Senior Research and Prototyping Engineer
Arcturus · Los Angeles
About Arcturus
Arcturus is creating a new wire technology stack that uses carbon nanomaterials to overcome the materials limitations of metals where performance breaks down, at real operating temperatures. Our technology is designed to significantly improve the performance of electric motors for drones and robotics, heat sinks, and ultimately the entire energy grid. At its core, Arcturus is developing a new class of carbon nanomaterial-infused metal matrix composites for high-performance conductor applications.
Why you should join us
This is a ground-floor opportunity to help build something that has never been done before.
You would join as an early technical hire and work closely with Arcturus’ technical leads across nanomaterials, additive manufacturing, process engineering, and product development. This is a hands-on role for someone who loves building, testing, debugging, and moving quickly. You will help turn ideas, sketches, and experimental needs into real hardware, test systems, fixtures, and data.
Purpose
We are seeking a research, prototyping, and test engineer who can be a force multiplier for the technical team. This person will help design, build, assemble, instrument, and test the hardware Arcturus needs to move from early materials development toward repeatable prototypes and pilot-ready systems.
The ideal candidate is a practical, hands-on engineer who is strong in CAD, comfortable with mechanical design and fabrication, and capable of doing electrical engineering work when needed (ie. wiring, basic circuits) along with handling sensors, data acquisition, and test setups. You should be the kind of person who can take an ambiguous technical need, figure out what needs to be built, and get it working.
The role
This role will report directly to the Lead Engineers and the CEO.
Design, build, assemble, and iterate on prototypes, test fixtures, sample holders, experimental rigs, and lab hardware
Work with technical leads to translate experimental needs into practical hardware, fixtures, test setups, and build plans
Create CAD designs for parts, fixtures, assemblies, tooling, and test infrastructure, ideally using Onshape
Build and modify mechanical systems using machining, 3D printing, off-the-shelf components, vendor parts, and hands-on fabrication methods
Support electrical test setups, including wiring, sensors, circuits, power supplies, data acquisition, and basic control systems
Build, align, and troubleshoot laser and optical test setups, including lenses, mounts, focal distance, working distance, spot size, beam path alignment, and practical resolution constraints
Build and support experimental gas-flow and vacuum setups for CVD/LCVD-style experiments, including chambers, pumps, fittings, gas lines, flow control, laminar flow considerations, thermal profiles, and precursor delivery
Help build test systems for electrical, thermal, mechanical, and environmental evaluation of Arcturus materials and conductor prototypes
Instrument test setups with sensors, thermocouples, cameras, DAQ systems, microcontrollers, or other measurement tools as needed
Debug hardware, test rigs, electrical setups, and experimental systems when things do not work as expected
Support sample preparation, prototype assembly, test execution, data collection, and documentation
Help maintain an organized, functional, and fast-moving lab environment
Work with vendors, machine shops, suppliers, and external partners to source parts, fabricate components, and keep projects moving
Document designs, test setups, procedures, lessons learned, and build notes clearly enough for others to repeat and improve them
Basic qualifications
BS, MS, or PhD in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mechatronics, manufacturing engineering, materials science, physics, or a related technical field
3+ years of hands-on experience in prototyping, test engineering, hardware engineering, product development, lab engineering, or a similar role
Strong CAD skills, with the ability to design parts, fixtures, assemblies, and test hardware from scratch
Hands-on mechanical aptitude and experience building, assembling, troubleshooting, and improving physical systems
Ability to do practical electrical engineering work, including wiring, circuits, sensors, instrumentation, and basic data acquisition
Experience taking ambiguous technical requirements and turning them into working hardware
Strong attention to detail, high ownership, and comfort working in a fast-moving startup environment
Clear technical documentation skills, including build notes, test procedures, design revisions, and experimental summaries
Preferred qualifications
Experience with Onshape
Experience with prototyping in a hardware startup, research lab, advanced manufacturing environment, or product development team
Experience building test fixtures or instrumentation for electrical, thermal, mechanical, or materials testing
Familiarity with Python, Arduino, Raspberry Pi, LabVIEW, MATLAB, or other tools used for test automation and data collection
Experience with sensors, DAQ systems, thermocouples, power supplies, high-current testing, resistance measurements, or thermal measurement systems
Experience working with metal parts, conductors, motors, heat sinks, additive manufacturing, machining, or lab-scale manufacturing equipment
Comfortable coordinating with vendors, machine shops, and external fabrication partners
What we offer
Competitive cash compensation and meaningful equity
Hands-on ownership over critical prototypes, test systems, and experimental infrastructure
The chance to help build the hardware foundation for nanomaterial-enhanced conductors
The opportunity to work closely with senior technical leaders on first-of-its-kind materials and manufacturing challenges
Relocation support for candidates moving from outside the Los Angeles area
If this role excites you, even if you do not check every box, we’d love to hear from you. We’d rather work with a fast learner who cares deeply about the work than someone with years of experience but little curiosity.
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