Mechanical Design Engineer (Life Science)

Location: Cambridge, England, United Kingdom; full-time, on-site position. The company is based at hirify.global Campus in Melbourn, 10 miles south of Cambridge.

Company

Employee-owned technology and product development consultancy designing and manufacturing products and technologies across healthcare, life science, energy, and communications.

What you will do

• Develop mechanical solutions for genomics, molecular synthesis, sequencing sample preparation, precision liquid handling, automated molecular workflows, and biological measurement technologies.
• Contribute mechanical design expertise from concept generation through detailed design, prototyping, testing, and product development.
• Design complex automated laboratory instruments, microfluidic consumables, molecular processing systems, and scalable commercial products.
• Work with molecular biologists, chemists, physicists, and engineers across interdisciplinary Life Science projects.
• Own mechanical design challenges, communicate concepts through CAD models, sketches, prototypes, and design reviews, and manage competing priorities.

Requirements

• Strong experience designing and developing complex products or instruments.
• Excellent 3D CAD skills, ideally including SolidWorks, with familiarity with Onshape beneficial.
• Good understanding of mechanical and electromechanical system design.
• Experience taking designs from initial concepts through detailed engineering, prototyping, and testing.
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes, materials, and design for manufacture.
• Ability to perform tolerance analysis and develop robust mechanical assemblies.
• Strong practical engineering skills, including building, testing, and troubleshooting prototypes.
• Ability to communicate technical ideas clearly and collaborate with engineers and scientists from different disciplines.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and take ownership of design deliverables.

Nice to have

• Experience with precision motion systems, positioning mechanisms, automated instrumentation, microfluidics, liquid handling, laboratory automation, or life-science instruments.
• Experience designing plastic injection-moulded parts, single-use consumables, assembly jigs, fixtures, or test equipment.
• Experience with structured concept generation, engineering risk assessments, dFMEA, and pFMEA.
• Experience sourcing custom components and working with specialist manufacturing suppliers.
• Experience using rapid prototyping, visualisation, and rendering tools.

Culture & Benefits

• Employee-owned business with an entrepreneurial culture, shared ideas, technical collaboration, and freedom to work independently.
• Annual profit-related bonus, 25 days of holiday, and a 10% employer pension contribution.
• Private medical insurance, enhanced family-friendly leave, and life insurance worth six times salary.
• Free nutritious lunch in the on-site restaurant, plus sustainable offices and laboratories in green surroundings.
• Electric car leasing, cycle-to-work scheme, season-ticket loan, and sports, theatre, and community benefits.