M2 internship: Microfluidics application engineer
Publication Date
Contract
Internship
Duration
6 months
Salary
4.50 €/h
Start
February 2027
Your microfluidic SME partner for Horizon Europe
We take care of microfluidic engineering, work on valorization and optimize the proposal with you
Our company
The Microfluidics Innovation Center was founded by three researcher-entrepreneurs in 2011 as a business unit of the Elvesys group. We run collaborative research to build deeptech companies in Europe.
We develop microfluidic prototypes within European consortia to solve researchers’ problems. In parallel, we test market appetite for these prototypes and turn them into products. Once the business model is set and the funding plan validated, we license the technology or spin off a new deeptech company.
We’ve already created 10 innovative companies that today make up the Microfluidic Valley. In short, we’re both an industrial research lab and a startup incubator.
In 2023, we chose to become independent so we could fully tap our innovative and entrepreneurial potential. And to protect our freedom to innovate and carry out our missions on our own terms, we decided to take on no investors and stay a tribe.
Our culture
No routine here: our job is to leave the beaten path. We’re doers! We always look to innovate in a way no one else would. We have oceans to cross to fulfill our mission, and we stay together to weather the storms!
Context:
The microfluidics application engineer will work within the MIC’s Research and Innovation team, which is responsible for developing new microfluidic technologies. The internship focuses on the experimental testing and validation of organ-on-chip prototypes developed within two European research projects.
Your mission:
Organ-on-chip devices are microfluidic cell culture systems that reproduce key structural and functional features of human tissues in vitro, as an alternative to conventional static cultures and animal models. Continuous perfusion of culture medium ensures a constant supply of nutrients and oxygen, removes metabolic waste and exposes cells to physiological shear stress, which can improve cell function and the relevance of the model. The MIC is developing perfusion setups for organ-on-chip platforms. Our technology combines a pump that circulates culture medium through a well plate-based organ-on-chip platform, with various inline sensors. Prototype modules have been designed and fabricated in-house and now require systematic testing prior to use by our partner laboratories.
The intern is expected to design, perform and rigorously record experiments to characterise the function, performance and reliability of these platforms. Experiments will first be conducted under cell-free conditions using water and tracer dyes, under varying conditions such as flow rate, duration of continuous operation and repeated sterilisation cycles, including autoclaving. They will then be extended to cell culture under perfusion. The objective of these experiments is to identify the operating limits and failure modes of each module, to assess the accuracy and stability of the integrated sensors, and to determine the suitability of the platforms for maintaining stable cell culture conditions over time.
This internship offers the opportunity to work on organ-on-chip technologies within international collaborative projects, at the interface between engineering and biology.
Required profile:
- You are currently pursuing a Master’s degree in STEM (physics, chemistry, biochemistry, technical fields, mechanical engineering) at a French university
- You work with rigour and autonomy
- You have an eye for detail
- You enjoy discussing and communicating about scientific problems and possible solutions
- You are fluent in English – all external and most internal communication will be in English
How to apply:
Send your CV and a 1 page cover letter to rh@microfluidic.fr
Add “I want to join the tribe” in the subject of the email