Contract Manufacturing Engineer

Contract Manufacturing Engineer 💰 Open hourly rate 📅 6–12 month contract - 40 hours per week 📍 Onsite in Los Angeles, CAA US bio-manufacturing space start-up is hiring a Microfluidics Manufacturing Engineer to stand up its in-house production of rigid thermoplastic microfluidic devices. You’ll own the process end to end, from raw polymer and CNC micro-machining through to diffusion bonding, assembly and functional test, and turn it into a repeatable, standardized small-batch production line.This is an immediate need. They want a hands-on builder who has done thermal/diffusion bonding of engineering plastics for real, knows where it goes wrong, and can get it running reliably without being walked through it. No space background needed. Process knowledge is what matters.🔧 What you’ll be doingBuild and own an in-house thermal/diffusion bonding process for multi-layer rigid thermoplastic microfluidic devicesDesign, build and commission custom equipment: heated/pneumatic/hydraulic presses, vacuum enclosures, alignment jigs and workholdingProgram, set up and run CNC mills/routers to machine micron-scale fluidic features in engineering plasticsDevelop cleaning, deburring, drying and surface activation protocols (plasma, ultrasonic) for zero-particulate, high-yield assembliesUse DOE and metrology to root-cause defects such as channel deformation, warpage, voids and bond delaminationRun QC and functional testing: burst pressure, leak testing, flow-resistance and optical inspectionSpec and bring online new equipment as throughput grows, and write clear SOPs✅ What you’ll needDegree in Mechanical, Plastics, Materials or Biomedical Engineering, or equivalent hands-on industrial experienceDirect, hands-on experience with thermal/diffusion bonding or welding of rigid engineering plastics (COC, COP, PC, PMMA, PEI)Strong practical understanding of polymer behavior: Tg, creep, moisture absorption and thermal expansionCAM programming (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Mastercam or similar) and hands-on CNC operation for plasticsBuilding custom rigs with heaters, thermocouples, PID controllers, load cells, pneumatics and vacuumMicron-scale inspection with optical microscopy, profilometry or CMM, and a data-driven approach to process workA true builder who’d rather be at the bench than behind a slide deck⭐ Nice to haveBackground at a job shop or production company specializing in diffusion bondingUltra-precision plastic machining (single-flute/PCD/MCD tooling, porous vacuum chucking)Plasma surface treatment and contact-angle characterizationISO 7/8 cleanroom setup and contamination-free part handlingTaking a medical device, diagnostic cartridge or life science consumable from prototype to pilot manufacturing📩 Interested? Click apply with an updated copy of your resume. I’ll come back to you within 48 hours. If you don’t hear back within 48 hours, please assume you haven’t been successful on this occasion.