Automation Engineer, R&D and Manufacturing

Atum - DNA 2.0•Newark, CA

14h•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking an Automation Engineer to design, deploy, and scale automated laboratory platforms that enable high throughput biology across R&D and manufacturing. This role owns the translation of biological processes into robust, automated workflows using liquid handling robots and integrated systems. The Automation Engineer will partner closely with scientists, data teams, and manufacturing to deliver reliable, production ready automation that increases throughput, data quality, and reproducibility. This is a hands on, lab-based engineering role focused on building systems, not running manual experiments.

Requirements

BS, MS, or PhD in Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Biotechnology, or a related engineering focused discipline.
Degrees in Molecular Biology or Biochemistry require substantial automation engineering experience.
Demonstrated experience designing and deploying automated laboratory workflows in biotech, pharma, or synthetic biology environments.
Hands on experience with liquid handling robotics and automation scripting.
Strong understanding of biological processes such as cell culture, protein expression, and purification in automated formats.
Experience supporting scale up or technology transfer of automated processes.
Proficiency in automation platforms such as Biomek, LYNX, Hamilton, or Tecan.
Experience with scripting, method development, or programming for laboratory automation.
Familiarity with DOE, data analysis, and process optimization.

Responsibilities

Design and implement automated workflows for liquid handling, cell culture, protein expression, and purification.
Program, validate, and maintain liquid handling platforms such as Biomek, LYNX, or equivalent systems.
Integrate robotics with peripheral devices including incubators, plate readers, centrifuges, and chromatography systems.
Translate manual biological protocols into scalable, high throughput automated processes.
Optimize workflows using DOE and data driven approaches to improve throughput, robustness, and cost.
Ensure automated methods are reliable, reproducible, and suitable for tech transfer into manufacturing or pilot scale environments.
Partner with scientists and manufacturing team to define automation requirements and success criteria.
Work with manufacturing, quality, and facilities teams to support deployment in controlled environments.
Serve as the technical owner for automated systems throughout their lifecycle.
Author SOPs, validation documentation, and technical reports for automated workflows.
Establish best practices for method versioning, change control, and system reliability.
Support troubleshooting and root cause analysis for automation related failures.