Senior Mechanical Engineer

Whelix builds intelligent robots that automate the cell culture process for biotech and pharmaceutical research. We are seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to own the mechanical design of our robotic platforms and lead the move from engineering builds to standardized, production-ready systems. This is a full-time, senior individual-contributor role in Boston, MA (on-site), reporting to the CTO, with travel to customer labs.

You will own the mechanical design of our robots, from motion systems, the deck and its automation modules to enclosures, safety interlocks, and cable, hose and wiring management. You will work with a mechanical engineer and an assembly technician, our electrical and software engineers, outside wiring and fabrication partners, and the scientists who use the machine.

Whelix builds intelligent robots that automate wet lab work, starting with cell culture, for biotech and pharmaceutical research. By integrating AI agents with proprietary engineered robotics, our systems eliminate repetitive, error-prone workflows, freeing scientists to focus on discovery while increasing experimental throughput, reproducibility, and scientific impact. Based in Boston, Whelix is deploying systems into pharmaceutical, biotech and academic labs today and actively scaling up production to serve more customers.

What you'll do

• Standardize our platform designs for production, with drawing packages, tolerances and GD&T that vendors can build from and consistent quality from unit to unit
• Engineer for reliability in continuous lab operation: robust motion, cable and fluid management, sealing, and a mechanical safety design with guarding, interlocked doors and the E-stop chain
• Build a modular architecture with shared interfaces, so new modules and products integrate without custom engineering and stay easy to service in the field
• Lead assembly, integration and validation, and root-cause field and lab failures so they are fixed in the design, not in the field
• Own the BOM, suppliers and lead-time plan, qualify contract manufacturers for the first production batch, and support customer installs (roughly one week per month at peak)

What we're looking for

• 6+ years designing precision electromechanical products, with at least one taken from prototype through production and into customer hands
• Expert CAD user, fluent in tolerance stacks, GD&T and drawing packages
• Motion systems experience: linear axes, belts, screws, bearings, servo and stepper integration, and cable management for moving axes
• Enclosure and safety design: interlocks, guarding, E-stop and the relevant machinery safety standards
• DFM/DFA and supplier management for low-volume production, and comfortable on the floor assembling, measuring and fixing your own designs

Nice to have

• Lab automation, liquid handling, or instruments used in sterile or regulated environments
• Fluidics, thermal or airflow design: pumps, valves, leak-free and cleanable designs, HEPA or UV enclosures
• EtherCAT servo systems or PLC-based motion

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