Technical Operations Engineer

Technical Operations Engineer Location : Chicago, IL (in-person) Compensation : $60K – $70K annual compensation (salary + bonus), up to 0.1% equity, benefits About Biome. Sense Biome. Sense is a life sciences startup applying gut microbiome technologies (Gut. Lab, Meta. Biome) to advance personalized medicine. We partner with UCSF, UCSD, NIH & the University of Chicago & are backed by Lab.

Corp Ventures, Bluestein Ventures, Seerave Foundation & Emil Capital Partners.

Role Summary

Operate the day-to-day upkeep of our pilot Gut. Lab fleet. Partner with the Laboratory team to keep experiments running and carry each unit through its full return cycle – inspection, repair, updates, and redeployment. You'll also help build what comes next, supporting development and manufacturing as we ramp production of new hardware systems.

Key Responsibilities

Hardware Support: Handle day-to-day maintenance and changes on Gut. Lab units: mechanical, electrical, and firmware. Sustaining Engineering: Keep units functional and deployment-ready and help improve the processes and tooling that support that. Operations Coordination: Prepare and release Gut. Lab hardware for upcoming partnership deployments and support the Operations team's day-to-day needs.

Quality Support: Work within our internal quality system: log failures, dig into root causes, and follow through on fixes. Help keep metrics and tracking current. Engineering Development: Support next-generation hardware builds alongside our senior engineers, from design through assembly. Mechanical Design of Novel Hardware: Take on mechanical design problems and iterate toward measurable performance gains.

Qualifications

Entry level position with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, or similar discipline. Strong understanding of electro-mechanical devices and related interactions. Must enjoy hands-on work with cutting edge life sciences technology. Strong ability and desire to troubleshoot technical issues and think outside the box.

Highly organized, proactive, and independent, with excellent attention to detail and communication skills. Ready to thrive in a startup environment; versatile, adaptable, and eager to take on challenges no one has yet claimed.