Mechanical Engineer - Precision Systems

About Atomic Semi

Atomic Semi is building a small, fast semiconductor fab. It’s already possible to build this with today’s technology and a few simplifications. We’ll build the tools ourselves so we can quickly iterate and improve.

We’re building a small team of exceptional, hands‑on engineers to make this happen: mechanical, electrical, hardware, computer, and process. We’ll own the stack from atoms to architecture. Our team is optimistic about the future and we want to continue pushing the limits of technology. Smaller is better. Faster is better. Building it ourselves is better. We believe our team and lab can build anything.

We’ve set up 3D printers, a wide array of microscopes, e‑beam writers, general fabrication equipment – and whatever is missing, we’ll just invent along the way.

Atomic was founded by Sam Zeloof and Jim Keller. Sam is best known for making chips in his garage, and Jim has been a leader in the semiconductor industry for the past 40 years.

The Positioning Team operates on the nanometer scale. We make lithography, metrology and motion systems that pattern, inspect and characterize our chips in order to push our process to lower nodes.

We are seeking a highly skilled and hands‑on Mechanical Engineer to join our team. You will be responsible for designing, prototyping, and building the mechanical systems in our semiconductor fabrication equipment, from stages and frames up to complete systems.

This role is for someone who has internalized precision machine design as a discipline and has a proven track record of rapidly prototyping complex precision systems and advancing them to the next stage of production. Our philosophy is to get things built and tested in days or weeks, not months. Therefore a portfolio is generally required to apply: show us the things you’ve actually built!

• Design and iterate on precision machines, motion stages, structural loops, metrology frames, opto‑mechanical mounts, test fixtures, and inspection tooling targeting sub‑micron to nanometer performance
• Lead mechanical system integration, alignment procedures, and cross‑team coordination with electrical, controls, and optics engineers
• Drive mechanical design of frames, stages, and assemblies with GD&T, tolerance analysis, and a practical eye toward manufacturability and assembly
• Rapidly prototype, build and characterize new designs on the bench using a variety of tools and characterization equipment
• Select and integrate precision components: bearings, encoders, interferometers, actuators, isolators, and dampers
• Develop error budgets and tolerance stack‑ups; identify and mitigate dominant error sources (thermal, vibrational, structural, kinematic)

• 3 years designing and building precision mechanical systems that had to hit real accuracy and repeatability targets
• Working fluency in precision machine design fundamentals: exact‑constraint design, kinematic couplings, flexures, error budgeting, structural loops, tolerance analysis
• Hands‑on prototyping, fabrication, assembly, and alignment experience – you’re comfortable on a mill, on a granite surface plate, and behind an interferometer
• Experience selecting and integrating precision components (bearings, stages, encoders, isolators, actuators)
• Experience with dimensional metrology: interferometry, LVDTs, capacitance probes, autocollimators, and CMMs

• Formal training in precision engineering
• Experience at an early‑stage startup
• Familiarity with firmware, controls, or electrical engineering
• Opto‑mechanical design and alignment experience

We’re an early‑stage hardware startup with solid funding, world‑class advisors, and offices in Austin, TX and San Francisco, CA.