Research and Prototyping Engineer
Posted 11 May 2026
Advertised as “Senior Research and Prototyping Engineer”
BranchFactor Summary
The original posting with the fluff stripped out
- Management level
- Individual contributor
- Employment
- On-Site
- Contract
- Full-time
No salary listed for this role.
Field of studyElectrical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Physics (or related)
Study levelBachelor's or higher
About Arcturus
Arcturus is creating a new wire technology stack that uses carbon nanomaterials to overcome the materials limitations of metals where performance breaks down, at real operating temperatures. Our technology is designed to significantly improve the performance of electric motors for drones and robotics, heat sinks, and ultimately the entire energy grid. At its core, Arcturus is developing a new class of carbon nanomaterial-infused metal matrix composites for high-performance conductor applications.
Why you should join us
This is a ground-floor opportunity to help build something that has never been done before.
You would join as an early technical hire and work closely with Arcturus’ technical leads across nanomaterials, additive manufacturing, process engineering, and product development. This is a hands-on role for someone who loves building, testing, debugging, and moving quickly. You will help turn ideas, sketches, and experimental needs into real hardware, test systems, fixtures, and data.
Purpose
We are seeking a research, prototyping, and test engineer who can be a force multiplier for the technical team. This person will help design, build, assemble, instrument, and test the hardware Arcturus needs to move from early materials development toward repeatable prototypes and pilot-ready systems.
The ideal candidate is a practical, hands-on engineer who is strong in CAD, comfortable with mechanical design and fabrication, and capable of doing electrical engineering work when needed (ie. wiring, basic circuits) along with handling sensors, data acquisition, and test setups. You should be the kind of person who can take an ambiguous technical need, figure out what needs to be built, and get it working.
The role
This role will report directly to the Lead Engineers and the CEO.
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Design, build, assemble, and iterate on prototypes, test fixtures, sample holders, experimental rigs, and lab hardware
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Work with technical leads to translate experimental needs into practical hardware, fixtures, test setups, and build plans
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Create CAD designs for parts, fixtures, assemblies, tooling, and test infrastructure, ideally using Onshape
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Build and modify mechanical systems using machining, 3D printing, off-the-shelf components, vendor parts, and hands-on fabrication methods
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Support electrical test setups, including wiring, sensors, circuits, power supplies, data acquisition, and basic control systems