Fluidics Engineer - California, United States - Pleno Inc.

Description

We are seeking a Principal Fluidics Engineer to work on the development and testing of our flagship multi-omic platform. This position requires excellent understanding of microfluidics, CFD analysis and fluidic pumping technologies to design, spec and characterize key fluidic, pneumatic and mechanical components for instrumentation. Experience with fluidic architecture innovation, test fixture design/implementation and systems engineering to create scalable solutions to bridge the interface between instrument and consumable is preferred. This role is a leadership role which requires experience with leading small technical teams and driving cross-function collaboration across departments.

Note: This position will require regular onsite participation at our office/lab in San Diego, CA - to apply you should be resident in the greater San Diego County area.

In this role you will:

• Architect the fluidic system for our multi-omic instrumentation.
• Specify, design, procure, test, and compare off-the-shelf and custom microfluidic solutions, including tubing, connections, pumps, valves, dispensers, and sensors.
• Lead small team of fluidic and test engineers and drive fluidic design reviews and technical documentation.
• Design fluidic manifolds and dispensers, and their ancillary electro-mechanical structures like housings, brackets, or motion stages using SolidWorks.
• Analyze design concepts using CFD and hand calculations to evaluate fluidic system architectures and performance to quickly compare alternate design options of instrument and/or consumable hardware.
• Optimize the fluidic delivery systems for speed, reliability, manufacturability, and cost.
• Write and execute succinct test plans through single-variable or DOE constraints to characterize behavior. Analyze and interpret data from various tests to guide further development.
• Generate and define fluidic system requirements, detailed hardware specifications and tolerance stacks to ensure robust and reliable performance. Generate detailed drawings, work instructions, and other engineering documentation to specify key parameters for fluidic design.
• Design and build test fixtures to characterize key fluidic physics and performance parameters (e.g., flush factor, diffusion, mixing, material compatibility, and lifetime/reliability).
• Plan and execute engineering verification testing of fluidic requirements and specifications.
• Perform troubleshooting and root cause analysis for interdisciplinary problems.
• Develop assembly and QC procedures for fluidic system as well as work collaboratively with manufacturing and supply chain to implement process steps for robust manufacturing.
• Generate detailed specifications, part designs, tolerance stacks, drawings, work instructions, and other engineering documentation.
• Evaluate and address risks to system performance, reliability, and project milestones.

To be successful in this role you have:

• A demonstrated track record for the design, implementation and launch of instrument fluidic systems.
• An understanding of various manufacturing methods and experience managing design partners and contract manufacturers.
• The ability to distill complex technical information into clear communication to both senior leadership and team members.
• The ability to quickly adjust to rapidly evolving technology decisions and adjust priorities accordingly.

To be a top candidate you have:

• Solidworks experience with training in ASME Y14.5 including GD&T.
• Experience with biotechnology capital equipment or consumables.
• Experience in development cycles from concept to production for at least two products.
• Expertise with analytical tools like FEA, CFD, COMSOL, or MATLAB.
• Ability to troubleshoot and determine root cause of fluidic issues

Education & Experience:

• A Bachelors degree in engineering (or related disciplines such as physics, biomedical engineering, engineering fluidics, etc.) with,
• 12 or more years of industry experience (engineering development focus) or,
• Equivalent through advanced education.

The compensation range presented spans Senior Staff to Principal Fluidics Engineer. Compensation decisions are dependent on several factors including, but not limited to, level of the position, skills, knowledge and experience, internal equity, and alignment with comparable market data.

About Pleno

Pleno is a multidisciplinary team of scientists and technologists focused on collaboration and asking questions. We strive to find the best, and most meaningful answers for biochemistry and engineering problems in our mission to build a revolutionary instrument platform.

We are developing multi-omic instrument platforms that will revolutionize biological target detection for a wide array of meaningful applications. Come join us to be a part of the biomedical revolution.

We value our Pleno people and each person's wellbeing is important to us, so in addition to offering industry competitive compensation, we also offer the following:

• Equity - everyone at Pleno has a stake in our success
• Generous company-sponsored contribution to health, dental and vision coverage
• Company contributions to life insurance, short term and long term disability
• Flexible Paid Time Off - plus 11 paid holidays including a winter break company-wide close
• Parental Leave - we value our families and include generous parental leave and wage replacement contribution
• Free catered onsite meals
• Fitness and wellness facilities and programming
• Regular opportunities to spend social time together like happy hours & team building events - we celebrate our wins
• Available 401k plan