About Pilgrim:

Pilgrim is building America’s biology prime - engineering, manufacturing, and deploying advanced biotechnology for defense and national security. Our primary platform, ARGUS, is a fully autonomous system for detecting biological threats in near real time, from naturally occurring pathogens to engineered agents.

We engineer hardware for biology, turning breakthrough science into fielded capabilities. Based in Redwood City, our team brings together mechanical and electrical engineering, chemistry, and biology under one roof to deliver critical technologies to the people who need them.
Pilgrim has raised over $30 million to date and is backed by Peter Thiel, Brian Armstrong, Fred Ehrsam, Dylan Field, and Bryan Johnson, alongside Buckley Ventures, Conviction, Cantos, and others.

About the Role:

As a Prototyping Engineer at Pilgrim, you’ll build, modify, and test the hardware behind our products. You’ll design parts and fixtures, fabricate components, assemble prototypes, and troubleshoot mechanical, electrical, and fluidic problems. Working with engineers and scientists, you’ll turn test results into practical improvements and compress the timeline from idea to working prototype.

Responsibilities:

Own prototype builds and test fixtures, planning the work and identifying the parts, tools, and engineering input needed.
Design parts and assemblies in SolidWorks, translating sketches, measurements, and functional requirements into buildable designs.
Fabricate, modify, and fit components using 3D printing, hand tools, and shop equipment.
Assemble and integrate mechanical components, electronics, sensors, actuators, and fluidics into working hardware.
Build test setups, run bench tests, and investigate failures using measurements and observations.
Propose and implement design and build improvements with engineers and scientists, using test results to guide the next iteration.
Document designs, parts, assembly steps, and test results so prototypes can be reproduced and subsequent builds move faster.

Qualifications:

Portfolio or project examples showing your personal contribution to hardware through work, coursework, competitions, or independent projects.
Working knowledge of SolidWorks, including creating parts and assemblies and interpreting mechanical drawings.
Hands-on experience with mechanical assembly, hand tools, and at least one fabrication method, such as 3D printing or machining.
Ability to interpret wiring diagrams and use tools such as calipers and multimeters to inspect and test hardware.

Preferred:

Experience with soldering, cable assembly, fluidic components, CNC machining, or benchtop electrical testing. A formal engineering degree is not required.

Pilgrim is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Certain positions require access to export-controlled information and are limited to U.S. Persons as defined by applicable export control regulations.

About the company

Pilgrim Labs builds an AI-powered platform for product teams to turn customer feedback into strategic product decisions. It connects with data sources like Slack, Zendesk, and Gong to collect customer input and research in one place, then uses artificial intelligence to identify customer needs, pain points, and opportunities. This helps teams prioritize features and shape their roadmaps based on actual user sentiment rather than just anecdotes. Compared with others, Pilgrim combines multiple data streams into a single, data-driven view and targets product managers, designers, researchers, and executives to align everyone around customer insights. The company aims to help teams create customer-centric products more efficiently by guiding development with structured, evidence-based analysis.

Company Size

1-10

Company Stage

Seed

Total Funding

$32.6M

Headquarters

Redwood City, California

Founded

2023

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

A $25 million seed at a $150 million valuation gives Pilgrim runway into 2027.
CDC deployment validates government demand for airborne biosurveillance procurement.
National-security buyers want faster detection after recent AI-biology threat warnings.

What critics are saying

FDA, CDC, and defense approvals can stall Argus deployments for years.
Live pathogen detection creates false-positive liability and expensive field recalibration.
If a cheaper software rival beats Argus, Pilgrim loses its moat.

What makes Pilgrim Labs unique

Argus combines air sampling and genomic sequencing for near-real-time pathogen detection.
Pilgrim signed a CDC biosurveillance agreement and already deployed Argus nationally.
Backers include Peter Thiel, Fred Ehrsam, and two Anthropic leaders.

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Company News

Legal Desire

Oct 3rd, 2026

Foley represents Pilgrim in seed financing.

Foley represents Pilgrim in seed financing. * Author Legal Desire Press * Published October 3, 2026 Foley & Lardner LLP represented Pilgrim, a biodefense technology company developing next-generation airborne biosurveillance systems, in its seed financing led by Buckley Ventures. Pilgrim is backed by Peter Thiel, Coinbase co-founders Fred Ehrsam and Brian Armstrong, Dylan Field of Figma, Bryan Johnson, Paul Sciarra of Pinterest, and Logan Graham and Sholto Douglas of Anthropic, among other technology investors. Pilgrim is the developer of Argus, a 50-pound, tripod-mounted device designed to combine air sampling and genomic sequencing to detect airborne biological threats, including pathogens such as Ebola and anthrax. The company has signed an agreement with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop an automated airborne biosurveillance system and has begun deploying Argus units in parts of the United States. Founded in 2022 by a Thiel Fellow and based in Redwood City, California, Pilgrim is building defensive biosecurity infrastructure intended to provide earlier warning of biological threats. The company's technology sits at the intersection of national security, public health, artificial intelligence, risk mitigation, and advanced life sciences. The Foley deal team was led by partner Mark Mallery and included associates Hailey Adler and Christian Borders. Where the legal industry reads first. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. From Legal Desire Is your firm the one being cited, or the one being skipped? Legal Desire ran the test. On several everyday legal questions, software companies are answering and law firms are not. Legal Desire help firms fix that, and Legal Desire build the technology behind the practice. See the full deal record on DealDatabase The advising firms, the named deal team, the value and the parties, with every other announced deal by the same firms and lawyers. Open the deal record

WebBizMarket

Sep 23rd, 2026

Anthropic leaders back startup developing system to detect biological threats.

Anthropic leaders back startup developing system to detect biological threats. Pilgrim has successfully secured $25 million in funding to advance its innovative technology, which includes a device weighing 50 pounds designed to identify biological threats. This development could have significant implications for various sectors, including public health, security, and defense. The device utilizes advanced detection methods to analyze potential biological agents, allowing for rapid identification and response to threats. With increasing concerns about bioterrorism and infectious diseases, Pilgrim's technology aims to provide a proactive solution for safeguarding communities and enhancing preparedness. The funding will be allocated toward further research and development, enabling the company to refine its device and increase its effectiveness. Additionally, this financial boost is expected to facilitate partnerships with government agencies and private organizations focused on enhancing national security measures. Pilgrim's innovative approach positions the company as a key player in the emerging field of biological threat detection, with promising prospects for both domestic and international markets. Why this story matters Key takeaway Opposing viewpoint

Business Insider

Aug 1st, 2025

Pilgrim raises $4.3M for biotech innovation

Jake Adler, the 21-year-old founder of Pilgrim, demonstrated his biotech startup's wound dressing, Kingsfoil, by cutting open his leg on camera. This bold move helped Pilgrim raise $4.3 million from investors, including Peter Thiel. Pilgrim aims to develop battlefield-ready biotech for military and civilian use. Kingsfoil, a clay-based hemostatic dressing, is undergoing further testing and aims for expedited FDA approval. The company is also developing other biotech products.

Pirate Wires

Jul 21st, 2025

Creating Supersoldiers and Curbing Biothreats

how pilgrim, and its 20-year-old founder, plan to rethink defensive biotech

Pilgrim Labs

Prototyping Engineer

About the job