Bioinstrumentation Support Engineer

About this role

Spear Bio, founded in 2021, is a well-funded and rapidly growing biotech start-up headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts.  Our proprietary technology, Successive Proximity Extension Amplification Reaction (SPEAR), is a novel wash-free immunoassay platform, offering unprecedented sensitivity. We are dedicated to revolutionizing early disease diagnosis and monitoring by providing scalable, ultrasensitive solutions that deliver unparalleled accuracy in measuring low-abundant biomarkers, enabling clinicians and researchers to improve patient outcomes and advance global health.

BIOINSTRUMENTATION SUPPORT ENGINEER

We are seeking a Bioinstrumentation Support Engineer to be the primary field-facing technical resource for Spear Bio’s commercial SPEAR S.W.I.F.T. instrument platform. This role is embedded within the Systems Design & Integration engineering team—not a standalone field service organization—and is ideal for someone who thrives working at the intersection of engineering and customer-facing execution.

You will spend approximately 70% of your time in the field performing instrument installations (IQ/OQ), preventive maintenance, service calls, and on-site troubleshooting at customer labs. The remaining ~30% will be based in-house at Spear Bio’s Woburn, MA headquarters for cross-training, assay and workflow familiarization, engineering development projects, and relaying field intelligence back to the product team. Because this role is tightly aligned with engineering, you will be expected to go deeper than a traditional FSE—diagnosing root causes across hardware, software, and assay workflows—and bringing that knowledge directly to customers and back to the team.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

FIELD INSTRUMENT SUPPORT (~70%)

• Lead on-site SPEAR S.W.I.F.T. instrument installations at customer labs, executing IQ/OQ protocols, network/IT configuration, and site acceptance testing.

• Perform preventive maintenance visits and unscheduled service calls; troubleshoot and resolve issues across mechanical, electrical, thermal, optical, fluidic, and software subsystems.

• Serve as the technical point of contact for assigned customer accounts; build trusted relationships with lab managers, researchers, and IT staff.

• Diagnose and resolve instrument issues via phone/video where possible; travel for on-site resolution when remote diagnosis is insufficient.

• Coordinate with the Formulatrix field service team on FAST liquid handler support activities at shared customer sites.

• Document all field activities: installation reports, service tickets, failure mode observations, and customer feedback in Jira and internal tracking systems.

• Manage field spare parts kit and escalate supply needs; support outbound shipment logistics when needed.

ASSAY & WORKFLOW SUPPORT

• Develop working proficiency in SPEAR assay workflows (sample preparation, plate setup, qPCR readout, SPEARview data analysis) sufficient to troubleshoot workflow failures at customer sites and distinguish instrument issues from assay/reagent issues.

• Support customers through initial workflow onboarding and early runs post-installation; escalate complex assay questions to the applications support team.

• Provide field observations on workflow usability, failure modes, and consumable performance to inform engineering and applications teams.

IN-HOUSE ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT (~30%)

• Participate in cross-training on S.W.I.F.T and FAST subsystems, firmware, S.W.I.F.T. Connect software, and SPEARview to maintain deep technical knowledge as the platform evolves.

• Apply field failure data, customer pain points, and reliability observations into engineering root cause investigations and design improvements.

• Support in-house sustaining activities including ECO implementation, retrofit kits, and instrument refurbishment during non-travel periods.

• Assist with NPI builds, system-level verification testing, and test fixture development as engineering bandwidth requires.

• Participate in developing service documentation: field service SOPs, troubleshooting decision trees, PM checklists, and training materials.

QUALIFICATIONS:

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Bioengineering, or related technical field. Associate’s degree with 5+ years of relevant field service or instrumentation experience will also be considered.

• 3+ years of experience in field service, field applications support, or instrumentation engineering in a life science, diagnostics, or analytical instrumentation environment.

• Demonstrated experience with instrument installation, IQ/OQ/PQ execution, and customer-site troubleshooting.

• Experience with liquid handling platforms (Formulatrix, Hamilton, Beckman, Tecan, or similar) and/or qPCR/thermal cycling instrumentation strongly preferred.

• Experience working in or with startup/early-commercial-stage companies is a plus.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

• Strong electromechanical troubleshooting skills: ability to diagnose across mechanical assemblies, electrical systems, motion control, fluidics, and thermal subsystems.

• Comfort reading and interpreting mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, and software/firmware logs.

• Working familiarity with IT/networking fundamentals (static IP configuration, Ethernet, firewall/port rules) relevant to instrument deployment in institutional IT environments.

• Familiarity with immunoassay or molecular biology workflows (plate-based assays, qPCR, sample handling) sufficient to support first-line workflow troubleshooting.

• Proficiency with standard test equipment (multimeters, oscilloscopes, torque drivers) and common productivity tools (Jira, Confluence, Excel, or similar).

• Basic scripting or data analysis skills (Python, Excel/VBA, or similar) for test automation or field data logging is a plus.

SOFT SKILLS & OTHER REQUIREMENTS

• Willingness and flexibility to travel…