Research Engineer, Lab Automation

About the Role

We're building an autonomous lab to speed up materials discovery, and we need someone who understands thin film research from the inside - someone who's deposited and characterized films, troubleshot instruments, and knows what makes an experiment reproducible.

As our Research Engineer, you'll work directly with scientists to understand what they're trying to learn, then translate that into the hardware setups, instrument sequences, and engineering requirements that make it possible to automate. You'll bring hands-on experimental judgment and Python skills to connect thin-film synthesis, characterization, and data collection into reliable workflows.

What You'll Do

• Work closely with bench scientists to understand experimental goals and turn them into concrete hardware and workflow requirements.
• Evaluate, select, and configure deposition and characterization instrumentation and hardware to support thin film workflows.
• Design and prototype experimental and automation workflows that connect thin film deposition, characterization, and data collection.
• Serve as the technical bridge between scientists and the automation/software engineering team, helping define and test instrument interfaces and integration.
• Troubleshoot instrument and workflow issues that require materials domain knowledge to diagnose.
• Collaborate with AI and data scientists to capture experimental conditions and results in formats that support analysis and planning.

You Will Thrive in This Role If You Have

• PhD in Materials Science, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent research experience).
• Hands-on experience in a thin-film lab, including film deposition and characterization.
• Strong working knowledge of deposition equipment and the supporting hardware, such as vacuum systems, gas handling, temperature control, and characterization.
• Ability to communicate fluently with both scientists and engineers, and to translate scientific intent into clear technical requirements.
• Comfort writing Python to interact with instruments, manipulate experimental data, and prototype automation workflows

Especially Strong Candidates May Also Have

• Prior experience working alongside automation or software engineers.
• Experience integrating or retrofitting instruments, controllers, or sensors for automated operation.
• Experience with electronic lab notebooks, LIMS, or other lab data systems.
• A track record of designing or adapting experimental protocols for higher-throughput or automated execution.
• Experience with closed-loop experimentation, using measurement results to guide subsequent experiments.

Mechanics

• Minimum education: PhD or equivalent combination of education and hands-on research experience
• Location: Menlo Park, CA
• Compensation: $200,000-$250,000 + equity
• Visa sponsorship: Yes, we sponsor visas.