Probe Engineer

The role

Probe engineers design and build recording hardware including probes, insertion mechanisms, and robotics. The role involves mechanical design, microfabrication, and control to enable large-scale neural recording.

What you will do

• Design flexible, high-density neural probes from layout through fabrication and encapsulation
• Build probe-to-chip integration and the readout signal chain
• Design insertion needles and needle-pincher mechanisms
• Develop insertion strategies for flexible threads in soft tissue
• Build a precision insertion robot with multi-axis motion and real-time control
• Develop machine-vision guidance for the robot
• Build electrode characterization and process pipelines

Required qualifications

• Strong hands-on engineering across mechanical design and prototyping
• Experience building precision electromechanical or robotic systems
• Familiarity with microfabrication and thin-film processes, or a demonstrated ability to pick them up fast
• Comfort with real-time control and the software that drives hardware (Python plus C/C++ or comparable)
• Working knowledge of the signal-acquisition chain
• Genuine interest in building instruments for neuroscience and tissue-mechanics constraints
• PhD with 3 to 12+ years of experience
• Backgrounds in mechanical, electrical, biomedical, or materials engineering, mechatronics, robotics, applied physics, MEMS/microfabrication, or related fields

Nice to have

• Flexible/thin-film electrode microfabrication (polyimide, Parylene C, PDMS) and electrode electrochemistry
• Micro-machining and electrochemical etching of fine metal tooling (e.g., tungsten, tungsten-rhenium)
• Low-noise analog/mixed-signal front-end design for recording microvolt-scale signals
• High-density interconnect and packaging
• Precision motion control, machine vision, or real-time closed-loop robotics
• Surgical or medical-device hardware, including sterilization, sterile workflow, and design under regulatory constraints
• Neural interfaces, MEMS sensors, or other implantable devices
• Contributions to open-source hardware, instrumentation, or scientific-computing projects
• Graduate work or research experience
• Embedded, FPGA, or RTOS

Benefits

• comprehensive benefits package
• total compensation that is competitive and commensurate with the level of experience and qualifications

About the company

Astera is a private foundation on a mission to steer science and technology toward a better future. Astera Neuro seeks to understand and engineer consciousness by combining large-scale neural recording, causal perturbation, and brain-based AI.