Come build what doesn’t exist yet.

You like figuring out how things work—and how to make them work better. You can get interested in a mechanism, an assembly, a manufacturing problem, or an idea that someone hasn’t quite figured out how to build.

You enjoy turning that curiosity into something physical: a design, a prototype, a working machine, a product someone can use. Getting there means asking questions, working through details, trying things, and learning from what happens.

If that sounds familiar, we’d like to get to know you.

The engineer we’d like to meet

Your experience might come from school projects, a first engineering role, years of product development, or a career spent designing and building machines. Wherever you are in that journey, we’re interested in how you think, what you’ve worked on, and what you want to learn next.

You bring a builder’s mindset. You want to understand the problem before committing to a solution, and you’re willing to revisit an assumption when a prototype or test tells you something different.

You care about the details: how parts fit, how a drawing communicates intent, how something will be assembled, and whether a design can be manufactured reliably. You also want to understand how those decisions affect the whole product.

You take responsibility for your work, communicate when something needs attention, and ask for help when you need it. You can explain your thinking, listen to another approach, and work through a disagreement with respect. Sharing what you know—and learning from someone else—is part of doing good engineering.

The work that gets your attention

At Backburner Labs, mechanical engineering connects with electrical engineering, software, and manufacturing to bring physical products to life. Our work spans medical devices, robotics, industrial automation, and connected products.

Depending on your interests and experience, you might recognize yourself in some of these areas:

• Mechanical design, machine design, mechanisms, and assemblies.
• CAD models and technical drawings that help others build accurately.
• Injection-molded, machined, and sheet-metal parts.
• Prototyping, assembly, testing, troubleshooting, and design improvements.
• Designing for manufacturing and assembly.
• Following an idea from an early concept through a working product.

You don’t need experience in every area. We want to understand where you already contribute, where you have depth, and where you’re eager to grow.

How you like to work

You enjoy being close to what you’re building. Time at a workstation connects with time around prototypes, parts, tools, and the people making them.

You’re curious about other disciplines. A conversation with an electrical engineer, software engineer, or manufacturing teammate can change how you approach a mechanical problem. You don’t have to be an expert in their work to ask useful questions and understand the connections.

You’re comfortable working toward clarity when a project starts with unanswered questions. You help identify what needs to be learned, make thoughtful decisions with the information available, and keep others informed as the work develops.

Our work is hands-on and primarily in person in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area.

Let’s start with what you’ve built

Tell us about something you designed, assembled, improved, or helped bring to life. What was the problem? What part did you play? What worked, what changed, and what did you learn?

Early in your career, that story might come from a class, a student team, an internship, or a personal project. With more experience, it might involve a difficult design decision, a product brought into production, or helping other engineers develop their skills.

This profile gives us a way to connect with mechanical engineers across experience levels as opportunities develop. Tell us what interests you about Backburner Labs and the work you’d like to do next.