Senior Research and Prototyping Engineer

Job description

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.