Mechanical Engineer, Hardware Systems - Card Lab

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) advances the discovery and sharing of scientific knowledge to benefit us all. As a biomedical research organization and philanthropy, HHMI supports a vibrant community of academic researchers, educators, students, and professionals. Together, we’re unlocking the fundamentals of biology and building an open, inclusive future for science.

Dr. Gwyneth Card’s lab at the Mortimer

B. Zuckerman Institute at Columbia University seeks a creative, experienced, independent Mechanical Engineer to support groundbreaking research in the neural circuits underlying visually‑guided decision‑making in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. More information about Dr. Card and the lab’s research can be found by visiting https://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below).-card

You will be a general‑purpose engineer, working closely with neuroscientists and biologists to develop and support custom hardware systems for behavioral and neurophysiological experiments in fruit flies. The position will entail providing engineering support for existing behavioral assay systems, including a custom robot for maintaining fly stocks, as well as designing and building new experimental setups.

A comfort with, and basic understanding of, mechanical and electronic‑circuit design, alongside fabrication methods (3D‑printing, laser cutting, etc.) is expected. Strong candidates will also have software experience with coding in Python, C++, and ideally MATLAB and databases such as MySQL. The successful candidate will be able to work both independently and closely with biologists to accomplish a complete project cycle, from design through fabrication.

• A competitive compensation package with comprehensive health and welfare benefits
• Working with a dynamic team of neuroscientists and a small core of engineers to design next‑generation experimental systems to unravel the mysteries of the brain
• A collaborative, intellectually stimulating work environment and the chance to be part of the robust research community at Zuckerman Institute/Columbia University
• Opportunities for professional development and growth

• Provide engineering support for the design, development, and maintenance of fly behavioral assay systems.
• Design and fabrication of fly widgets for use in behavioral assays and physiological experiments
• Work with microcontrollers to coordinate hardware/software systems.
• Adapt existing machine vision algorithms to extract fly behaviors in real time and offline.
• Develop computational tools and analysis pipelines for processing and interpretation of behavioral assay results.
• Perform complete project cycles, from design to fabrication, with support from a small engineering core in the university’s fabrication and machining facility.
• Perform mechanical maintenance and database support for fly stock maintenance robot.

• A Bachelor's degree (or higher) in engineering, math or physics is required.
• Comfort designing and building small mechanical and electronic devices
• Experience writing code such as Python, C++, and ideally MATLAB.
• Experience with MySQL databases, including creating, querying, and troubleshooting databases.
• Experience in data analysis and visualization.
• Strong attention to detail, accuracy, and precision in day‑to‑day work.
• An interest in neuroscience.
• Strong problem solving, collaboration, and interpersonal skills.
• An interest in working closely with biologists on engineering approaches.
• A willingness to rapidly assimilate new fields of knowledge, including optics, machine vision algorithms, and software/hardware integration, for the purpose of building functional electro‑mechanical devices.
• The ability to clearly communicate engineering principles, design, and coding with biologists and the capacity to work collaboratively with members of the lab to optimize systems and coding as experimental needs require.
• The ability to multitask and assist in the design and optimization of different systems simultaneously to support multiple ongoing and evolving projects

• Knowledge with electrical engineering (PCB design, circuit design, soldering)
• Familiarity with CAD (Autodesk/Solid Works)
• Experience with Python, C++, MATLAB, and MySQL