Staff R&D Mechanical Engineer, Robotics

Workplace Type: Hybrid, on-site in Santa Cruz an average of 4-days per week

At Capstan Medical, we’re building one of the most exciting and innovative companies in medtech-developing a first-of-its-kind robotic platform for minimally invasive heart valve treatment. Our team combines surgical robotics, catheter-based delivery, and next-generation implants to transform complex procedures into safer, lower-stress solutions for patients and clinicians alike. As a highly collaborative, hands-on team, we move fast, wear multiple hats, and believe the best ideas can come from anyone.

Based in Santa Cruz, our unique workspace blends cutting-edge Bay Area innovation with a lifestyle-driven environment near trails, beaches, and open space-creating the perfect place to do meaningful, career-defining work.

The Opportunity:

We are building a novel medical robotic application, bringing together an exciting set of hardware and software into an elegant product. We are looking for someone who can take a mechanical system of the robot design from initial concept all the way to product.

What You’ll Do:

• Collaborate with Manufacturing and Clinical teams for feedback on designs, incorporating this feedback into quick and effective design iterations. Lead and set direction for mechanical design efforts, owning cross-functional mechanical deliverables and technical strategy
• Participate in building and bringing up prototype robotic systems and support all things mechanical in their pre-clinical lab use.
• Align individual work to best support company goals. Proactively identify cross-functional risks and lead resolution strategies in collaboration with key stakeholders
• Document and communicate learnings on design manufacturability and reliability to the broader hardware team, mentoring others in best practices and scalable design approaches
• Document and communicate your work through design reviews and as appropriate released documents as part of the product development process
• Identify gaps and pitch in as needed to ensure that the team meets their goals and objectives, driving alignment across teams when priorities conflict
• Provide mentorship to the team on best practices and design strategies, and be a valuable partner in design collaboration and reviews.

What You’ll Need:

• BS in Mechanical Engineering or related engineering discipline, or equivalent work experience
• Expecting 8+ years of relevant experience (medical device experience preferred)
• Comfort working with high levels of ambiguity and an ability to convert that into tangible outcomes
• Experience with designing, manufacturing transfer, and shipping of medical device capital equipment or equivalent complexity systems
• Understanding of sensor and actuator selection.
• Experience with medical device (or equivalent) development process, design control, design verification, and regulatory processes
• Ability to work in a hybrid work environment, working onsite in Santa Cruz on average 4 days a week

Ways To Stand Out:

• Experience with the full commercial lifecycle from concept through reacting to and addressing field issues with your designs.
• Skills with Python or Matlab for data analysis, simulation, and interacting with robotic equipment.
• Excessive nerdiness about manufacturing, mechanisms, robots, or any other adjacencies.

Why Join Us:

• We offer a fun, fast-paced, collaborative environment where you will be working on transformational technologies in the cardiac healthcare space.
• We offer outstanding benefits with medical, dental, and vision covered at 100% for you and your family, as well as flex time off.
• We thrive in our work-hard, play-hard environment. Bring your bike or running shoes if you’d like or just be ready to enjoy a fun office outing. We enjoy time inside the office and out!