Mechanical Engineer

Position Summary: 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.

What You'll Do:

• 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.

What You'll Bring:

• 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 SolidWorks, 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.

Nice to Have:

• 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.

Compensation & Benefits: 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.

About Irradiant Technologies: 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 deliver robust, integrated photonic systems. We are located in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Equal Employment Opportunity Irradiant Technologies is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team free from discrimination and harassment, and we encourage candidates of any race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran, or disability status to apply. Applicants with a disability are encouraged to contact us with any requests for accommodation.