Principal Mechanical Engineer

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Principal Mechanical Engineer

Full Time San Diego, CA, US

Salary Range: $175,000.00 To $200,000.00 Annually

We are seeking a Principal Mechanical Engineer to help develop the next generation of Synchron’s implantable medical device technology. This is a highly hands‑on technical leadership role focused on solving challenging mechanical design, materials, packaging, and manufacturing problems at the intersection of miniaturized electronics, polymers, and medical devices .

You will lead the development of novel approaches to overmolding, encapsulation, mechanical packaging, and miniature mechanical systems , taking concepts from early prototypes through design verification and manufacturing readiness. The work requires creativity, strong engineering fundamentals, and a willingness to explore solutions beyond traditional medical-device design approaches.

This is an opportunity to work on technology where mechanical engineering decisions directly enable entirely new device capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead mechanical development of next-generation medical device components and assemblies from concept through verification and transfer to manufacturing.
• Develop innovative overmolding and encapsulation approaches for miniaturized electronic and electromechanical assemblies.
• Design and prototype miniature mechanical systems and deployment mechanisms with challenging dimensional, material, and reliability requirements.
• Evaluate polymers, elastomers, adhesives, coatings, and other materials for mechanical performance, manufacturability, biocompatibility, and long-term reliability.
• Develop mechanical architectures that integrate electronics, flexible components, interconnects, and structural elements within highly constrained form factors.
• Use analytical methods, simulation, prototyping, and benchtop testing to characterize mechanical performance and guide design decisions.
• Identify potential failure modes and drive design improvements through testing, root-cause analysis, and design iteration.
• Partner closely with electrical, microfabrication, systems, manufacturing, quality, and clinical teams.
• Work with external suppliers and manufacturing partners to develop specialized materials, tooling, molding, and fabrication processes.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship while remaining deeply involved in hands‑on engineering and prototyping.
• Develop solutions consistent with medical-device design controls, risk management, verification, and manufacturing requirements.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Significant industry experience developing complex mechanical systems, with experience operating at a Principal, Staff, or equivalent technical leadership level .
• Medical device development experience is required , including experience working within a regulated product-development environment.
• Demonstrated experience designing and developing overmolded, encapsulated, polymer-based, or highly integrated mechanical assemblies .
• Strong understanding of mechanical design, material selection, tolerance analysis, prototyping, and design for manufacturing.
• Experience developing small, mechanically complex systems where packaging, materials, and manufacturing processes are tightly coupled.
• Strong experimental mindset with demonstrated ability to rapidly prototype, test, learn, and iterate.
• Ability to independently tackle ambiguous technical problems and develop novel solutions rather than relying solely on established approaches.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work effectively across highly multidisciplinary engineering teams.

Nice to Have

• Experience developing implantable medical devices or other devices requiring long-term interaction with the body.
• Experience with implantable‑grade polymers, elastomers, adhesives, coatings, or encapsulation systems.
• Experience with micro‑mechanical systems, deployment mechanisms, flexible assemblies, catheters, leads, or other highly constrained medical‑device architectures.
• Knowledge of accelerated aging, mechanical reliability, hermeticity or moisture‑ingress considerations, and long-term material performance.
• Experience developing manufacturing processes involving molding, precision assembly, laser processing, bonding, or other specialized fabrication techniques.