Principal Machine Engineer

About OPT Industries

OPT Industries develops a new class of manufacturing systems for producing metamaterials and precision components. Our platform combines roll-to-roll processing and photolithography to manufacture products across industry verticals.

The Role

We are hiring a Lead Machine Engineer to own the build, integration, and validation of our next-generation roll-to-roll manufacturing machines. You will take the machine from design review through assembly, commissioning, and qualification: define acceptance criteria, run the machine to verify it meets specification.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys owning machines end to end, and solving problems hands-on in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Act as OPT's technical owner for the new machine: review architectures and detailed designs, define acceptance criteria, and make sign-off decisions.
• Lead machine assembly, integration, and commissioning through a working prototype.
• Operate the machine against process specifications; characterize and verify performance (web tension and tracking, registration, fluid delivery, uptime).
• Diagnose performance gaps and implement small-to-moderate mechanical design changes in-house — CAD, drawings, fabrication, and retrofit.
• Integrate motors, sensors, optical subsystems, and control hardware with electrical and software teams.
• Develop operating procedures and train production staff as the machine moves toward regular operation.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of mechanical engineering experience in manufacturing machinery, industrial automation, or robotics.
• Hands-on experience building, commissioning, and debugging new equipment — you have brought a machine from parts to production at least once.
• Direct experience with web handling / roll-to-roll systems.
• Experience with fluid handling systems (pumps, tubing, manifolds, filtration, dispensing).
• Proficiency with SolidWorks or similar CAD tools, including drawings for fabrication.
• Experience working with outside engineering firms, consultants, or machine builders.
• Comfort defining test plans and measurements to verify machine performance against specification.
• Experience sourcing components and working with vendors on cost, lead time, and manufacturability.

What We Look For

• Owner mindset: treats the machine as theirs — its performance, its uptime, its improvement.
• Sound engineering judgment: can evaluate someone else's design critically and decide what to accept, what to push back on, and what to fix.
• Practical problem solver who balances engineering rigor with speed and iteration.