Own the fluid path system at the heart of a machine already working inside major US biotechs, with the part design, tooling, joining, suppliers and validation all sitting with you. Next year, cells grown on this kit are due to go into Parkinson's patients.
A London based company automating human cell culture, the most manual job left in biotech. Its machines run inside multibillion dollar biotechs on both US coasts. The engineers come from Dyson, Formlabs and Cambridge Consultants, working alongside scientists from Imperial, Cambridge and UCL. Three mechanical engineers redesigned the whole machine in five weeks.
The role
The system is a set of single-use consumables, meso-scale fluid paths, connectors, manifolds, valves and seals, made in thousands rather than millions. You'll take them from concept through tooling to validated production, choose and prove the joining and sealing methods, design the elastomer parts, and build the test rigs that show the hundredth part works as well as the first. You'll pick the suppliers, set the process with them, and work in sprints alongside two or three other mechanical engineers, with electronics and software close by.
You'd set how a whole domain gets designed at a company with product in market, and help grow the early-career engineers around you. As consumables grow, there's scope to build a team under you.
What you'll need A track record of designing high-volume injection moulded plastic parts and taking them through tooling to validated production, with the DFM, tooling and cavitation decisions made by you.
Hands-on experience of leak-tight assemblies, welded, bonded or overmoulded, where the choice of joining technology was yours.
Something you designed that's in real use, and evidence it worked at more than prototype quantities.
Experience managing suppliers and bringing new ones up to speed quickly, at volumes of thousands of parts rather than millions.
The details Reporting to the Hardware Lead, in a hardware team of around eight
Based in the Imperial College innovation hub, White City
Supplier and contract manufacturer visits as needed
Start: ASAP
Company pension
Lunch covered every day
24 days holiday plus bank holidays
What it isn't
This isn't a big, structured medtech with a process for everything. Development runs under ISO 9001, the regulated quality system sits with production, and decisions often get made before every answer is in. It moves fast and the days are full. Nobody clocks in, but the hardware lives in the lab, so most of the team are in most days and you'll want to live within easy reach of White City. If you like making the call, building in a fallback and getting parts to customers fast, that's the point.
If this sounds like your next move, click Apply and we'll be in touch.
Senior Mechanical Design Engineer in Southall employer: Kodu
Vax is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters innovation and collaboration in Droitwich. As a Project Lead, you will benefit from competitive compensation, including an annual bonus and generous holiday allowance, while being part of a team dedicated to rebuilding product development with a focus on curiosity-led design. With opportunities for professional growth and a supportive environment, Vax is committed to empowering its employees to drive meaningful change in the floor care industry.
