Mechanical Engineer

We are looking for a Mechanical Engineer to support our mechanical and optical engineering teams in designing, prototyping, and building an advanced, ultra-high-speed lithographic printing tool. Working closely with senior engineers, you will contribute to prototyping efforts and help transition prototype designs toward scalable, manufacturable tools. Day-to-day, you will produce tolerance drawings, maintain revision-controlled bills of materials, support design validation and work instructions, and grow your skills across optics, electronics, precision mechanics, and nanofabrication.

This is a hands-on, mentorship-oriented role for an early-career engineer eager to learn quickly, take direction, and take on more ownership over time in a fast-paced deep-tech environment.

• Support tool build and alignment. Assist senior engineers in assembling, aligning, and troubleshooting mechanical and opto-mechanical subsystems in our advanced lithographic tools, and help implement corrective design improvements.

• Produce design documentation. Create and revise component and assembly drawings, apply GD&T, build tolerance stack-ups, and maintain bills of materials under senior engineers' guidance. Help prepare and submit documentation for revision control.

• Prototype tools and fixtures. Help design, build, and test fixtures, tooling, and opto-mechanical parts for internal and customer projects, including hands-on prototyping with CNC and 3D manufacturing.

• Contribute to analysis. Support tolerance, structural, thermal, and sensitivity analyses that keep tool performance within acceptable limits and learn to evaluate and apply active-alignment approaches.

• Support continuous improvement. As a member of the engineering team, contribute to engineering workflows, design standards, and lab infrastructure.

• Assist with vendors. Help source standard and custom optical and mechanical components and support existing supplier relationships.

• Education. Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering, or a closely related field.

• Experience. 0 - 2 years of relevant experience. Internship, co-op, or substantial academic project experience in mechanical design and hands-on build is welcome in place of full-time experience.

• CAD. Working proficiency with CAD software such as Solid Works, Fusion 360, Inventor, Autodesk Netfabb, or equivalent (coursework or project experience counts).

• Engineering fundamentals. A solid grounding in mechanical design fundamentals - drawing practices, GD&T, and tolerancing.

• Hands-on machining or fabrication experience (CNC, 3D printing, or additive manufacturing). Enthusiasm for lab work - prototype assembly, testing, and system troubleshooting.

• Communication. Clear written and verbal communication and the ability to collaborate in a multidisciplinary team.

• Analytical scripting. Familiarity with Python, MATLAB, or a similar language for process automation and data analysis.

• Learning mindset. An eagerness to learn, take direction, and grow in a fast-paced R&D environment.

• Exposure to optical, imaging, microscopy, or laser systems and optical component design or test.

• Familiarity with optical modeling and design tools such as Zemax or equivalent.

• Experience with electrical, mechanical, or thermal simulation.

• Experience using Asana for project and task management.

• Coursework or background in aerospace, automotive, medical, or metrology device manufacturing.

The salary range for this role is $85,000 - $100,000, and we are committed to equitable compensation across the company. Total compensation includes equity in the form of stock options. We administer benefits through Thatch, providing an annual company-funded allowance that gives employees the flexibility to choose the health plans and coverage that best fit their needs. We also offer a standard four-week vacation policy and encourage folks to take regular, meaningful PTO.

Irradiant Technologies is a nano-optics and photonics foundry building unique 3D nanofabricated components, traditionally difficult or impossible to manufacture. Using two-photon polymerization additive manufacturing, we create micro-optics and passive optical interconnects that change how light is used to sense, communicate, image, display, and compute across defense and commercial markets. With our ongoing Series A fund raise, we are scaling from R&D to production and expanding our engineering team to…