This job is no longer accepting applicants.
Laboratory Automation Engineer
Full Time
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Job description
Scismic is supporting the growth of a biotech company in Boston, MA!
We are seeking a Laboratory Automation Engineer to join our team!
We are seeking a Laboratory Automation Engineer to join our team!
You are someone we can count on to...
- Build and lead the laboratory automation and operations capability for the company. Leveraging your expertise in instrumentation and scientific principles, you will program, maintain, and troubleshoot lab automation and other equipment to support production activities and conduct experiments with bench scientists.
- You will directly improve efficiency in our drug discovery efforts by transitioning bench-based protocols to automation and by enabling high throughput analysis to support clear decision-making. You will ensure that automation efforts are integrated with current research workflows and programs, working with biologists and software engineers to seamlessly integrate automation with existing software and hardware to optimize data flows. You will develop SOPs and training to support the team today, while anticipating needs for a growing team and developing a long-term roadmap for automation and other lab requirements.
- Beyond automation, you will help build and lead a state-of-the-art lab alongside the Senior Manager of Lab Operations and Compound Management. You will ensure our new lab space is a safe and efficient physical working space. You take pride in creating an organized and thoughtful lab space to help fuel drug discovery efforts.
- You possess strong technical and organizational skills, a problem-solving attitude, and an adaptable mindset. You can see around corners - envisioning weeks and months ahead - to consider all details related to lab automation, lab operations, projects, partnerships, vendor relationships, and more.
- You communicate and respond effectively and efficiently, while maintaining flexibility and a sense of humor. You are a humble team player who is willing to help with other priorities across the growing organization as assigned.
Your key responsibilities will include…
- Designing and optimizing high-throughput workflows and sample production pipelines, including translating bench-scale workflows to automated liquid handlers in an effort to reduce turnaround time, increase throughput and yields, and reduce cost
- Coordinating experimental design and testing of bench-based protocols on automated platforms
- Writing, validating, executing, and modifying high throughput and other lab SOPs and supporting documentation
- Developing ongoing lab-wide training processes and policies, training other team members on the use of the developed automation and other lab workflows, and onboarding new lab members
- Overseeing equipment procurement and performance, which includes strategic sourcing of new equipment in partnership with internal teams, ensuring its installation and calibration, creating maintenance protocols, and scheduling preventive maintenance and service requests and reports
- Troubleshooting and responding to complex challenges and putting in controls to prevent future issues
- Analyzing and summarizing large data sets and presenting experimental results to team members and management with recommendations for next steps and improvements
- Monitoring equipment utilization and optimizing lab resources to within budget allocations
- Providing other administrative and project management support for the lab and other business areas as assigned
Ideally, you have…
- An MS degree or BS degree in Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Genomics, an Engineering discipline (Bio, Biomedical, or Mechanical), or related field with 2+ years of relevant automation experience.
- Proficiency in using, programming, and troubleshooting liquid handlers and/or plate readers – Hamilton, Cytation 5, or other – and other automation software and hardware is required, including running and automating assays and automating protocols
- Experience with developing and executing high throughput microtiter plate-based assays, enzyme assays, cell-based assays, etc. is highly desired
- Experience at a high growth biotech startup is preferred
- Experience in lab buildout, moving, and setup is a plus
- Proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams), G-Suite, and lab databases and documentation systems
Compensation & benefits
- Extremely generous equity package coupled with competitive salary
- Healthcare benefits
- Generous vacation and parental leave
- Super cool team building activities
- Flexible work schedule
- Great colleagues