periodic-labs Verified 14h ago
Research Engineer, Lab Automation
Menlo Park, CA On-site
$200,000–$250,000 a yearPay$200,000–$250,000
TypeFull-time
Work settingOn-site
Verified listing
JobFig found this opening at its original source and checks that it remains available.
About the role
Join our team of scientists and engineers building a lab where AI and automation speed up materials discovery. We're building an autonomous lab to speed up materials discovery, and we need someone who understands materials R&D from the inside — someone who's run the experiments, fought with the instruments, and knows what "the workflow" actually means at the bench. As our Research Engineer, you'll work directly with scientists to understand what they're trying to learn, then translate that into the hardware setups, instrument sequences, and engineering requirements that make it possible to automate.
What you'll bring
- PhD in Materials Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent research experience).
- Strong working knowledge of common materials lab hardware (e.g. furnaces, fluid/gas handling manifolds, characterization tools, synthesis equipment) and the workflows built around them.
- Ability to communicate fluently with both scientists and engineers, and to translate scientific intent into clear technical requirements.
- Comfort writing Python to interact with instruments, manipulate experimental data, and prototype automation workflows