Assembly Technician Needed for Hardware Startup
Assembly Technician
Description
Instance Labs is looking for a Part-Time Assembly Technician to support our company's goal of creating PCB fabrication machines by keeping equipment, facilities, and back-of-house operations running smoothly. Visit our website: instancelabs.io
About Instance Labs
Instance Labs is building a machine that transforms an idea to a finished and tested circuit board, allowing engineers to iterate on electronics and solve the hardest problems in the physical world faster than ever before. The next frontier of human innovation is in the physical space, and we are creating the tools that allow that future to become a reality.
About the Role
This is a hands-on shop role: you'll be on the floor building and wiring the machines we ship, keeping the space organized, and making sure the team always has the tools and parts they need to keep moving.
Responsibilities
- Assemble PCB fabrication machines, including mechanical structures, wiring, and enclosures
- Follow and improve assembly procedures, work instructions, and checklists
- Support prototyping rework, and small-batch production builds
- Help manage parts, tools, and build organization on the floor
- Track, audit, and manage inventory levels to ensure accuracy
- Evaluate current processes and recommend improvements to increase efficiency
- Set up, maintain, and calibrate shop equipment and hand/power tools
- Keep the shop clean, organized, and safe for the rest of the team
- Collaborate directly with the founders and a small technical team
- Watch a hardware product go from prototype to something that actually ships
- Learn CAD, CAM, and machining on real production parts rather than coursework
- Sit in on supplier and vendor conversations and learn how parts actually get made
- Build a track record of hands-on assembly and process work you can point to in any hardware career
- 1-3+ years of hands-on assembly or technical experience (robotics, hardware, automotive, aerospace, or similar)
- Strong mechanical intuition and attention to detail
- Comfortable with hand tools and shop work, such as drilling, tapping, deburring, fitting, and basic machining
- Ability to learn quickly, troubleshoot technical problems, and demonstrate out of the box thinking
- Organized, independent thinker
- Problem-solver, have the ability to manage and maintain multiple projects
- Comfortable in an unfinished, fast-changing environment where the plan shifts week to week
- Experience working in mechatronics, robotics, or machine design
- Hands-on time with 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC mills, or a makerspace
- Basic electronics: reading a schematic, soldering, using a multimeter or a scope
- Prior time in a machine shop, research lab, makerspace, or hardware startup
We're an early-stage hardware startup based in the heart of San Francisco, California. This is a part-time role at 20 hours per week, paid $25-32/hour, with hours that flex around your schedule.
We know the commute matters. If you are coming up from the South or East Bay we can cluster your hours into two or three longer days rather than five short ones, depending on preference. Instance Labs will also cover all transit, whether it is BART, CalTrain, bus or a mixture of all three.
Position Benefits
- Food provided, with an extremely stocked office kitchen with snacks
- Learning opportunities in various types of work
- Closeness to BART station, CalTrains, and buses. BART, CalTrain, and buses to commute to and from the office will be covered.
- A reference, and a portfolio's worth of photos and build logs, when you leave
- All tools and equipment provided. You will not need to bring anything
Email hiring@instancelabs.io a resume, and a line or two about a build, a repair, or a project you're proud of. We read everything and reply either way.
Instance Labs is an equal opportunity employer. You must be authorized to work in the United States.