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Position Summary: 

The Senior Mechanical Engineer will report to a Staff Systems Engineer and will work on the company’s research and development projects.   This role will be responsible for designing, building, and testing mechanical engineering solutions to aid the team in the attainment of their goals.  This person will use their expertise in mechanical engineering to network with the team of scientists, biochemists, and other engineers to develop mechanical systems, fixtures, and light automation solutions for the team.   They will be responsible for operating our in-house rapid prototyping capabilities that include a Mark Forged X7, Form 3, Universal Laser R5000 system, and will define our mechanical prototyping shop.

You will also have commitment from the VP of Engineering to provide coaching to you in your career advancement.  Here, Iridia would commit to helping you hone/build additional skills in Solidworks, Solidworks PDM, rapid prototyping, or other areas that you see as important to advance.

This role will also have project leadership in the mechanical engineering realm, for example, being responsible for delivering light automation solutions to certain RnD needs.   This would include managing the activities of external parties executing work.

How you will contribute:

• Design, build, test, and support mechanical engineer solutions for our scientists, engineers, chemists, and office administrative staff.  We will have a service mentality, where you would be seen as the point person for new mechanical needs.
• Develop lightweight automation projects quickly to achieve better uniformity, reduce costs, and/or enable process steps that are difficult (or not possible) to achieve by other means.
• Leverage the use of in-house rapid prototyping to accelerate timelines and find ways to innovatively get around challenging lead times that exist with more traditional mechanical fabrication (e.g. machine shops).   This includes identifying new prototype systems to invest in.
• Actively network and learn all areas of RnD to find ways to use mechanical engineering skills to help people solve the problems they face in their workstreams.

What you will bring:

• Expert knowledge of Solidworks.
• Significant experience in mechanical design using machining, sheet metal, 3D printing, and laser cutting.
• Experience with box builds (e.g. control panels) is a major plus with lightweight wiring (e.g. mechatronic experience).
• Experience working with Solidworks PDM and/or Arena Solutions PLM.
• Track record of diligent attention to detail on documentation and an eye for organizing product data files.
• Experience writing clear assembly instructions and thinking through how manufacturing processes impact design.
• A love of metric fasteners but an appreciation for keeping standard components in stock just in case.

Position Summary: 

The Staff Scientist, Bioconjugation will be an expert chemist with a background in bio-conjugation. You will be responsible for building scalable approaches to bio-conjugation of enzymes and nucleic acids plus a key technical expert on our product development team. The ideal candidate will have a proven record of developing innovative products that incorporate biomolecules conjugated to surfaces. The candidate will have deep technical expertise, hands-on laboratory skills, and a product development mindset to evolve a disruptive technology into a globally successful commercial product. You will be expected to be an active bench scientist who makes meaningful individual contributions as well as a ‘player coach’.

How you will contribute:

• Create a roadmap and lead our efforts to conjugate enzymes and DNA to surfaces/nanoparticles in a manner which maximizes functionality.
• Continuously improve the performance of our bioconjugation methods.
• Develop assays and test methods to assess the performance, variability, stability, and other key parameters of conjugated biomolecules.
• Collaborate with scientists and engineers to integrate your contributions into the systems and devices we are developing.
• Document your research in an accurate and thorough manner.
• Present your findings to both scientific and general audiences.
• Develop our strategies for bioconjugation surface passivation.
• Build scalable and reproducible bioconjugation processes and assist with implementation into a production environment.

What you will bring:

• A strong technical background in bioconjugation.
• Industry experience, especially in a startup environment, is preferred.
• Strong experience in bioconjugation of enzymes and DNA to surfaces, including nanoparticles.
• A basic understanding of enzymology and molecular biology.
• Experience with DLS.
• An ability to work in a fast-paced but collaborative, multi-disciplinary environment.
• Ability to independently design experiments and interpret complex datasets.
• Creative problem-solving and trouble-shooting abilities.
• An organized and methodical approach to your research, including strong analytical, DOE (design of experiments) and related statistical data analysis skills.

Position Summary: 

Principal Biochemist, Product Development will be a recognized expert scientist in the areas of DNA synthesis, DNA constructs and cloning, and DNA conjugation with experience in enzymology and assay development. You will be responsible for coordinating and integrating multiple biochemistry workstreams essential to Iridia’s product development efforts. You will be working at the forefront of molecular biology developing reagents, tools, analytics, and workflows for novel DNA/protein constructs that can store data and be embedded in a variety of instrument and microchip environments. You will be a key technical lead on our product development team and expected to be an active bench scientist who makes meaningful individual contributions as well as a ‘player coach.’

The ideal candidate will have a proven record of driving technical innovation in these areas by creation of broad intellectual property and industry leading innovations. The candidate will have deep technical expertise, hands-on laboratory skills, and a product development mindset to evolve a disruptive technology into a globally successful commercial product.

 How you will contribute:

• Lead all internal and external technical efforts to advance Iridia’s proprietary biochemistry in product development for DNA data storage applications.
• Design strategies to develop new DNA/protein constructs from feasible concepts and create significant intellectual property.
• Design and develop appropriate functional assays for fundamental understanding and quantitative characterization of enzyme and DNA conjugates in a range of device architectures.
• Maintain significant personal laboratory presence to identify and deliver high quality constructs independently and collaboratively.
• Thrive on rapid prototyping, strategic triage of ideas, and quickly translating new approaches in the literature into broadly impactful company assets.
• Develop and apply novel methodologies to analyze nucleic acids, proteins, and designed modifications.
• Develop and optimize DNA constructs compatible with microchips and microfluidic environments.
• Develop methods and processes for the rapid production and purification of complex DNA-based bit chains for maximum yield, homogeneity and stability.
• Lead design, testing and validation activities to scale up production of critical system components.
• Lead troubleshooting efforts as needed in relevant areas of expertise.
• Continually cultivate scientific & technical expertise through critical review of the scientific literature, attending conferences, and developing relationships with key opinion leaders.
• Work seamlessly in an interdisciplinary environment encompassing molecular biology, biochemistry, protein expression, nanotechnology, and microfluidics.

What you will bring:

• Strong technical background with Ph.D. in biochemistry, molecular biology and/or a related discipline.
• Previous work experience in venture backed start-ups strongly preferred.
• 10+ years industry experience developing products with protein/DNA constructs.
• Previous experience in leading multidisciplinary teams while utilizing an Agile product development framework.
• Very strong molecular biology background with extensive hands-on experience in DNA and protein-based assay development.
• Track record of formulating scalable processes for the production and isolation of DNA constructs or conjugates of DNA or proteins with high purity and yield.
• Best practices in robust, clear documentation of experiments.
• Knowledgeable across a breadth of scientific fields and experience with a broad range of methodologies in molecular biology, cloning, and DNA or protein modifications.
• Demonstrated ability to approach complex problems with innovative solutions and generate actionable hypotheses.
• Experience with molecular technologies incorporated into microchips with fluidics, sensors, and/or semiconductors is desirable.
• Proficiency with quantitative bioanalytical techniques including colorimetric, qPCR, electrochemical and fluorescent based methods to evaluate performance.
• Ability to dive deep in solving complex technical problems in parallel under tight timelines.
• Strong analytical, DOE (design of experiments) and related statistical data analysis skills.
• Experience with GLP, design documentation and scientific record-keeping.
• Familiarity with relevant industry standards and best practices in developing high quality products.

Position Summary: 

The Reagent Engineer will play a key role in the future of our company. You will work closely with the R&D teams in sourcing, testing and qualifying materials used in Iridia’s products and technologies by establishing validated methods, standard operating procedures, and workflows.

The ideal candidate will have a proven record of technical expertise including protein expression, purification, analysis, conjugation, production scale up, and technical transfer of R&D protocols to the manufacturing.

How you will contribute:

• Test and qualify raw materials, in-process samples, finished products, and stability samples and complete associated QC documentation.
• Review and analyze QC analytical data as well as comprehensive analytical records.
• Develop, revise, and implement cGMP procedures as necessary for Quality Control (SOP’s, analytical test methods, forms, specifications, etc.).
• Maintain thorough, accurate and detailed documentation of all work produced in batch records, databases or other acceptable formats, including problems and deviations.
• Operate/maintain/calibrate testing lab equipment used in molecular biology workflows.
• Track quality metrics by both physical and functional test methods, suggest trends and opportunities for improvement to the product teams.
• Perform materials management operations as needed, including receiving, storage, shipment, inventory management, and order processing.
• Develop or modify documentation (SOPs, WIs) for material management processes as needed.
• Manage sub-contractors.
• Develop novel methods to reduce cost of input reagents or components, in particular synthesized DNA.

What you will bring:

• Engineering/master’s degree (Ph.D. preferred) in biotechnology with 5+ years experiences in the bio- industry, experience in manufacturing or quality control environment.
• Responsible for activities ranging from protein purification, biochemical and biophysical characterization of proteins.
• Perform analyses including but not limited to PCR, SDS-PAGE, Bradford assay, plate reader, CE and enzyme kinetics.
• Experience in the development and validation of analytical test methods.
• Excellent scientific computation and data analysis capabilities.
• Experience working within ISO, GMP, LEAN manufacturing environment is a plus.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and effectively under minimal supervision.
• Ability to effectively work in a fast-paced work environment.
• Familiarity with relevant industry standards and best practices in developing high quality products.
• Technical background with Ph.D. in biochemistry, molecular biology and/or a related discipline.

Position Summary: 

The Senior MEMS Engineer will report to a Staff Systems Engineer and will contribute to the company’s research and development projects. The person will be responsible for designing and testing microfluidic prototypes and devices towards the development of our DNA-based data write-store-read solution. The incumbent should be knowledgeable of silicon and glass-based fabrication processes and capable of either executing fabrication activities themselves or managing external firms. This person should also have an excellent understanding of fluid flow and the physics of molecules and particles in the presence of microfluidic flows and electric fields. Experience designing and developing test fixturing for device testing is highly desirable.

How you will contribute:

• Lead the device design efforts from concept generation through mask design and device fabrication to support research and development of the device concept.
• Work with academic labs and/or external firms to fabricate devices within tight timelines and budgets.
• Lead design and development of test fixturing utilizing in-house rapid prototyping capabilities or external firms.
• Work with a test engineer to design and perform experiments to probe device performance and rapidly iterate device designs.
• Aid integration activities with biochemistry counterparts to integrate benchtop chemistry onto device prototypes.
• Participate in company-wide initiatives to maintain thorough documentation and knowledge transfer across groups including monthly progress demos and as-needed design reviews.

What you will bring:

• Experience with design, fabrication, and testing of silicon-based fluidic devices. Multilayer mask design and fabrication experience is preferred.
• Experience with integrated electrodes, electrochemistry, and electrokinetic transport is strongly preferred (e.g., chip-based capillary electrophoresis).
• Deep understanding of physics in the microfluidic and single molecule regime.
• Proven ability to design and troubleshoot devices, test equipment, and experiments rooted in first principles.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills that enable you to work effectively with people of diverse experiences and skillsets.
• Curiosity, leadership, and drive required to see a project through from ideation to completion, with the flexibility to respond to quick changes in scope or direction.
• Experience with COMSOL or ANSYS modeling is a plus.
• Experience with SEM/TEM/other FA is a plus.
• Ph.D. in Mechanical, Electrical, or Biomedical Engineering, or related field with 0-2 years industry experience.
• Believes that building MEMS before breakfast leads to a long, healthy life.