Founding Engineer (gn) – Hardware & Bioengineering, Munich

About Cellsor

Cameras digitized vision. Microphones digitized sound. Smell is the one major sense we still can't capture, measure or transmit reliably. Cellsor is building the sensor that changes that.

We replicate the mammalian olfactory epithelium outside the body – living olfactory tissue on microelectrode arrays – and read it out with machine learning. The result is a sensor that detects chemicals the way a nose does, with the breadth and sensitivity that conventional gas sensors lack. Applications span flavor and fragrance, defense and security, medical diagnostics, food quality and industrial monitoring.

We are a VC-backed Tufts University spin-out with a working proof of principle and paid industry pilots, with teams in Boston (biology) and Munich (engineering).

About the role

As our first engineer in Munich, you develop the instrument that keeps our living sensor tissue alive and samples the air it analyzes. You take it from today's lab setup to a field-ready prototype at a customer site within 18 months.

What you will do:

Define the instrument architecture, then build prototypes across mechanics, fluidics and housing

Develop automated media exchange that keeps cells viable for weeks to months

Build the air path: sampling, filtration and controlled delivery of odorants to the sensor

Integrate sensors, pumps and controllers for monitoring and automation

Test and iterate with our Boston biology team

Contribute to grant applications

What you need to succeed

Must-have:

MSc or PhD in mechanical, biomedical or bioengineering, or a related field

Built a lab or medical device from concept to working prototype

CAD, rapid prototyping, and electronics integration

Comfortable with uncertainty: you make progress without a defined path and decide what to build next

Hands-on and self-directed – you'd rather test an idea on the bench than discuss it for a week

Fluent English; German a plus

Nice-to-have:

Cell culture, perfusion or microfluidics

Gas handling or air sampling

Startup or grant-funded R&D experience

Why join Cellsor now

Cellsor is an early-stage, VC-backed deep-tech startup, funded to focus on building. Most hardware roles mean optimizing one part of an existing product. Here you build the first instrument for a new category of sensor, and your design decisions become the foundation of the platform. The technical risk has moved from "does this work?" to "how do we build it for the field?" – which is exactly where an engineer makes the difference. As the platform grows into electrode integration, machine learning and product design, so does the scope of your role.

What we offer

Equity in Cellsor, so you share in the value you help create

The opportunity to build and lead the Munich engineering team as we grow

Real responsibility from day one, working directly with the founders and technical advisors

Lab and workspace at UnternehmerTUM, with regular exchange with our Boston team