{"id":3932394,"url":"https://alion.io/job/sarmal-principal-mechanical-engineer","title":"Principal Mechanical Engineer","company":{"id":4472877,"name":"Sarmal","domain":"sarmal.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/sarmal","size_band":"11-50","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Lever","truth_index":null},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["San Diego, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":165000,"max":200000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":200000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":12,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Design History File","optional":false},{"name":"GD&T","optional":false},{"name":"SolidWorks","optional":false},{"name":"Design Controls","optional":true},{"name":"GMP","optional":true},{"name":"ISO 13485","optional":true},{"name":"PCR","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-08-13T21:03:05Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-08-13","last_verified_at":"2026-11-08T18:39:43Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":87,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":87},"description":"Company Overview\nSarmal, Inc. is a San Diego-based biotechnology company developing next-generation genomics and molecular detection platforms. Our work integrates molecular biology, chemistry, and advanced systems engineering to enable faster, more precise, and more accessible genomic insights.\nWe are a highly collaborative, R&D-driven team operating in a fast-paced, early-stage environment. Our scientists and engineers work across disciplines to solve complex technical challenges and translate innovation into scalable, real-world applications.\nAt Sarmal, we value scientific rigor, curiosity, and a builder mindset. We are looking for individuals who are energized by ambiguity, motivated by impact, and excited to help bring breakthrough technologies from concept to reality.\nAbout the Job\nWe are seeking a Principal Mechanical Engineer to serve as instrument lead for our point-of-care molecular diagnostic platform, owning the mechanical and electromechanical architecture from concept through product launch.\nThis is a hands-on senior individual contributor role. You will personally drive the design of both the instrument and its custom consumable, set the technical direction for outsourced design partners and contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs), and establish the engineering practices that a growing internal hardware team will build on. The role operates with a high degree of independence, with the opportunity to scope and grow internal engineering capability as the platform matures. This is an on-site position based in San Diego, California.\nKey Responsibilities\nTranslate assay, biological, and user requirements into robust mechanical and electromechanical hardware architectures; define product requirements and subsystem specifications for fluidics-based instrumentation.\n\nServe as the technical lead for instrument development from concept through design transfer, product launch, and sustaining support.\n\nLead and support the design and integration of fluidic components, motion and actuation systems, thermal modules, optical interfaces, and the mechatronic and electrical systems that tie them together.\n\nLead the design of custom consumables and disposable cartridges, including fluidic routing, valving, sealing, and the registration and alignment mechanisms that define the instrument-to-consumable interface.\n\nDevelop precise thermal modules for amplification and thermal cycling, heating and cooling management, and automated motion systems.\n\nPerform hands-on design and build of breadboard systems, functional prototypes, and reliability test stations.\n\nApply analysis methods such as FEA, CFD, GD&T, and tolerance stack-up analysis to guide and de-risk designs.\n\nOwn and manage outsourced design partnerships, CDMOs, and key technology vendors, including scope definition, design reviews, milestone acceptance, and technical escalation.\n\nDrive DFM and DFA across injection molding, machining, joining, and automated assembly processes, and support pilot builds and transfer to manufacturing.\n\nDefine and support design verification testing at the system and subsystem level, including reliability, durability, and environmental testing.\n\nAuthor and maintain design inputs and outputs, risk analyses, and design history file content as the platform advances from research use toward a regulated in vitro diagnostic product.\n\nDrive alignment with molecular biology, assay development, software, and manufacturing counterparts; mentor engineers and help define the internal hardware function as the team grows.\n\nQualifications\nRequired Qualifications\nProven track record of designing reliable electro-mechanical, fluidic, optical and thermal systems throughout the product development life cycle, from concept to product launch to sustaining support\n\nExperience with designs for fluidically driven systems, preferably for microfluidic applications in the life science, molecular diagnostic, or point-of-care fields\n\nDemonstrated experience designing or supporting custom consumables and their associated registration and alignment mechanisms\n\nWorking fluency across fluidic, optical, mechatronic, and electrical systems sufficient to own system-level architecture and integration decisions\n\nProven track record with design for manufacturability, with a working understanding of a variety of manufacturing processes including injection molding, machining, and automated assembly\n\nFluency in SolidWorks CAD, with strong command of GD&T and tolerance stack-up analysis\n\nStrong collaboration skills and demonstrated experience directing vendors, outsource design partners, and CDMOs, with accountability for their technical deliverables\n\nComfort operating as a hands-on individual contributor in an early-stage environment, with the judgment to determine what to build internally versus outsource\n\nExcellent written and oral communication skills\n\nPreferred Qualifications\nExperience applying FEA and CFD tools to thermal, fluid, and structural analysis\n\nExperience developing medical devices or in vitro diagnostics under FDA design controls and ISO 13485, and/or familiarity with cGMP manufacturing environments\n\nExperience with point-of-care or near-patient instrument constraints, including size, cost, usability, and robustness outside of a laboratory setting\n\nExperience with nucleic acid amplification instrumentation (PCR or isothermal) or automated sample preparation\n\nExperience with manufacturing systems and workflows, pilot production, and design transfer\n\nExperience mentoring engineers or standing up an internal engineering function\n\nEducation & Experience\nB.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related field with 12+ years of industry experience within product development or new product introduction organizations. An equivalent combination of education and directly applicable industry experience will also be considered.\nBenefits & Perks\nSarmal offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits package, including:\nMedical, dental, and vision coverage\nCompany-paid life insurance\n401(k) retirement plan\nGenerous paid time off\nAccess to additional voluntary benefits, employee perks, and discount programs\nWe are committed to supporting the well-being of our employees and providing a strong foundation for both professional and personal success.","description_format":"text","description_chars":6343,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":12,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Life insurance","Retirement plans"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Biotechnology"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-11-08T02:43:28Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":11,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.405,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":86,"expected_fill_days":26,"reasons":["conf:3","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-11-08T05:47:12Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":200000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/sarmal-principal-mechanical-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/sarmal-principal-mechanical-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-08T22:36:10Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":47170,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-09T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":4472877},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=4472877"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fsarmal-principal-mechanical-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":2,"usd":0.2},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fsarmal-principal-mechanical-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fsarmal-principal-mechanical-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/sarmal-principal-mechanical-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fsarmal-principal-mechanical-engineer"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3932394}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"sarmal.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3932394},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. 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