Lead Hardware System Architect — Proteins.1 | Espoo/Helsinki, Finland

Proteins.1 is building the PCR for Proteins — a novel diagnostic platform that detects disease biomarkers at the single-molecule level. Backed by Lifeline and Cloudberry Ventures, we are transitioning from deep-tech research to a commercial medical device. We have the biology, the IP, and newly established independent labs. Now we need the hardware leadership to bring it all together.

The Role

We are looking for an exceptional Hardware & Systems Lead to join our founding team and architect the electronic control and embedded systems for our breakthrough diagnostic instrument. You will own the full electronics and control stack — from mixed-signal hardware design through embedded firmware and FPGA logic — orchestrating our optical, microfluidic, and assay subsystems into a production-ready platform that outperforms benchmark systems in stability, scalability, and manufacturability.

What You'll Do

Architect: Own system-level hardware design covering front-end electronics, power tree, digital control, firmware/FPGA interfaces, and external connectivity.

Design & develop: Create mixed-signal and high-voltage boards with precision analog front-ends, level shifting, protection circuitry, and low-noise measurement paths.

Engineer & implement: Design and verify HDL/FPGA logic (VHDL/Verilog/SystemVerilog) for timing-critical sequencing, high-speed interfaces, and integration with ADC/DAC and sensor/actuator arrays.

Integrate: Work closely with photonics, microfluidics, and mechanical teams to co-design interfaces, synchronization schemes, and data paths across subsystems.

Who You Are

You are a rigorous hardware leader with 5+ years of experience in mixed-signal, high-voltage, and embedded electronics for complex instrumentation. You have a proven track record taking hardware from architecture and PCB design all the way through firmware and FPGA implementation, bring-up, verification, and transfer to production. You have deep expertise in multilayer PCB design for dense, connector-rich systems and FPGA-based control of matrix-addressed actuator or sensor substrates. Critically, you have shipped hardware products — not just built prototypes — and you approach every design with reliability and testability as first principles.

How We Work

We are serial entrepreneurs with backgrounds spanning drones, space, AI, biotech, and medtech — from R&D through globally shipped hardware and software products. There is no legacy architecture to inherit. You choose the stack, the tools, and the standards. As the product matures, you will grow your team by bringing in specialists to build on your foundation. We are based in Espoo/Helsinki and value in-person, high-bandwidth collaboration — relocation support is available.

Why Join

This is not a tinkerer role. You will own the entire electronics and control stack for an instrument platform with the potential to change how diseases are detected worldwide. It is a high-ownership, high-equity founding position in a company with strong science, a granted IP portfolio, and a team that prizes intellectual honesty and reproducibility over hype.

You will work directly with Harri, who previously built and exited a regulated active implant company to a US medtech giant, and Tuan Nguyen, who designed, scaled, and industrialized the highest-throughput chips for top biotech and pharmaceutical companies in drug discovery.

Apply by sending a brief description of the best hardware system you've built — and are proud of — to Tuan.