Platform Recruitment
Principal Mechanical Engineer
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Microfluidics Engineer
Location: Oxford
Reporting to: COO / CPO
Employment: Full time, permanent
Level: Commensurate with experience
Sector: Medical Devices / IVD, early stage startup
Working arrangement: On site
About the Company
Our client is a medical device company developing a culture free in vitro diagnostic system for rapid bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing directly from whole blood. Their technology combines microfluidic sample preparation, Raman spectroscopy, a growing Raman spectra database, and machine learning driven analysis to produce clinically actionable results far faster than conventional blood culture methods.
The technology has performed strongly in laboratory validation, and the company is now progressing through a prototyping and pilot study phase, with regulatory submissions planned under FDA and EU IVDR routes.
Microfluidics sits at the heart of the platform, taking whole blood and delivering clean, concentrated, viable cells to the optical system. The successful candidate will join a small, closely knit microfluidics team and will have a genuine, lasting influence on how the sample preparation technology is designed, de risked, and manufactured at scale.
The Role
This role covers the design and development of microfluidic sample preparation systems used to process whole blood for the diagnostic platform. The company is looking for a hands-on engineer to join the microfluidics team, working across the full lifecycle from early stage concept prototyping through to designing for scaled up, regulated manufacture.
The position spans bacterial identification (ID) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) assays as well as emerging fungal applications, and sits at the intersection of microfluidics, fluid mechanics, and practical engineering. You will contribute across design, prototyping, experimental testing, manufacturing transfer, and scale up, taking genuine ownership of the subsystems you work on.
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Key Responsibilities
- Contribute to the design and optimisation of microfluidic devices and flow systems across bacterial ID, AST, and fungal applications
- Design, build, and test prototypes, including experimental validation using biological samples
- Plan and run structured experiments and characterisation studies, including design of experiments, to quantify performance and process robustness
- Analyse system performance and troubleshoot fluidic behaviour, using data to inform design decisions
- Develop and qualify cartridge sealing, bonding, and surface treatment strategies, working with internal teams and external partners
- Support improvements to the robustness, reliability, and scalability of devices
- Design for manufacture and scale up, translating prototypes into robust, high yield designs suited to volume replication routes
- Liaise with external fabrication and manufacturing partners
- Take ownership of specific subsystems or experiments from concept through to testing and iteration
- Balance engineering trade-offs between performance, manufacturability, and cost
- Operate within the QMS, moving between rapid prototyping and regulated product development
- Translate overall system and product requirements into subsystem requirements, and develop microfluidic systems that meet them
- Ensure engineering concepts are grounded in biological reality, working closely with the scientific team
- Plan, capture, and record design rationale, protocols, and results in clear engineering documentation to support verification, validation, and regulatory submission
Requirements
Essential
- Degree in engineering, physics, or a related quantitative discipline, or equivalent practical experience
- Strong fundamentals in fluid mechanics or transport phenomena
- Proven hands-on experience with experimental systems or prototyping, including designing, building, and testing physical devices, fluidic systems, or experimental hardware, ideally in a commercial setting
- Ability to work independently, prioritise in a fast-moving startup environment, and communicate concepts clearly to colleagues from other disciplines
- Confidence integrating into a multidisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and clinicians
- A pragmatic problem solver, open to constructive challenge, with a continuous improvement mindset
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Note: A combination of all or most of these traits would qualify someone for the top end of the salary banding.
Desirable
- Experience with microfluidics, lab on chip systems, or small-scale fluid systems
- Familiarity with CAD, ideally Solidworks
- Experience scaling microfluidic systems for high-volume manufacture
- Familiarity with microfabrication and replication techniques and the tolerances they impose
- Experience with surface functionalisation, bonding, and sealing of polymers
- Experience handling biological samples such as blood or cell suspensions, with associated safety practice
- Familiarity with design of experiments (DOE) and statistical analysis of test data
- Experience developing microfluidic devices coupled with optical detection and analytical workflows
- Working knowledge of one or more of ISO 13485:2016, ISO 14971, EU IVDR, and FDA 21 CFR Part 820
- Experience in an early-stage startup or spin-out environment experiencing rapid growth
What's on Offer
- The opportunity to own core microfluidics technology at a company delivering genuine translational impact in antimicrobial resistance diagnostics
- A broad, hands-on remit spanning rapid prototyping through to manufacture, with real influence over design direction
- Direct access to and collaboration with the founding team and scientific leadership
- Competitive salary, commensurate with experience and company stage
How to Apply
For a confidential discussion about this role, please contact Max Marcus at Platform Recruitment.
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