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Allen Institute · 17 hours ago

System Design Engineer, Principal

Seattle, WA

Full-time

Onsite

Senior Level, Lead/Staff

$168K/yr - $210K/yr

7+ years exp

The Allen Institute is dedicated to understanding the principles that govern life and advancing health through innovative research. They are seeking a Principal System Design Engineer to lead the design and integration of advanced scientific instruments, ensuring high standards in engineering processes and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams.

Neuroscience

No H1B

Responsibilities

Spearhead the architecture, design, and integration of complex scientific instruments that combine robotics, imaging, automation, and control systems

Serve as a pillar of technical leadership for SIPE initiatives, providing guidance to senior and mid-level engineers and overseeing collaborative development efforts that span both hardware and software domains

Manage projects from concept through production, including feasibility studies, prototyping, and final rollout, while formulating comprehensive project plans to ensure timely delivery

Collaborate with scientific stakeholders to capture system requirements, translate them into actionable team tasks, and remain engaged throughout prototyping and development

Set and refine standards for engineering processes, including documentation, validation, source code management, issue tracking, deployment procedures, and observability

Design, develop, evaluate, and implement equipment for control operations, data acquisition, and analysis workflows, ensuring reliable collection of large-scale datasets

Leverage broad technical expertise and creativity to resolve complex challenges

Champion organizational strategies that enhance innovation, open science, and operational efficiency

Qualification

Systems EngineeringSystem Design PrinciplesSystems IntegrationMultidisciplinary Team LeadershipOptical EngineeringElectronics DesignSoftware DevelopmentImaging & Data AcquisitionRobotics & AutomationFluidicsAIMachine LearningProject ManagementTechnical LeadershipCollaborationCreativity

Required

Bachelor's degree in mechanical, electrical, optical, or systems engineering, or related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience

7 years of progressive experience in system design engineering, including leadership of complex instrumentation projects

Demonstrated success in delivering production-ready systems for scientific or medical instrumentation

Preferred

Master's degree or PhD in mechanical, electrical, optical, or systems engineering

15+ years of combined education and experience in multidisciplinary system design

Demonstrated leadership-level or hands-on expertise in three or more of the following technical domains: Systems Integration, Optical Engineering, Electronics, Software, Imaging & Data Acquisition, Robotics & Automation, Fluidics, AI and Machine Learning