Mechanical Engineer, Prototyping & Fabrication

Company

We're partnering with a well-funded stealth climate technology company developing a novel carbon removal platform. The company is moving from bench-scale validation toward pilot-scale demonstration and is building a technical team across electrochemistry, mechanical design, process engineering, manufacturing, and industrial deployment.

Role

The company is seeking a hands-on Mechanical Engineer, Prototyping & Fabrication to design, build, modify, and troubleshoot bench-scale rigs, test fixtures, prototype hardware, and fluid handling systems in direct support of the R&D team.

This is not a desk-only design role. The ideal candidate is a true design-build engineer who can move between CAD, the shop, the lab, and the test stand. They should be comfortable fabricating components, integrating pumps, tubing, valves, sensors, and instrumentation, and helping scientists and engineers keep experiments moving.

Responsibilities

• Design and build bench-scale rigs, test fixtures, and prototype hardware for R&D experiments
• Own rapid design-build-test cycles from sketch or CAD through fabrication, assembly, operation, and iteration
• Fabricate and modify custom components using machining, welding, 3D printing, and other prototyping methods
• Integrate fluid handling systems, including pumps, tubing, fittings, valves, flow control, sensors, and instrumentation
• Select materials for chemical compatibility, corrosion resistance, pressure, temperature, and wet lab environments
• Troubleshoot leaks, mechanical failures, instrumentation issues, fit-up problems, and hardware performance issues
• Produce CAD models, drawings, BOMs, as-built documentation, and revision notes
• Maintain, troubleshoot, and improve lab equipment and test infrastructure
• Manage competing build requests and self-prioritize to keep experimental programs moving

Qualifications

Required:

• 7 years of mechanical engineering, prototyping, fabrication, or related hands-on hardware experience
• Demonstrated ability to both design and build hardware
• Comfortable moving between CAD and the shop floor within the same day
• Practical machining, welding, sheet metal, 3D printing, or hands-on fabrication experience
• Experience with fluid handling systems, including pumps, tubing, fittings, valves, sensors, and flow control
• Knowledge of material selection for chemically exposed, corrosive, reactive, pressure, or temperature-sensitive environments
• Experience in R&D, prototyping, lab hardware, test systems, or fast-iteration hardware environments
• Comfortable working in or around wet chemistry labs
• Ability to self-manage across competing priorities

Strongly preferred:

• Experience building test rigs or prototype systems for electrochemical, chemical process, fluid handling, battery, fuel cell, electrolyzer, or related applications
• Familiarity with specialty materials such as PTFE, Hastelloy, titanium, specialty polymers, or other chemically compatible materials
• Experience with DAQ integration, sensor wiring, or instrumentation for test systems
• Experience with 3D printing for functional prototypes
• Startup, small-team, lab, prototype shop, or hardtech R&D experience

Ideal Candidate Profile

The strongest candidates will be practical builders with strong engineering judgment. They can go from sketch or CAD to physical hardware without a large support team. They build quickly, troubleshoot effectively, document enough to avoid chaos, and work safely around fluid systems and chemically exposed hardware.

This person should be low ego, high ownership, comfortable with ambiguity, and motivated by helping a technical team learn faster through better hardware.

Compensation

Competitive salary and equity commensurate with experience.