Product Development Engineer II

Fluorityx has developed a fundamentally simpler approach to detecting PFAS (“forever chemicals”) in water: a patented test strip, based on a commercially proven MIT sensor platform, that delivers results in minutes instead of days or weeks. The technology transfer from MIT is complete, our system works reliably, and we are now turning it into a commercial product. Fluorityx is a small early-stage startup located in Watertown, MA. See www.fluorityx.com.

Why Fluorityx might be great for you

• We’re a small team working on a problem that matters. If you get energy from making things actually work and want your contributions to directly shape a company’s trajectory, this could be a great fit.
• You’ll work across the whole system: disposables, hardware, and software. As a broad, hands-on generalist you’ll touch all of it, working directly with the CEO and our product development engineer.
• Real ownership. As one of the first employees, you’ll quickly take complete ownership of defined parts of the system, including their documentation and improvement roadmap.
• Room to grow. Depending on your interests, the role can continue to grow on the product development path or develop toward customer interaction and supporting the first rollouts over time.
• Equity and upside. You’ll share in the value you help create through our employee stock option plan.

About the role

We’re looking for a Product Development Engineer II to help turn our PFAS sensor system into a commercial minimum viable product (MVP). Day-to-day work mostly involves coating, thin-layer deposition, and analysis on our test-strip platform. You’ll build, test, and improve the system across all areas during field testing and customer validation, working closely with the CEO and our current product development engineer in our Watertown lab.

Responsibilities

• Hands-On R&D & System Optimization: Run and own the core workflows (coating, thin-layer deposition, analysis), plan and execute the day-to-day optimization experiments, and deliver improvements in system performance and reproducibility.
• Commercial MVP, Testing & Field Validation: Build and test MVP units with the team, run structured test series against our commercial specifications, close the remaining gaps, and support field tests and customer validation runs.
• Disposables, Hardware & Software: Take on tasks across all three areas based on team priorities, own agreed subsystems end to end, and deliver design improvements that measurably improve scalability and manufacturability.
• Team & Company Building: Document your work to the team standard, help improve our experimental and documentation practices, support interviews and onboarding as the team grows, and play an active role in shaping our culture.

Requirements

Many strong candidates don’t fit a standard blueprint. If you bring relevant experience and are excited about what we’re building, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t check every box.

• Required:
  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related field (a chemistry background also works; engineering preferred)
  • Ca. 3-5 years of industry experience, with room in both directions for the right person
  • Hands-on experience with prototype development and iterative testing
  • Experience with coating or thin-layer deposition techniques and material characterization
• Nice to Have:
  • Experience working with vendors or contract manufacturers/CROs
  • 3D printing (e.g. printing casings and fixtures)
  • Analytical instrumentation (FTIR, GC-MS, UV-Vis, etc.)
  • Exposure to sensor development from early stage to product
  • Prior startup experience

Skills & Working Style

• Team-player who cares about and wants to contribute to a great team culture as we grow
• Broad generalist who enjoys working across disciplines in a small team
• Takes initiative and develops autonomy quickly
• Highly organized, good at prioritization, and clean in documentation
• Inquisitive, fast learner, able to receive and act on constructive feedback
• Comfortable with startup pace and ambiguity

Pay

$100K to $115K/year, plus equity (employee stock options) and benefits.

Schedule

• Location: In-person at our lab in Watertown, MA (remote handled pragmatically for computer-work days when work allows)
• Start date: As soon as possible