Jobs at Pilgrim

The Pathfinder role is a general application for candidates who can tackle undefined, high-priority problems across Pilgrim’s biotechnology and national security efforts. The role involves defining work, owning projects through completion, operating under compressed timelines, and traveling to demanding field environments. Candidates should describe what they have built, the problems they can solve, and how they could contribute to Pilgrim’s autonomous biological threat detection platform.

Adapt molecular biology workflows, including sample preparation, reagent handling, qPCR, and sequencing preparation, to automated biotechnology systems. Define operating requirements, establish bench baselines, design integration tests, troubleshoot failures across biology, fluidics, controls, and software, and verify repeatability. Maintain test plans, records, protocol versions, and instrument configurations to ensure reproducibility and track fixes.

Builds, modifies, assembles, and tests mechanical, electrical, and fluidic prototypes. Responsibilities include designing parts and fixtures in SolidWorks, fabricating components using 3D printing or machining, integrating hardware, troubleshooting failures, conducting bench tests, and documenting designs and results. The role collaborates with engineers and scientists to improve prototypes and accelerate development. Practical hardware experience is required; a formal engineering degree is not.

Provides executive support by managing leadership calendars, travel, meetings, communications, expenses, records, visits, and events. The role prioritizes schedules, prepares agendas and materials, tracks commitments, follows up on action items, handles confidential information, and resolves administrative issues independently with discretion.

Owns sourcing, purchasing, inventory, and logistics from prototype development through production. Builds supplier networks, negotiates pricing and lead times, manages purchase orders, plans materials from bills of materials and schedules, expedites deliveries, resolves supplier and quality issues, mitigates supply risks, and establishes scalable purchasing, inventory, traceability, and logistics processes.

Develop bioinformatics methods and software for real-time metagenomic sequencing analysis on autonomous biological threat detection systems. Build and optimize pipelines for basecalling, quality control, classification, and reporting; benchmark accuracy and performance; maintain reference databases and regression tests; investigate ambiguous results; and evaluate machine learning approaches for edge deployment.

Develop and optimize sample preparation, qPCR assays, sequencing workflows, and quality-control methods for complex environmental and low-input samples. Design experiments to assess recovery, detection limits, specificity, and repeatability; investigate discrepancies with Bioinformatics; define reagent and handling requirements; transfer validated methods to systems integration; and maintain reproducible protocols and experimental records.

Owns Pilgrim’s federal government engagement, identifying mission needs and advancing defense and national security opportunities from research and outreach through pilots, funded programs, and contracts. Builds capture strategies, maps agencies and acquisition pathways, develops briefs and proposals, engages military and government stakeholders, tracks solicitations and budgets, and translates customer requirements into recommendations. Represents the company at government meetings, field visits, conferences, exercises, and demonstrations while supporting sensitive or classified programs.

Lead end-to-end recruiting for engineers, scientists, operators, and other critical functions. Build sourcing channels, map technical communities, develop relationships with talent networks, define hiring criteria, design interview processes, manage recruiting operations and reporting, and oversee candidate engagement through onboarding. The role also includes building AI-enabled recruiting workflows and tools to improve sourcing reach and efficiency.

Develops electromechanical systems from architecture and mechanism design through prototyping, testing, manufacturing, and field deployment. Responsibilities include integrating actuators, sensors, controls, and software; troubleshooting mechanical, electrical, and software interfaces; creating SolidWorks designs, drawings, and build instructions; conducting system validation; resolving supplier and field issues; and incorporating operator feedback into design improvements.

Conducts molecular biology experiments supporting bioaerosol and environmental sample processing, including nucleic acid extraction, qPCR, sequencing workflows, sample quality checks, and assay evaluation. Prepares reagents, manages consumable inventory, documents experiments and deviations, interprets controls, troubleshoots unreliable results, and updates laboratory protocols. Work supports development of Pilgrim’s autonomous biological threat detection platform.

Design, prototype, test, and deploy electronics for autonomous bio-detection systems. Responsibilities include PCB design and layout, mixed-signal circuits, power management, board bring-up and debugging, harness and connector design, lab testing, EMC considerations, and cross-disciplinary integration and field testing.

Design and manufacture ruggedized mechanical subsystems from concept to production: CAD modeling, prototyping (CNC, 3D printing, laser cutting, vacuum forming), microfluidic and airflow subsystem integration, DFM/DFA, tolerance analysis, testing, vendor coordination, field testing, and iteration toward production readiness.