# Principal Hardware Engineer, Precision Instrumentation

**Company:** [Astera](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/astera)
**Location:** Emeryville, CA
**Role:** Hardware Engineering
**Salary:** $200k – $350k/yr
**Experience:** 7+ years
**Skills:** Mechanical Design, Precision Machining, Electronics Design, Optics, Cad/Cam, Cnc Machining, 3D Printing, Pcb Layout, Embedded Systems, Data Acquisition Systems, Optical Alignment, Precision Motion
**Posted:** 2026-06-29

> Design and build custom precision hardware systems (mechanical, electronic, optical) for large-scale neural experiments, owning instruments end-to-end from concept to reliable operation. Principal-level role also involves equipping the prototyping facility, mentoring engineers, and setting hardware engineering standards.

## Job Description

## What You Will Build
- Precision mechanical systems for experiments, such as titanium microfixtures, micrometer-precision electrode drives, and custom machined jigs.
- Components for custom microscopes and optical systems, including alignment and mounting hardware.
- Custom laboratory instrumentation and surgical or experimental robotics, designed and iterated alongside the scientists who depend on them.
- Electronics and control hardware that interface mechanical systems with data acquisition and the rest of the research stack.
- The design and prototyping facility itself: tooling, workflows, and fabrication capabilities that determine how fast the team can move.

## What We Are Looking For
- A world-class generalist and hands-on problem-solver who has built precision hardware in a high-precision industry, ideally medical devices, robotics, aerospace, semiconductor capital equipment, or commercial scientific instrumentation.
- You have designed and built hardware that other people relied on for real work, and you kept it running.
- Resourcefulness about getting things built quickly: you will machine one part, 3D-print the next, and send a job out for what is better outsourced.
- Comfort working from a rough idea rather than a finished spec, figuring out the path to a working instrument together with the people who need it.
- Deep fundamentals in mechanical design and fabrication, with real working ability in electronics or optics. You do not restrict yourself to what is familiar.
- Intellectually curious, collaborative, and eager to learn the science around you.
- A track record of owning complex instruments end-to-end, from concept through fabrication, integration, and reliable operation.
- Experience making and defending design tradeoffs across performance, manufacturability, cost, and timeline.
- Experience equipping and running a workshop, makerspace, or prototyping facility.
- A history of mentoring engineers or setting engineering culture and standards.

## Bonus
- Experience with small precise parts, difficult materials, tight tolerances, precision motion, or optical alignment.
- Hands-on electronics design (PCB layout, embedded systems, sensor/actuator integration).
- Familiarity with electrophysiology or other low-volume, high-complexity hardware environments.
- CAD/CAM proficiency with hands-on machining (CNC, lathe, mill) and 3D printing.
- Experience integrating hardware with data acquisition systems (DAQ, TTL synchronization, serial/SPI protocols).

## Education
Backgrounds in mechanical, electrical, or biomedical engineering, physics, or related fields are all welcome. Graduate work or research experience is a plus but not required.

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