Work Schedule
Standard (Mon-Fri)
Environmental Conditions
Office
Job Description
Discover Impactful Work
Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Genetic Sciences Division develops life-science platforms integrating instruments, consumables, assays, software and data.
We are seeking a Staff Engineer in Consumables & Microfluidics to lead the design and commercialization of next-generation consumables for molecular biology, genetic-analysis and sample-to-answer workflows. This individual will integrate fluid handling, materials, reagents and instrument interfaces while meeting requirements for scientific performance, usability, manufacturability, reliability and cost.
This role requires demonstrated success taking microfluidic consumables beyond prototypes into commercially manufactured products. The successful candidate will combine creativity and hands-on engineering with practical knowledge of suppliers, tooling, manufacturing processes and unit economics.
Location
This is a fully onsite role based at our Pleasanton, CA facility. Relocation assistance is not provided for this position.
What You’ll Do
Develop Consumable and Microfluidic Architectures
Lead the design of consumables, cartridges and microfluidic systems for molecular biology and sample-preparation workflows.
Translate customer and scientific workflows into fluidic functions, consumable requirements and interface definitions.
Develop architectures incorporating fluid transport, metering, mixing, thermal control, sealing, reagent storage and waste management.
Lead concept generation, prototyping, modeling and trade studies across materials, mechanisms and form factors.
Optimize interactions among consumables, assays, reagents, instruments, automation and users.
Evaluate concepts based on scientific performance, customer experience, manufacturability, scalability and unit cost.
Balance consumable complexity with instrument functionality to achieve the best system and business outcome.
Advance Materials and Manufacturing Innovation
Evaluate polymers, adhesives, coatings, membranes and other materials for chemical, biological, optical and mechanical compatibility.
Develop solutions using processes such as injection molding, thermoforming, bonding, lamination, precision assembly and reagent integration.
Identify new materials, surface treatments and manufacturing technologies that enable differentiated capabilities.
Apply design-for-manufacturing, assembly, automation and inspection principles from early development.
Set design-to-cost targets and define critical-to-quality characteristics, tolerances and process requirements.
Ensure innovative concepts can be manufactured reliably and economically at commercial scale.
Lead Commercialization and Supplier Partnerships
Lead development from feasibility through tooling, process development, design transfer and commercial launch.
Validate manufacturing, scale and cost assumptions before significant design or tooling commitments.
Develop production concepts addressing tooling, equipment, cycle time, inspection, yield and quality controls.
Identify and evaluate suppliers based on technical capability, quality, capacity, cost and supply resilience.
Build effective relationships with contract manufacturers, tooling partners and specialized technology providers.
Partner with Operations and suppliers to improve yield, control variation and achieve target cost.
Make evidence-based trade-offs involving performance, COGS, capital investment and manufacturing risk.
Resolve issues involving materials, tooling, processes, consumable lots and supplier variation.
Enable Integrated and Automated Workflows
Design consumables as part of complete sample-to-answer systems—not standalone components.
Partner with systems, assay, instrument and automation teams to define interfaces and operating conditions.
Develop architectures supporting robotic handling, liquid handling and automated execution.
Improve workflow simplicity, contamination control, sample…