Senior Software Engineer - Lab Automation

Genentech • Daly City, CA

2d • $142,500 - $264,700

About The Position

The Senior Software Engineer – Lab Automation will help build the software foundation for autonomous laboratories at Genentech and Roche. The role connects software architecture, AI models, and physical instrumentation, developing hardware abstraction layers, instrument integration frameworks, and orchestration engines to support reliable operation and closed-loop error recovery across laboratory automation platforms. The work supports the Computational Sciences Center of Excellence and the Data and Digital Catalyst team in developing systems for unattended, around-the-clock scientific workflows.

The engineer will design and troubleshoot high-throughput laboratory workflows, develop systems that track samples and instrument state, and integrate laboratory systems with LIMS and ELNs. The role also spans hardware requirements and workcell integration, from layout and prototyping through production deployment, in collaboration with software engineers, automation scientists, and hardware engineers. The stated primary location is San Francisco; relocation benefits are not available.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of software engineering and physical hardware integration experience, or an equivalent advanced degree with a proven industrial automation track record.
• Proficiency in Python or C# for modular software architectures, integration frameworks, and distributed services.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals, including system design, automated testing, version control, CI/CD, debugging, and production operations.
• Effective AI-native software engineering practices, including providing context, decomposing problems, directing agents, reviewing their work, and validating results; deep understanding of the limitations of AI-generated code.
• Hands-on experience programming commercial liquid-handling platforms and integrating robotic arms or manipulators into unified automated workcells.
• Experience designing workflow orchestration and scheduling systems that manage shared resources, dynamic dependencies, and execution priorities.
• Skill using APIs and SDKs, such as REST, gRPC, and vendor interfaces, to interact with laboratory software ecosystems.
• Practical rapid-prototyping design experience, including CAD, 3D printing, CNC milling, or laser cutting for custom fixtures and hardware adaptations.
• Familiarity with molecular biology, biochemistry, or wet-lab workflows to translate scientific requirements into engineering deliverables.
• Clear communication and ability to collaborate across multidisciplinary teams of research scientists, software developers, and automation engineers.

Nice To Haves

• Experience creating and evaluating AI agents used within applications, including designing robust evaluations of agent performance and reliability.
• Experience integrating computer vision models, such as OpenCV, YOLO, or SAM, for automated error recovery, deck inspection, and anomaly detection.
• Hands-on background in training, evaluating, or adopting AI/ML models, including reinforcement learning or imitation learning for robotics.
• Knowledge of sensors, microcontrollers, embedded communication protocols, and task-and-motion planning.
• Familiarity with cloud infrastructure, containerized deployment, and digital twin simulation workflows.

Responsibilities

• Design, program, and troubleshoot high-throughput laboratory workflows to ensure robust assay execution on physical hardware.
• Build orchestration systems, hardware abstraction layers, and instrument drivers that manage retries and shared resource contention and enable unattended operation around the clock.
• Implement telemetry, logging, metrics, and alerting across hardware and software to diagnose failures and resolve root causes using software hooks or vision models.
• Build systems that maintain a real-time representation of the laboratory, including sample tracking, instrument state, and reagent availability, with bidirectional integration into LIMS and ELNs.
• Manage hardware requirements, site constraints, communication protocols, and workcell integration from mechanical layout and prototyping through production deployment.
• Collaborate with software engineers, automation scientists, and hardware engineers to translate scientific protocols into production-grade technical architectures.

Benefits

• A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and company performance.
• The position qualifies for company benefits, but specific benefits are not detailed in the posting.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed