Lead Engineer - R&D and Product Design em Lisboa, Portugal

  Delox is looking for a Lead Engineer to take technical ownership of the development, industrialisation, and continuous improvement of our bio-decontamination products.  

This is a senior, highly hands-on engineering role covering Delox’s product portfolio, from compact standalone devices ( e.g. , Delox Box) to new systems integrated into HVAC and air-handling infrastructure. You will be expected to take products from concept to working, instrumented prototypes and ultimately into production, combining mechanical design, thermofluids, instrumentation, controls, experimental validation and design for production.  

About Delox  

Delox is a Portuguese MedTech company founded in 2018 as a spin-off from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, with a US subsidiary established in 2024.  

Our proprietary technology is based on a solid hydrogen peroxide formulation that enables a new generation of bio-decontamination systems for infection prevention and microbial contamination control.  

We develop products for different applications and environments, from standalone bio-decontamination devices to systems integrated into larger equipment and infrastructure.  

The Role  

You will lead the technical development of both existing and next-generation Delox products , from early concepts and prototypes through verification, industrialisation and lifecycle improvement.  

Reporting directly to the CEO and CTO, you will have full responsibility for engineering decisions and product performance. This is a senior individual-contributor role with technical leadership responsibility : you will set engineering direction, lead design reviews and take ownership of moving concepts into reliable, manufacturable products.  

The role is strongly experimental, while simulation and modelling are important tools. The goal is to reach a working system whose performance can be measured and demonstrated.  

What will you do? 

• Lead the engineering development of new and existing Delox products , including standalone devices, accessories and integrated systems.  
• Develop bio-decontamination solutions for integration into HVAC systems, air-handling units and ductwork .  
• Translate product requirements into engineering specifications, system architectures and practical technical solutions.  
• Perform 3D mechanical design and detailed engineering in SolidWorks , including complex assemblies, production drawings and BOMs.  
• Design enclosures, airflow systems, vapour-generation components, flow paths, mechanical assemblies and interfaces.  
• Develop vapour-generation and mixing concepts against performance targets including concentration, temperature, condensation, pressure drop, airflow and energy consumption.  
• Conduct and review CFD and FEA simulations and validate models against experimental results.  
• Design, build, assemble and instrument prototypes and experimental test setups.  
• Select and integrate sensors, actuators, power supplies, controllers and data-acquisition systems, and support basic control or data-logging solutions using microcontrollers, PLCs or similar platforms when required.  
• Plan and execute validation tests , analyse experimental data, investigate technical issues and iterate designs based on test, production and field results.  
• Apply DFM/DFA principles , identify and qualify suppliers, support first articles and take designs from prototype through industrialisation and production.  
• Work closely with engineering, MedTech, quality, regulatory and production functions, contributing to design reviews, risk assessments, technical standards and product documentation.  

What are we looking for? 

Must have  

• Master’s degree or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Electromechanical Engineering or another closely related engineering discipline  
• Approximately 6–10 years of experience developing physical products , ideally from concept through prototyping, verification, and production.  
• Strong proficiency in SolidWorks or equivalent 3D CAD software , including complex assemblies, production drawings, and BOMs.  
• Knowledge of fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and heat and mass transfer .  
• Hands-on prototyping experience: comfortable in designing parts, manufacturing, assembling systems, instrumenting prototypes, and testing them in the laboratory.  
• Practical understanding of sensors, actuators, power supplies, cabling and basic electronics integration .  
• Sufficient understanding of controls, embedded systems or PLCs to integrate and troubleshoot an experimental system.  
• Experience with manufacturing processes including machining, sheet metal fabrication and plastic moulding , together with a good understanding of DFM/DFA.  
• Strong experimental judgement, problem-solving skills and an autonomous, proactive approach.  
• Ability to manage several development activities simultaneously while maintaining good documentation and test discipline.  
• Excellent written and spoken Portuguese and English .  

Highly valued  

• Practical experience with HVAC systems and Air Handling Units , including fans, filters, ducts, airflow, mixing, leakage and environmental control.  
• Experience with vapour generation, evaporation, aerosolisation, gas or vapour distribution , or related thermofluid systems.  
• Experience with CFD and/or FEA , particularly SolidWorks Flow Simulation and SolidWorks Simulation.  
• Instrumentation, data acquisition and experimental data analysis.  
• Siemens TIA Portal, PLC programming, industrial automation, IoT or embedded systems .  
• Experience taking hardware products through industrial suppliers.  
• Experience in MedTech, medical devices, cleanrooms, isolators, laboratory equipment, or other regulated engineering environments .  

What do we offer? 

• Permanent employment contract with competitive compensation and meal card.  
• Direct reporting to the CEO and CTO, with real technical ownership of Delox’s product portfolio .  
• The opportunity to work across multiple products and engineering challenges, from early concept through CAD, simulation, prototyping, experimental validation and industrialisation.  
• Access to a prototyping laboratory, with a multidisciplinary environment combining engineering, research, quality, regulatory and product development .  
• Direct interaction with industrial suppliers, partners, customers and international markets.  
• Exposure to the Portuguese and international deep-tech and MedTech ecosystem.  
• A collaborative, entrepreneurial and technically driven working environment.

Location and working environment  

Lisbon, Portugal.  

This is a laboratory- and workshop-centred position and is therefore not offered as a fully remote role .  

Working languages are Portuguese and English , and technical documentation is produced in both languages.