Industrial Engineer

Ohalo•South San Francisco, CA

26d•$120,000 - $160,000

About The Position

We are seeking an Industrial Engineer to design, build, and integrate high-throughput, automated biological production systems. This work will focus on process improvements in the laboratory, greenhouse, and seed production processes. This role focuses on transforming manual, sequential laboratory workflows into scalable, production-grade systems through thoughtful process design, automation, and systems integration. As programs and processes evolve this role will expand to encompass all aspects of operations and operational excellence. This is a hands-on builder role with a systems architect mindset for someone who can rethink how biological processes are structured, connected, and scaled. You won’t just automate lab steps — you’ll design the systems that enable reliable, repeatable biological production. You will be responsible for driving operational excellence, which includes mentoring and leading teams in Continuous Process Improvement (CPI), 5S, Lean Six Sigma production, Kaizen events, and Gemba walks.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field
7+ years of experience building and scaling automated or semi-automated production systems
Experience translating manual laboratory workflows into integrated, high-throughput systems
Strong background in process flow, system architecture, and throughput modeling
Hands-on experience with equipment integration and system commissioning
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent
Experience leading operational excellence initiatives.

Nice To Haves

Experience with tissue culture, gene editing, assay development, genotyping, or DNA extraction
Familiarity with lab automation, robotics, liquid handling, imaging, and sensor-driven systems
Experience operating in contamination-controlled or regulated lab environments
Track record of building first-of-kind or non-standard biological production systems

Responsibilities

Re-Architect End-to-End Biological Workflows
Deconstruct manual laboratory workflows into core unit operations and system requirements
Redesign processes from first principles to be automation and/or process friendly rather than direct translations of laboratory of greenhouse SOPs
Architect end-to-end production workflows that optimize flow, timing, and resource utilization across process stages
Build by doing: run process to understand pain points and to build solutions
Build, Integrate & Commission Automated Systems
Hands-on design, build, and commissioning of automated and semi-automated biological workflows
Integrate robotics, liquid handling, incubation, sensing, imaging, and sample tracking into cohesive production platforms
Work directly with automation engineers, integrators, and vendors and production associates to prototype, test, and deploy systems
Assay Development for Scalable Production
Partner with biology and R&D teams to adapt assays for throughput, robustness, and automation compatibility
Drive assay standardization, simplification, and turnaround-time reduction to support scalable workflows
Ensure assays integrate cleanly into production timelines and operational constraints
Throughput, Yield & System Optimization
Define performance targets for throughput, yield, turnaround time, and system reliability
Identify bottlenecks, variability, and failure modes across interconnected biological processes
Use production data to guide iterative system and process improvements
Systems Integration & Technical Ownership
Own interfaces between biology, automation hardware, software, data systems, and operations
Ensure smooth handoffs between tissue culture, gene editing, assays, genotyping, and greenhouse teams.
Influence upstream process design by embedding manufacturability and automation considerations early
Production Readiness & Scale-Up
Take systems from concept to prototype to pilot and into production
Develop SOPs, process documentation, and training materials grounded in real system behavior
Support production ramp, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement