uFraction8
(Snr) Microfluidics Engineer, R&D
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Inertial Microfluidics, Materials and Device Scale-up
Company: uFraction8 Ltd
Location: United Kingdom — hybrid working, with regular travel between UK and Poznań sites
Employment type: Full-time, permanent
Reporting to: Chief Technology Officer
About the role
uFraction8 is seeking a practical, detail-oriented Microfluidics Engineer or Senior Microfluidics Engineer to develop next-generation microfluidic bioprocessing systems.
This is a hands-on product-development role, not a purely academic, managerial or leadership position. The successful candidate will personally design, build, test, troubleshoot and scale microfluidic devices, translating scientific principles into robust, repeatable and manufacturable products.
The role covers inertial microfluidic design, materials selection, prototype development, experimental testing, complex parallelised architectures, scale-up and scale-out, and the transition from precision-machined stainless-steel devices towards polymer or plastic formats.
Key responsibilities
- Design and optimise devices for inertial focusing, particle and cell alignment, separation, concentration and media exchange.
- Apply knowledge of inertial lift, Dean flow, Reynolds-number regimes, channel geometry, hydrodynamic resistance, pressure drop and focusing behaviour.
- Develop complex parallelised architectures, including multi-channel devices, manifolds, chip stacks, cartridges and scale-out systems.
- Experimentally validate flow distribution, pressure balance, focusing performance, separation efficiency, recovery, concentration factor, clogging tolerance and repeatability.
- Identify and resolve flow maldistribution, hydraulic-resistance, tolerance stack-up and device-to-device variation.
- Develop devices using stainless steel, precision-machined materials, engineering polymers and plastics.
- Support the transition from stainless-steel or machined prototypes to scalable polymer, plastic or single-use formats.
- Select materials and fabrication routes based on pressure performance, fluid and biological compatibility, optical clarity, tolerances, surface properties, fouling, sterilisation, bonding, manufacturability, cost and supply-chain risk.
- Build, test, debug and iterate chips, manifolds, stacks and cartridges using internal and external fabrication routes.
- Conduct root-cause analysis and improve robustness, manufacturability, scalability, usability and cost.
- Work with UK and Poland teams, suppliers, prototyping houses, tooling partners and manufacturers.
- Maintain clear specifications, protocols, test plans, test reports, design rationales and design-history documentation.
Essential requirements
Applicants must demonstrate:
- A degree, MSc, PhD or equivalent industrial experience in Microfluidics, Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics or a related discipline.
- Strong practical experience in microfluidic device design, CFD or quantitative modelling, prototype development, experimental testing and troubleshooting.
- Strong knowledge of inertial microfluidics, particle or cell focusing, pressure-driven flow, hydrodynamic separation and microchannel design.
- Practical experience developing microfluidic devices or fluid-contact components in stainless steel, precision-machined materials, engineering polymers or plastics.
- Demonstrable evidence of personally designing, building and experimentally validating complex parallelised microfluidic devices or systems.
- Experience with multi-channel devices, parallel chips, chip stacks, manifolds, cartridges or other scale-out architectures.
- Practical understanding of flow distribution, hydraulic resistance, pressure balancing, channel-to-channel uniformity, tolerance accumulation and device-to-device variation.
- Experience translating a single-channel, single-chip or proof-of-concept device into a repeatable scale-up or scale-out design.
- Experience selecting materials and fabrication methods for prototype and production-stage devices.
- Ability to design and execute experiments using pumps, pressure and flow sensors, tubing, connectors, microscopy, image capture and quantitative analysis.
- Previous product-development or commercialisation experience, ideally moving a device from prototype towards beta testing, manufacturing transfer or customer use.
- Strong technical documentation skills.
- Ability to work independently within a small multidisciplinary product-development team.
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Candidates with different academic or professional qualification pathways will be considered on merit where they can demonstrate the required technical competence and practical experience.
Desirable experience
Experience in one or more of the following would be advantageous:
- Inertial focusing of particulate, cellular or biological suspensions.
- Stainless-steel microfluidic devices or precision-machined fluidic systems.
- Transitioning machined or stainless-steel devices into polymer or single-use formats.
- Injection moulding, CNC micromachining, laser machining, hot embossing, lamination, bonding or precision 3D printing.
- Materials such as COC, COP, PC, PMMA, PEEK, silicone, thermoplastic elastomers, stainless steel or coated surfaces.
- Optical microscopy, high-speed imaging, particle tracking, image analysis, design of experiments or tolerance analysis.
- Cleaning, sterilisation, biocompatibility, extractables and leachables, fouling, adsorption or contamination control.
- Regulated product development, design controls and manufacturing transfer.
Working arrangements
This is a UK-based hybrid role combining:
- Working from home for suitable design, modelling, analysis and documentation activities.
- Working from the UK office or designated UK facilities for laboratory testing, device development and collaboration.
- Regular travel to the uFraction8 site in Poznań, Poland for prototype development, testing and technical collaboration.
- Additional travel to suppliers, manufacturers, partners, laboratories or customer sites when required.
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Because this is a hands-on role, applicants must be willing and able to attend physical work locations for fabrication, assembly, experimental testing, troubleshooting and supplier or manufacturing activities.
A company laptop will be provided.
Right to work and international mobility
Applicants must already have full legal authorisation to work in the United Kingdom.
uFraction8 cannot provide UK visa sponsorship. Applications from candidates who currently require, or expect to require, UK sponsorship cannot be considered.
The role requires regular international travel and effective mobility between the United Kingdom, Poland and other locations. Applicants must therefore be willing and able to travel internationally and should have minimal visa restrictions that could materially limit business travel.
Where required for work at the Poznań site, uFraction8 will sponsor and support the appropriate Polish work permit.
Candidate profile
We are looking for someone who is:
- Practical and experimental.
- Comfortable personally building, testing and debugging devices.
- Strong in fluidics, materials and scale-up.
- Able to convert successful prototypes into repeatable, manufacturable systems.
- Technically independent, structured, adaptable and collaborative.
How to apply
Please submit your CV with a brief technical description of a relevant microfluidic device or product that you personally designed, built, tested, parallelised, scaled or transferred towards manufacture. Your example should explain:
- Your personal contribution.
- The materials and fabrication methods used.
- Any use of stainless steel, precision-machined materials, polymers or plastics.
- Any parallel channels, multiple chips, manifolds, chip stacks, cartridges or other scale-out architecture.
- How flow uniformity, pressure distribution, tolerances and repeatability were assessed.
- The main technical problems encountered and how they were resolved.
Please also confirm that you:
- Have full authorisation to work in the UK without sponsorship.
- Can undertake hybrid and hands-on, on-site work.
- Can travel regularly between the UK and Poznań.
- Can undertake international business travel with minimal visa restrictions.
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