R&D Engineer II

Spectacular Labs — Berkeley Area (Onsite Only) About the Role R&D Engineer II – Mechanical

We’re looking for a hands‑on R&D mechanical engineer with approximately 3–5 years of industry experience to help design, build, and bring to market our pathogen detection hardware platform. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys real hardware work — CAD design, prototyping, testing, and iterative product development — in a fast‑paced startup environment where engineering work directly impacts shipped products.

This is a fully onsite role where the work you do directly supports our commercial pathogen detection platform and early manufacturing efforts.

• Design mechanical components, assemblies, and subsystems using CAD (OnShape strongly preferred)
• Own design tasks from concept through prototyping, validation, and early production
• Plan and execute experiments to evaluate performance, reliability, and manufacturability
• Drive design‑for‑manufacturing (DFM) and design‑for‑assembly (DFA) improvements
• Create and maintain engineering drawings, documentation, and bills of materials (BOMs)
• Support prototype builds, pilot manufacturing runs, and product iteration cycles
• Troubleshoot mechanical and electromechanical issues across development stages
• Collaborate closely with biology, electrical, software, and product teams
• Contribute to engineering best practices for hardware development

• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, or related field
• Approximately 3–5 years of relevant industry experience
• Strong hands‑on CAD experience designing real parts and assemblies
• Prototyping, testing, and hardware debugging experience
• Demonstrated ability to take designs from concept to working prototype
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship
• Must be local to the San Francisco Bay Area and able to commute onsite daily

• Experience in a hardware startup, lab instrumentation, robotics, or medical device environment
• Familiarity with machining, sheet metal, plastics, or injection‑molded part design
• Experience interacting with vendors or manufacturing partners
• Exposure to electronics integration or electromechanical systems
• Familiarity with scripting/programming (Python or C/C++) for test automation or data collection
• Experience using version control for design collaboration

• Engineers who enjoy building, testing, and improving real hardware systems
• Comfortable taking ownership of design challenges
• Strong communicators who work well in small collaborative teams
• Engineers who thrive in fast iteration cycles
• People who want exposure to the full product development lifecycle

• Direct impact on a mission‑driven hardware platform
• Exposure to full product development and commercialization
• Collaborative, no‑ego engineering culture
• Opportunity to grow with a fast‑moving startup

San Francisco Bay Area — In‑Person Only

We are specifically seeking candidates who can reliably commute daily to our Berkeley facility.

Send your resume and a brief note about why this role excites you to: