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Lead/ Senior Automation Engineer

insitro· Automation
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South San Francisco, CAFull-timePosted 3mo ago

About the role

Lead/Senior Automation Engineer at insitro, focusing on building and developing high-quality automated systems and protocols to support scientific workflows in a life sciences automation setting. Onsite role in South San Francisco, collaboration with scientists, software engineers, and microscopy engineers, reporting to Director, Process Engineering.

Responsibilities

  • Embed with folks within the scientific teams to define workflows, develop process specific QC metrics, and drive the translation of workflows onto automation systems
  • Design, develop and qualify new workcells and liquid handling protocols to enable new platform capabilities
  • Collaborate closely with the LIMS team to develop and implement automated data capture and LIMS integration to ensure seamless data flow from the robot to our AI/ML pipelines
  • Work with the Systems Engineering team to diagnose and resolve complex mechanical, software, and system integration issues to minimize equipment downtime and maintain operational continuity
  • Collaborate with folks from our machine learning, software engineering and scientific groups to solve questions ranging from technology onboarding, minimizing batch effects, or process improvements
  • Identify opportunities in how we develop, test and deploy automation solutions more efficiently
  • Work with automation leadership to create a census of automation, its current usage, and develop and implement a plan for areas of retirement, growth, or re-deployment.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree or higher in Robotics, Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Software or Bioengineering, or Physics, Chemistry or Biology
  • B.S, with 8+ years, M.S with 6+ years, or Ph.D. with 3+ years of professional experience working with automation hardware
  • Proficiency in automation and systems development/integration within the life sciences industry, specifically with robotics and liquid handling platforms
  • Proficiency in software programming (Python, SQL, and/or C#) and data handling (including database work) is highly preferred
  • You understand existing capabilities of the lab automation industry and have a track record showing technical depth in automation systems of varying scale
  • You are comfortable completing work independently on complex projects and can also give guidance to others on daily work
  • You have experience in managing the relationship to other engineering functions (eg. third party service providers and vendors or internal mechanical or software engineering teams)
  • You have experience automating scientific workflows (ex. Cell Culture, Genomic Screening or DNA-encoded Library processes)

Benefits

  • 401(k) plan with employer matching for contributions
  • Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage as well as mental health and well-being support
  • Open, flexible vacation policy
  • Paid parental leave of at least 16 weeks to support parents who give birth, and 10 weeks for a new parent (inclusive of birth, adoption, fostering, etc)
  • Quarterly budget for books and online courses for self-development
  • New hire stipend for home office setup
  • Monthly cell phone & internet stipend
  • Access to free onsite baristas and daily lunch for employees who are either onsite or hybrid
  • Access to a free commuter bus network that provides transport to and from our South San Francisco HQ from locations all around the Bay Area
Last updated Oct 8, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About insitro

Making Medicines Differently

At insitro, we are building a different kind of drug company to bring better drugs faster to the patients who can benefit most. Through the power of machine learning (ML) and data at scale, we decode the complexities of biology to unlock transformative new medicines.

PipelinePlatformPeoplePublications & PressML-driven platformdrug discoveryneurosciencemetabolism
Company profileWebsite

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