Mechanical Technician — Hardware Engineering
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Location
- Boston, MA, USA
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Not specified
- Employment
- Contract
- Experience
- 2+ years
- Category
- Hardware
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- 2-5 years as a mechanical technician or mechanical assembler, with knowledge of small shop practices and organization
- Experience with fluid systems (1/8" - 1/2" dia), machined piece part fab and assembly, and small electronics buildup
- Ability to be coached and quickly learn and adopt new skills
- Basic understanding of machining practice and processes
- Organized and self-motivated, with a positive attitude
- Able to lift 50 lb, work on ladders and under tables, and spend most of the day on your feet in a lab.
- Clear written and verbal communication; knowledge of task documentation processes.
Nice to have
- Soldering and cable construction
- CNC programming (conversational or CAM) and experience standing up a small shop.
- Basic CAD (SolidWorks or Inventor) to model fixtures or fix a drawing.
- Experience writing work instructions or SOPs, or training others to a procedure.
- Familiarity with vacuum hardware, opto-mechanics, and/or cleanroom practice.
- Experience supporting a transition of in-house designs to contract manufacturing (FAI, supplier visits, process qualification).
- Welding, brazing, or sheet-metal fabrication.
Full description
About QuEra
QuEra Computing builds neutral-atom quantum computers that change the world. They are composed of precision optics, custom electronics, liquid-cooled electronics racks, and ultra-high-vacuum systems. The Hardware Engineering group designs, builds, and delivers that platform. We are moving towards repeatable, production-quality machine builds, and we need people who know how to build.
The role
We're hiring a Mechanical Technician to be the hands-on support for our Hardware Engineering team. You'll advise on designs, fabricate, assemble, test, and troubleshoot the mechanical and fluid systems inside our quantum computers — and you'll help us turn in-house knowledge into procedures and fixtures that our present and future contract manufacturers can execute.
You'll work directly with mechanical, electrical, and optical engineers and with physicists on live machines. You'll be a first call when something needs to be built or fixed right now, and be a driver in making our builds measurable, repeatable, and safe.
What you'll do:Machine and module assembly
- Build and integrate mechanical subassemblies for our machines: electronics racks, enclosures and frames, cold plates and liquid-cooling manifolds, cable management, and opto-mechanical module hardware.
- Perform precision assembly to documented procedures — torque specs, cleanliness requirements, fastener control, serialization.
- Support installation and rework on operating machines, coordinating carefully with the scientists and engineers who run them.
Test, inspection, and troubleshooting
- Execute pressure and leak tests, flow checks, and mechanical inspections; record results and flag anything out of spec.
- Diagnose mechanical and fluid-system problems on the floor and drive them to a fix, escalating design issues to engineering with clear evidence.
- Support root-cause investigations with hands-on teardown, measurement, and recreation of failure modes.
Fabrication and prototyping
- Run and own the mechanical development room and machine shop: manual/CNC-assist mill, saws, drill press, hand tools, and layout/inspection equipment.
- Machine fixtures, brackets, adapters, and one-off parts from engineering drawings or sketches; make sound judgment calls on tolerances, materials, and finish.
- Keep the shop organized, tooled, stocked, and safe; train engineers and co-ops on safe tool use.
Manufacturing and contract-manufacturer support
- Turn engineer intent into build-ready work instructions, travelers, and fixture designs; red-line drawings when the part doesn't match the print.