Lead Engineer, Autonomous Lab Platforms

Genentech • Daly City, CA

1d • $169,100 - $314,100

About The Position

The Lead Engineer, Autonomous Lab Platforms is the technical lead for Lab Automation within Automation Science & Technology and owns the physical platform architecture for the Roche Autonomous Lab Accelerator. The role reports to the Head, Automation Science & Technology, Autonomous Lab Accelerator. Working with Science & Technology Project Leaders, scientific subject matter experts, Lab Operations, and Lab Automation Informatics partners, the engineer translates defined scientific workflow requirements into executable laboratory processes and scalable physical automation platforms. The role owns the technical realization of scientific requirements through robotics, instrumentation, instrument-control software, execution-layer interfaces, and integrated laboratory systems. It also partners with Lab Operations from design through operational acceptance to make capabilities suitable for autonomous, reliable, and supportable routine use.

The position leads physical execution platform architecture and workflow translation, defines physical-platform interfaces with digital orchestration, and directs technical selection, integration, commissioning, and verification of automation systems. It engineers unattended execution capabilities such as state awareness, observability, exception detection, automated recovery, safe-stop behavior, and human escalation. The engineer jointly defines operational-readiness criteria with Lab Operations and supports formal handoff to routine operations, while retaining technical design authority for material architecture changes, new capabilities, and systemic technical limitations after acceptance.

The role also leads complex technical problem solving, architecture and design reviews, reusable engineering standards, and mentorship of engineers, contractors, vendors, and system integrators. Key outcomes include a scalable physical-platform reference architecture, integrated automation capabilities delivered through commissioning and scientific acceptance, reusable engineering standards, and operational-readiness and transfer packages.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or advanced degree in engineering, computer science, life sciences, or a related discipline.
• Significant experience in laboratory automation and systems integration.
• Deep experience designing, programming, integrating, and deploying laboratory automation platforms, such as Hamilton, Tecan, Agilent, HighRes, Opentrons, robotic arms, schedulers, or comparable technologies.
• Strong Python and API-integration skills.
• Experience connecting instruments to schedulers, databases, message brokers, LIMS/ELN, or other scientific software systems.
• Demonstrated ownership of greenfield automation platforms from architecture and vendor selection through commissioning and production deployment.
• Strong systems thinking across hardware, software, data, science, and reliability.
• Proven ability to lead through technical authority, mentor engineers, and create reusable solutions in ambiguous, cross-functional environments while remaining hands-on when needed.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end architecture of the physical execution platform, including instruments, robotic work cells, and integrated laboratory systems.
• Serve as technical design authority for robotics, scientific instrumentation, instrument-control software, execution-layer interfaces, and reusable platform patterns.
• Translate scientific requirements and acceptance criteria into automatable unit operations, equipment requirements, sample and material flows, execution sequences, control points, and exception states.
• Identify technical constraints and recommend workflow adaptations for robust automated execution.
• Define with CS CoE the interface between digital orchestration and physical execution, including how experiments become machine-executable actions and how outputs, system state, sample identity, metadata, and execution context are returned downstream.
• Own physical-platform interface and device requirements, coordinating with CS CoE, which owns higher-level AI, informatics, and orchestration capabilities.
• Lead technical selection, integration, commissioning, and verification of robotics, liquid handlers, scientific instruments, schedulers, and control layers.
• Demonstrate that platforms meet defined technical and scientific requirements before operational acceptance.
• Engineer unattended execution capabilities, including state awareness, observability, exception detection, automated recovery, safe-stop behavior, and appropriate human escalation.
• Design systems for maintainability and serviceability; jointly define operational-readiness criteria with Lab Operations and support formal acceptance into routine operations.
• After acceptance, remain technical design authority for material architecture changes, new capabilities, and systemic technical limitations; Lab Operations owns routine execution, monitoring, maintenance, incident response, and established recovery procedures.
• Lead complex technical problem solving, architecture and design reviews, and development of reusable engineering standards.
• Mentor engineers and direct contractors, vendors, and system integrators while communicating technical tradeoffs across science, software, automation, facilities, and operations.
• Deliver a scalable physical execution-layer reference architecture and clearly defined interfaces with CS CoE systems.
• Deliver priority laboratory automation platforms from defined scientific requirements through commissioning, technical verification, and scientific acceptance.
• Develop common integration and deployment patterns for instruments and robotics, execution state, data capture, observability, error handling, and recovery.
• Create readiness criteria and handoff packages that enable Lab Operations to accept systems into reliable routine use, with clear post-deployment ownership.

Benefits

• A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and Company performance.
• The position qualifies for company benefits detailed at the referenced link; specific benefits are not listed in the posting.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior