This role combines technical leadership, management, and detailed mechanical design on an opto-mechanical isothermal material characterization tool, with the goal of achieving 4x throughput over an existing prototype while maintaining the same repeatability. The tool features 3-DOF motion (XY scanning and Z height adjustment), ±0.1°C thermal stability, and is being built in parallel as two units — one for production and one for R&D.

Details

On the mechanical and opto-mechanical design side, responsibilities include designing a high-stiffness gantry structure with a minimum natural frequency of 137Hz, co-axial optical thermometer and imaging system design in close collaboration with an optical designer, and a custom lens mount balancing optical performance with thermal isolation. The work also covers 30+ GD&T drawings for CNC parts, sourcing of optical, pneumatic, and electro-mechanical components, high-load tip-tilt kinematic platforms, and alignment procedures for chuck flatness, XY orthogonality, and Z-axis perpendicularity. On the project management side, responsibilities include gathering system-level requirements, building and maintaining a Gantt chart across 4 personnel and 3 de-risking sprints, tracking hardware budgets and long-lead items, managing a weekly risk matrix, and handling facilities integration including acquiring lab space and setting up compressed air lines.