Principal Mechanical Engineer - scientific instrumentation

InnoTECH Staffing is looking to hire a fulltime Principal Mechanical Engineer who has experience designing and developing scientific instrumentation. This is an onsite position in the Providence, RI area.

This is an exciting opportunity for a Principal Mechanical Engineer to take a leading role in the development of next-generation scientific instrumentation. As a senior technical leader within the Product Development organization, you will own the mechanical and fluidic architecture of the company's instrument platform, driving complex designs from early-stage concepts through product realization and production.

This role offers the opportunity to combine hands-on engineering with meaningful technical leadership. You'll tackle some of the platform's most challenging electro-mechanical and microfluidic design problems while helping shape engineering strategy, mentor talented engineers, and influence the technical direction of future products.

Working closely with leaders across Electrical Engineering, Software, and Applications, you'll have significant ownership, visibility, and influence over product development. For an engineer who enjoys solving complex technical challenges, building innovative products, and raising the technical bar for an engineering team, this is an opportunity to make a lasting impact.

What You'll Do

• Own the Platform Architecture: Lead the mechanical and fluidic architecture for next-generation instrument platforms, driving designs from initial concept through development, validation, and production transfer.

• Solve Complex Engineering Challenges: Drive critical design decisions involving sophisticated electro-mechanical and microfluidic subsystems, balancing performance, reliability, manufacturability, and cost.

• Provide Technical Leadership: Serve as a technical authority and mentor across the mechanical engineering team, leading design reviews, coaching engineers, and establishing engineering best practices.

• Influence Product Development: Partner with Electrical, Software, and Applications Engineering leaders to define system-level architecture and ensure seamless integration across disciplines.

• Drive Design Excellence: Establish mechanical design standards and documentation practices in alignment with ISO requirements and the company's quality management system.

• Lead Verification & Reliability: Define and own mechanical design verification strategies, including testing, life-cycle evaluations, and reliability analysis.

• Build Strategic Partnerships: Guide vendor selection for critical mechanical components and assemblies, overseeing supplier relationships through prototyping and pilot production.

• Innovate & Protect IP: Contribute to the company's intellectual property portfolio through invention disclosures and patent development.

• Shape Technical Strategy: Translate complex and evolving product requirements into actionable engineering roadmaps and execution plans.

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering required; Master's or PhD preferred.

• 12+ years of mechanical design and product development experience, including at least 3 years in a Principal, Staff, or equivalent technical leadership capacity.

• Proven experience taking complex mechanical designs from concept through volume production, ideally within scientific instrumentation, analytical equipment, or comparable capital equipment.

• Deep expertise in microfluidic system design, including fluid dynamics, sealing strategies, and integration with electro-mechanical hardware.

• Advanced proficiency with mechanical CAD tools (Onshape preferred) and experience administering or working with PLM systems.

• Strong analytical and simulation capabilities, including FEA, tolerance analysis, and GD&T.

• Experience designing functional components for additive manufacturing and applying design-for-additive-manufacturing principles.

• Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop engineers while elevating the technical capabilities of an engineering organization.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to influence technical decisions across multidisciplinary teams.

• Experience contributing to patents or intellectual property development is a plus.

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive base salary and bonus structure

• Equity ownership opportunity

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance

• 401(k) with a 50% company match on contributions up to 6% of base salary

• Unlimited vacation

• Life insurance

Why Consider This Opportunity?

This is more than a traditional mechanical engineering position. It's an opportunity to own critical technology, influence the architecture of an evolving instrument platform, and help shape the next generation of innovative products.

You'll have the technical autonomy to make important design decisions, the opportunity to mentor and develop a strong engineering team, and a direct impact on the company's future — with equity participation in the company's growth.