We're a small, privately funded Australian startup making construction and industrial sites safer, with significant sales opportunities across Australia, Current Zealand and North America.
We design and develop hardware and software solutions at our head office in Kew and manufacture in China.
Two products are moving from field testing to production:
PreStartGo
— a Bluetooth-connected immobiliser: equipment won't start until a digital pre-start inspection is done using our mobile app.
LockOutGo
— a Bluetooth-connected, actuator-driven lockout device for circuit breakers: think Bluetooth padlock, but better.
The role
You will work closely with our technical co-founder and are responsible for the hardware side of both products, from prototype through to volume manufacturing — electronics, mechanical, test jigs, validation, certification, manufacturing, procurement and stock.
What you'll do
Electronics:
production-intent PCBs — schematic, layout, RF (BLE and cellular antennas), power and battery, motor drive; BOMs and revisions; bring-up and rework
Actuator and mechanical:
actuator locking mechanisms (motor, gearing, drive, mechanism, fail-safe); plastic enclosures for harsh sites — ingress, sealing, vibration, mounting; design for injection moulding, 3D printing and machined parts
Test jigs and validation:
manufacturing test and programming jigs, environmental, thermal, vibration, ingress, endurance and EMC pre-compliance testing; field failure analysis
Certification across markets:
Bluetooth SIG qualification and listing; Australia (ACMA Responsible Supplier, SDoC, compliance folders, RCM); New Zealand (RSM, R-NZ where required); North America (FCC, ISED, PTCRB/carrier for cellular, UL/CSA where needed); a certification matrix across variants; test labs and TCBs
Manufacturing in China:
select and manage partners — audits, quality agreements, NPI,



tooling samples, first-article inspection — with travel as the program needs; secure provisioning at the factory; the full manufacturing package; import readiness for AU, NZ and NA
Procurement and stock:
purchasing, supplier terms and manufacturing contracts; prototype and pilot builds at Kew; inventory with batch and serial traceability
You
Degree in mechatronics, electrical/electronic or mechanical engineering, or the equivalent
5+ years in hardware product development, with at least one product you've taken from prototype to volume
Low-power, battery-operated wireless design (BLE essential; cellular/LTE-M a plus); actuators — motors, drivers, gearing, mechanisms
KiCad / Fusion 360, or a quick mover from Altium / SolidWorks
Bluetooth SIG qualification done before; ACMA/RCM and EMC processes familiar
Test jig and fixture builder; enclosure design through tooling to first-off
Direct experience running Chinese contract manufacturers, factory visits and NPI included
Procurement and stock control chops: purchasing, MOQs, lead times, supplier terms
Happy at the bench — soldering, rework, oscilloscope, logic analyser, basic RF
Self-directed and pragmatic; Melbourne-based, at Kew office three or more days a week, full Australian work rights
Bonus points:
Nordic nRF or ESP32 platforms, cellular module design and carrier certification, construction/mining/agricultural equipment (outdoors, dropped, ***** V vehicle power), switchboard environments and Australian electrical standards, functional safety or interlocks, HALT/HASS and FMEA, FCC/ISED and PTCRB approvals, UL/CSA listings, Mandarin.
The details
12-month contract to permanent: $750 per day
Melbourne-based — three days a week at Kew office as a minimum, more when builds and testing demand it
Small team, real hardware, decisions made in days not quarters
Start: ASAP
#J-*****-Ljbffr

📌 Mechatronics Engineer (Melbourne)
🏢 PreStartGo
📍 Melbourne