About this opportunity
Cephla Inc. lists this Hardware Engineering Intern / Co-op opportunity in mountain view, California. Review the employer’s description below for duties, qualifications and application requirements.
Job description
Cephla is building the critical imaging infrastructure for modern biology and drug discovery.Our open and programmable automated microscopes and integrated solutions around them take downbarriers to high-end imaging and are already powering research and large-scale data productionat leading academic labs, biotech startups, and pharma. In parallel, our Octopi bringsAI-enabled microscopy to diagnostics, starting with malaria.
We're a small team of scientists and engineers, mission-driven and deeply invested in ourusers' success as the experiments running on our instruments are often critical to researchthat will advance science and can impact human health. You'll work closely with thefounders and the rest of our team, and may collaborate directly with our users.
Responsibilities
You will own projects from idea to production, with aspects including:
Mechanical design — designing components and assemblies for new modules/instruments and improvements to existing ones (CAD, GD&T, mechanical and opto-mechanical assemblies)
Design to manufacturing — taking designs from concept through production: drawings, BOMs, vendor coordination, DFM iteration
Prototyping and assembly — building first prototypes with your own hands
Testing and characterization
System integration
Documentation
Depending on your interests and what we need, your work may also stretch into:
Automation and robotics
Exploratory work on new imaging modalities and early-stage technology development
Required qualifications
Currently pursuing or recently completed a degree in Engineering, Physics, or a related field
Proficiency in a modern CAD package (SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor, etc.)
Demonstrated hands-on building experience — personal projects, project teams, prior internships, lab work, anything where you've actually made things
Strong understanding of engineering fundamentals
Additional Requirements
Resourceful, flexible and adaptable. You're happy to take on whatever the project needs
Comfortable with ambiguity. You find that having to define the problem is exciting rather than frustrating
You deliver. You know the difference between polishing and finishing — you'll skip the endless tweaking, but sweat the small details that make something work reliably
Curious across disciplines. You're excited to learn across disciplines — optics, mechanics, electronics, biology — and to go deep where a problem demands it
Who will love this job (and who we're looking for)
You're passionate about science and tool-building, and you want your work to enable discoveries and/or help solve important problems
You have high agency. You take ownership and figure things out without being told what to do next
You want to own hardware that ships and gets used, and to learn and grow fast along the way
Terms
We welcome both internship and co-op applicants. This role is open year-round. You can apply for one or more of the following terms: Fall 2026, Winter 2027, Spring 2027, and Summer 2027.
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Worksite address
mountain view, CA, 94039, US
Who can apply
Review the original listing for work authorization, qualifications and employer requirements.