous improvement.