Dir/Sr. Dir - Lab Automation Engineer, Discovery Oncology

Summary

We're looking for a Director (Principal) Lab Automation Engineer to lead the design, architecture, and software/usability layer of the automated systems that power our NY lab's discovery pipeline. As the senior-most individual contributor on automation, you'll work with the AVP to set technical direction and architecture, partner closely with scientists, software engineers, and platform leaders to translate scientific workflows into reliable, scalable automation — and you'll also get hands-on building the software, tools, and interfaces that make that automation genuinely easy for scientists to use day to day.

Responsibilities

• Set technical implementation and architecture for the software/control layer spanning liquid handling protocols and integrated hardware/software systems across the site
• Own future workcell design as the platform matures beyond its initial build-out
• Set technical standards and review designs across the automation team, provide hands-on technical mentorship to other engineers
• Partner with the AVP on requirements gathering and vendor evaluation for the most complex automated systems; own installation, validation, and ongoing performance optimization
• Lead root-cause investigations for the most complex hardware/software integration failures; drive corrective actions and systemic reliability improvements
• Serve as the primary technical bridge between software engineering, hardware/controls, data teams, and bench scientists
• Design and build user-facing tools — UIs, dashboards, CLIs, or AI-assisted interfaces — that let scientists configure, launch, monitor, and troubleshoot automated runs
• Build and maintain data capture, upload, and validation pipelines that move experimental data into downstream data processing pipelines and analysis tools
• Build monitoring, alerting, and self-diagnostic tooling that surfaces instrument and workflow errors clearly
• Write and maintain automation scripts, APIs, and configuration templates that standardize how new workflows get deployed onto existing hardware
• Advise on vendor relationships and evaluate new instrumentation, technologies, and partnerships

About you

• You enjoy working with both scientists and engineers, and can move fluidly between a wet-lab workflow conversation and a systems architecture discussion
• You have a solid understanding of data processing pipelines and how automation systems fit into the broader flow of experimental data
• You've built tools that make lab automation easier to use, whether that's a UI layer, an instrument control abstraction, or automated data upload/ingestion
• You influence through technical credibility and clear communication, not formal authority
• You default to designing for the end user rather than just for the instrument or the codebase

Basic Qualifications

Bachelor's or advanced degree in Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, Biology, or related field with 10+ years of hands-on experience in laboratory automation, robotics integration, or a closely related engineering discipline, including experience providing technical mentorship to other engineers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Working familiarity with liquid handling platforms (Tecan, Beckman Coulter/Labcyte, Agilent, Hamilton, etc) and automated imaging/detection systems
• Strong programming skills (Python, SQL, and/or C#) with demonstrated ability to build production-quality software
• Experience with scheduling/control software (e.g. Cellario, Momentum, VWorks, Green Button Go, or custom ACS)
• Demonstrated experience designing and qualifying the software/control layer of new automated systems from concept through production
• Experience designing user-facing tools (UIs, APIs, CLIs) for non-software-engineer end users
• Working knowledge of data processing pipelines and how lab systems integrate with downstream data infrastructure
• Experience building tooling that lowers the barrier for scientists and engineers to use, configure, or troubleshoot automation
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills; able to communicate technical trade-offs to non-technical and senior audiences
• Experience partnering on vendor relationships or providing input on project resourcing and trade-offs
• Experience applying LLMs/AI agents to instrument control, troubleshooting, or lab software workflows
• Experience with Cellario and Cellario integrations
• Some background in oncology, mammalian cell biology, or related scientific field
• Experience with driver design and implementation
• Experience with observability/monitoring tooling applied to lab or industrial systems
• Understanding of PLCs, safety circuits, and power electronics