Global Head of Platform Technology Development, Autonomous Lab Accelerator
About The Position
The Global Head of Platform Technology Development will translate Roche R&D Autonomous Lab Accelerator’s multi-year AI-native autonomous lab vision into technology platform capabilities and deliverables. The role determines internal scientific R&D workflow needs, identifies technology gaps, and builds fit-for-purpose physical capabilities across laboratory automation systems and robotics. Its core mission is to lead platform technology development and ensure interoperability, robust architecture, and scalable autonomous lab systems for Roche R&D across Genentech Research and Early Development (gRED), Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED), Diagnostics (DIA), and Pharma Technical Operations (PT). The role leads automation platform implementation and integration for prioritized use cases, including bespoke microwell and microfluidics hardware and software systems. It maps the external technology landscape, leads technical diligence for partnerships and acquisitions, shapes co-development and commercial agreements, co-owns data standards, and conducts architecture reviews and technical diligence for automation purchases and partnerships. The position also directs digital twin architecture and synchronization of physical laboratory telemetry with virtual environments; oversees robotics simulation and synthetic-data pipelines for sim-to-real deployment; and leads edge AI and computing optimization for low-latency monitoring and physical control. It hires and leads the Accelerator’s automation platform technology, robotics, and simulation engineering function and represents Roche in external forums, consortia, standards bodies, and partner boards.
Requirements
- MS or PhD in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Robotics), Computer Science, Bioengineering, or equivalent practical experience.
- 15+ years of experience in laboratory automation, high-throughput experimentation, or autonomous platforms.
- Significant leadership and team-building experience in Biopharma or Techbio.
- Demonstrated experience shifting from hard-coded robotic systems to agentic programmability and flexible control.
- Familiarity with integration protocols including Python, gRPC, and REST, robotic simulation environments, and closing execution loops with foundation models or AI systems.
- Demonstrated understanding of robotics foundation models, including VLA architectures and spatial reasoning VLMs, and practical challenges of deploying them on physical laboratory hardware.
- Experience transitioning hardware and software platforms into GxP and regulated environments.
- Ability to collaborate with scientific product managers, software engineers, and AI researchers to translate biological and chemical workflows into robust hardware specifications.
- Experience leading deployment and optimization of AI inference on resource-constrained edge hardware, such as NVIDIA Jetson and TensorRT quantization.
- Experience overseeing 3D robotics simulation, synthetic data generation, and efforts to close the sim-to-real transfer gap.
- Familiarity with industrial digital twin concepts and their application to complex operational environments.
- Technical familiarity with robotic kinematics, computer vision (including segmentation and pose estimation), and modern ML techniques for continuous control and robotic manipulation.
Responsibilities
- Implement advanced automation platform technologies for prioritized Accelerator use cases.
- Lead development and integration of fit-for-purpose platform technologies, including bespoke microwell and microfluidics hardware and software systems.
- Map and track external robotics, physical AI, instrumentation, liquid handling, cloud and autonomous lab, and industry platform developments.
- Lead technical diligence on partnerships and acquisitions and scope and shape co-development and commercial agreements.
- Co-own data standards with the lab automation software lead and conduct architecture reviews and technical diligence for automation purchases and partnerships.
- Direct development of high-fidelity 3D digital twin models and ensure synchronization between physical lab telemetry and virtual environments.
- Oversee robotics simulation and synthetic-data generation pipelines to train AI agents in virtual labs before deployment in physical laboratories.
- Oversee deployment and optimization of compact vision and VLA models at the edge for low-latency monitoring of laboratory state.
- Lead edge AI inference optimization on resource-constrained hardware for real-time physical control loops and low-latency sensor networks.
- Hire and lead the automation platform technologies, robotics, and simulations engineering function within the Accelerator.
- Represent Roche externally at industry events, consortia, standards bodies, and partner boards.
Benefits
- Relocation benefits are available.
- A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and Company performance.
- The position qualifies for company benefits detailed at the link provided in the posting.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
