R&D Prototyping & Validation Engineer to own our prototype development and testing function end to end: turning early concepts into functional, instrumented prototypes, and generating the validation data that drives design decisions.
This is a high-ownership role for a self-directed engineer who's equally comfortable with mechanical design, electromechanical builds, embedded data acquisition, and structured experimentation. You'll work closely with leadership and an industrial designer out of our Boston-area office, and coordinate regularly with our manufacturing team in China.
What You'll Do
Prototyping & Design
Act as technical prototyping lead for new features and major design changes — reviewing concepts, defining success metrics and expected behavior, and building the first mechanical and electromechanical prototypes.
Run rapid iteration using in-house FDM 3D printing, hand-tool fabrication, and model refinement.
Manage and maintain multiple FDM printers, scheduling jobs to keep prototyping throughput high.
Work across large, complex multi-part assemblies from varied sources and completion states, validating clearances and tolerances.
Testing & Validation
Design experiments with clearly defined variables, controls, and measured outcomes, following incremental, data-driven design principles.
Build and maintain performance, durability, and power-consumption test fixtures and instrumentation, including rigs aligned to relevant ASTM and IEC standards.
Build embedded data acquisition systems (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, ESP32) integrating load cells, differential pressure transducers, and power/flow instrumentation for synchronized multi-channel capture.
Capture qualitative test behavior using controlled slow-motion video and lighting.
Data, Documentation & Communication
Process, analyze, and visualize experiment data; build Python and Excel tools that let interns and engineers run experiments and generate reportable results independently.
Present validation-backed design recommendations to leadership to guide which concepts move forward.
Author clear documentation, change logs, and test records, and keep procedures and design data in sync between the Boston and Suzhou teams.
Interpret market research and consumer insights and translate them into design and functional requirements.
Stay available for occasional urgent prototype repairs ahead of client demos.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field, or equivalent hands-on experience.
Strong electromechanical prototyping skills — designing, fabricating, and assembling functional prototypes by hand.
Proficiency in 3D CAD (SolidWorks preferred) for detailed part and assembly design.
Advanced FDM 3D printing experience, including printer maintenance and print-job management.
Hands-on experience building embedded sensor/DAQ systems with Arduino, Raspberry Pi, or similar.
Experience planning and running structured experiments using design-of-experiments (DOE) principles, plus managing and visualizing the resulting data.
Programming ability for data pipelines and automation (Python and Excel/VBA).
Ability to read, interpret, and apply ASTM and IEC standards to designs and test methods.
Strong technical communication — documentation, change logs, and design-review presentations.
Self-directed, comfortable owning a function with minimal oversight.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience in consumer product development — vacuum, airflow, or fluid-handling products a plus.
Familiarity with sealing systems and elastomeric components (directional flanges, sliding/compression configurations) under pressure differential.
Experience with design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) and modular, design-for-disassembly methods.
Experience sourcing prototype parts from external vendors (SLS, CNC, sheet metal, soft tooling) and handing off validated CAD/data packages to a contract manufacturer.
Experience coordinating with overseas engineering or manufacturing teams.
Experience mentoring or managing interns or junior engineers.
Apply
Success!
Your application was successfully sent!