Manufacturing scale-up focused mechanical engineer at an energy startup -- prototype to production

Mesodyne is a startup company revolutionizing power generation with its innovative LightCell technology--using thermophotovoltaics to provide efficient, silent, reliable, long-endurance power from any fuel. By bridging the gap between batteries and internal combustion engines, Mesodyne's LightCell technology provides more than a 10x improvement in endurance for unmanned vehicles, wearables, and various other equipment. At Mesodyne, we are committed to bringing groundbreaking products to the industrial and defense sectors, with multiple existing contracts and numerous upcoming business opportunities.

As we transition from prototype to production, we are seeking a hands-on Mechanical Engineer to drive the scale-up of our manufacturing processes by designing the tools and workflows that will define our production floor.

Responsibilities

• Wafer-Level Tooling & Jigs: Design and iterate on custom fixtures for temporary bonding, alignment, packaging, etc. of photovoltaic (PV) and photonic crystal (PhC) wafers.
• Process Optimization: Analyze existing R&D assembly methods and transform them into robust, scalable manufacturing processes. Identify bottlenecks and implement mechanical solutions to increase throughput for pilot batches .
• Prototype to Production: Drive the transition of "lab-built" systems into "production-ready" units, ensuring that complex sub-systems can be assembled reliably at scale.
• Precision Fabrication: Perform delicate fabrication and assembly tasks.
• Testing & Metrology: Develop and run test procedures on PhC and PV components and assemblies. Build custom test setups.
• Design for Manufacturability (DFM): Serve as the bridge between R&D and production, providing feedback to the design team to ensure future hardware is optimized for assembly.

Qualifications and skills

• BS or MS/MEng in mechanical engineering, or other engineering field with strong mechanical engineering skills, is required.
• Experience designing, building, and testing mechanical systems is required: ideation, CAD, design for manufacturing, integration, testing, etc. Prior industry experience is desired but not required: strong extracurricular projects, personal projects, and undergraduate research projects will meet this requirement.
• Demonstrated ability to build physical prototypes is required. Strong hands-on skills working with intricate mechanical assemblies are required. Mill and lathe experience is preferred.
• Semiconductor/Microfab Exposure: While not required, familiarity with cleanroom environments and microfabrication processes is a bonus.
• Scale-Up Mindset: An interest in "how we make 100 of these" rather than just "how we make one."
• Strong communication (written and verbal) and collaboration skills, comfortable interacting with vendors.

Location

This position is based at our facility in Somerville, MA. Occasional work at local academic cleanrooms may be required.