Skip to main content
David Careers

Automation Engineer

Posted 3 days ago

periodic labsMenlo Park (CA)
Robotics EngineersResearch and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences

SENIORITY

Senior

SALARY

$200,000 per year

Apply (opens in a new tab)

About the role

About the Role: Join our team of scientists and engineers building a lab where AI and automation speed up materials discovery. We're building an autonomous lab to speed up materials discovery, and we need someone who loves making instruments, robots, and data systems run together smoothly. As our Automation Engineer, you'll turn scientific workflows into working software and integrations by designing clear data models, connecting instruments and automation to our lab information systems, and making sure everything stays in sync, safely, and reliably.
What You'll Do:
  • Collaborate with bench scientists to translate experiments and lab workflows into clear integration specs and data models.
  • Work with integrators to design and build automated workcells for materials R&D.Build and maintain services that connect instruments and robots to lab information systems.
  • Develop instrument drivers that automate lab workflows by generating command sequences and invoking vendor API/SDK methods.
  • Collaborate with AI and data scientists to tightly integrate the autonomous lab with AI models for analysis and planning of experiments.
  • You Will Thrive in This Role If You HaveBS in EE/CS/ME/Controls or equivalent.5+ years in lab automation, integration, or industrial automation software.
  • Hands-on experience with robotic lab automation systems.
  • Strong experience with scripting/programming (Python preferred).Familiarity with APIs, databases, and enterprise software integration.
  • Hands-on experience with information management and execution systems, such as LIMS or MES.Especially Strong Candidates May Also Have
  • Experience with containers, CI/CD, and Git-based workflows.
  • Background in lab informatics or scientific data management.
Mechanics
Minimum education: Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and training or experience
Location: Menlo Park, CA (Soon: San Francisco, too)
Compensation: $200,000-$250,000 + equity
Visa sponsorship: Yes, we sponsor visas and will do everything we can to assist in this process.

Before you apply

Applying takes about a minute. These four things decide how fast it moves after that.

Your profile is current

It's what we read first. Occupations, seniority and locations matter more than a long history.

Two examples you can talk through

Not a portfolio — just two pieces of work where you can explain the decisions and what you'd change.

A number in mind

What you're on now and what would make you move. We negotiate better when we know both.

Your notice period

Employers plan around it, and it's the question that stalls offers most often.

Once you apply, someone reads it and calls you before anything reaches the employer — usually within two working days.

More like this