R&D Engineer, Droplet Handling and Automation (Biohub Chicago)

The Team

The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago (https://www.czbiohub.org/chi) is an independent nonprofit research institute that brings together three powerhouse universities - Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign - into a single collaborative technology and discovery engine. CZ Biohub itself supports some of the brightest, boldest engineers, data scientists, and biomedical researchers to make breakthroughs in medicine and develop new technologies, frequently in collaboration with our partner universities. We are guided by our values of scholarly excellence; disruptive innovation; hands-on engineering/hacking/building; partnership and collaboration; open communication and respect; inclusiveness; and opportunity for all.

Our Vision

• We pursue large scientific challenges that cannot be pursued in conventional environments
• We enable individual investigators to pursue their riskiest and most innovative ideas
• The technologies developed at CZ Biohub Chicago facilitate research by scientists and clinicians at our home institutions and beyond

Diversity of thought, ideas, and perspectives are at the heart of CZ Biohub Network and enable disruptive innovation and scholarly excellence. We are committed to cultivating an organization where all colleagues feel inspired and know their work makes an important contribution.

The Opportunity

The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago is seeking exceptional engineers with backgrounds in robotics, microfluidics, automation engineering, and/or mechatronics, to join our growing team as R&D Engineer. For this position, we are looking for candidates with a focus on developing automated droplet handling systems to enable the precise collection, processing, and analysis of biofluid droplets derived from advanced in vitro 3D tissue models.

The ideal candidate will have experience in:

• Designing, prototyping, and automating microsystems for high-precision liquid collection, transfer and analysis.
• Microfluidics or robotics techniques, particularly for small-volume biofluid transfers (0.05 - 2 µL).

R&D Engineer at CZ Biohub Chicago are embedded in generously funded, interdisciplinary teams and are expected to contribute hands-on to research and technology development. Engineers collaborate closely with scientists and postdoctoral fellows to accelerate discovery, diagnostics, and therapeutic strategies aligned with the Biohub’s mission.

What You'll Do

• Design, prototype and implement systems for biofluid droplet collection, transfer, downstream analysis.
• Develop automation and control workflows for precision liquid handling at micro- to nanoliter scales.
• Collaborate with Biohub teams to scale and integrate engineering platforms for spatiotemporal biological analysis.
• Disseminate research findings via publications, preprints (e.g., bioRxiv, medRxiv), and open-source repositories (e.g., GitHub).
• Uphold the Biohub’s values of open science, teamwork, and scholarly excellence.

What You'll Bring

Essential - 

• MS in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, or a related field.
• Minimum 2 years of experience in micro/nanosystem design and automation.
• Minimum 2 years of experience in automated liquid sampling and handling.
• A collaborative mindset and strong communication skills.

Nice to have - 

• Ph.D. in Electrical, Mechanical, or Biomedical Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 1+ year of experience handling biological fluids or samples.
• 1+ year of experience working with organoids, organ-on-a-chip, or related platforms.
• 1+ years of experience scaling up and translating research prototypes into robust, reproducible systems.

Compensation

The Chicago, IL base pay range for a new hire in this role is $130,000.00 -  $179,000.00. New hires are typically hired into the lower portion of the range, enabling employee growth in the range over time. Actual placement in range is based on job-related skills and experience, as evaluated throughout the interview process. 

Benefits for the Whole You 

We’re thankful to have an incredible team behind our work. To honor their commitment, we offer a wide range of benefits to support the people who make a