Senior Automation Engineer, Drug Discovery Development Sciences

Altos Labs•San Francisco, CA

About The Position

At Altos, your work will be at the heart of a mission to transform medicine by reversing disease and restoring cell health. You will contribute to the development of a new generation of drugs rooted in an advanced understanding of cellular rejuvenation and resilience. By designing and scaling sophisticated automated systems, you will enable our scientists to translate deep biological insights into tangible therapeutic candidates. Your primary focus will be to support the automation of laboratory workflows within the Institute of Medicine (Discovery Pharmacology and Assay Sciences), ensuring that clinical-grade research moves with unprecedented speed and precision. In this role, you will also work closely to support the Discovery Sciences and Institute of Computation functions, serving as a vital link between target identification and computational modeling. Ultimately, your work will both drive the physical realization of therapies designed to reverse disease and embrace the exciting possibility of generating the high-dimensional data necessary to build the AI drug discovery tools of the future.

Requirements

Education: BS/MS/PhD in Engineering, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Genetics or related field
Experience: 8+ years in laboratory automation, specifically within a drug discovery or high-throughput production environment.
Technical Breadth: Mastery across multiple software platforms (Hamilton Venus, Tecan, Cellario, etc.) and experience with 3rd-party driver development.
LIMS Expertise: Proven track record of selecting or managing LIMS/informatics transitions.
Problem Solver: A "hands-on" engineer who thrives on troubleshooting experiments for liquid handling, workflow complications and complex hardware/software interfaces.
Strategic Thinker: Ability to manage the "big picture" of lab assets, from computer migrations to the long-term retirement and deployment of high-value robotics.
Analytical: Ability to understand diverse and complex workflows on liquid- and plate- handling systems, including the sources and statistical assessment of unwarranted assay variance
Collaboration: Ability to work both independently and collaborate effectively as part of an interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers;
Motivation: Self-driven individual motivated to book end projects requiring minimal supervision

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of PCR, Sequencing, and other Molecular Biology techniques and skills as well as experience with high throughput automation systems designed for molecular biology or analytical applications
Experience automating workflows for high-throughput RNA-seq, including transcriptional profiling, spatial and single-cell applications.
Experience screening small molecules, siRNA and other modalities in in vitro and cell-based assays
Experience automating workflows for high throughput production of mRNA, plasmids and functional genomic library assembly
Experience automating workflows for NGS library preparation and other genomics applications

Responsibilities

System Design & Integration: Lead the design and implementation of fully automated, end-to-end workflows (e.g., high-content imaging, NGS library prep, and automated cell culture maintenance, mRNA production, high-throughput screening).
Workflow Optimization: Evaluate existing manual assays and transform them into robust, scalable automated processes.
Software & Scheduling: Program and maintain liquid handling platforms (Hamilton, Tecan, or Beckmann) and integrated robotic workcells using scheduling software (e.g., HighRes Biosolutions Cellario, Biosero Green Button Go).
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with the IoM’s biological leads to ensure that automated solutions meet the rigorous precision required for rejuvenation research.
Data Integrity: Develop and implement automated data capture and LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) integration to ensure seamless data flow from the robot to our AI/ML pipelines.
Instrument Evaluation: Evaluate and recommend laboratory automation instruments for deploying to a production environment.
Expert Programming: Write methods using various laboratory automation control software including Tecan EVOware, Beckman, Hamilton, Agilent/Bionex Vworks, Dynamic Devices MethodManager, Green Button GO, Plate Butler, Cellario Scheduler, and others.
Integration & Installation: Work hands-on with the installation and integration of laboratory automation with a high level of attention to detail.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with partners in other functions to ensure that new instruments and processes transition smoothly into a production environment.
Vendor Relations: Collaborate, develop, and maintain relationships with external vendors to develop drivers, custom automation solutions, and enable Production support.
Efficiency & Innovation: Contribute directly to the development of innovations that improve efficiency and reduce cost.
Training & Mentorship: Provide instrument training to production end users.
Lifecycle Management: Create a census of automation, its current usage, and develop and implement a plan for areas of retirement, growth, or re-deployment.
Systems Stability: Handle the migration of lab/automation computers, including installing and integrating automation and devices as needed while testing to ensure lab stability.
Governance: Create a system and culture of version control for automation scripts and thoroughness through documentation.
Leadership: Potential to grow and manage a team of laboratory automation scientists in support of workflow automation across Altos.