Associate / Engineer I, ResOps, Formulations and Characterization

Your Impact at LILA

We are seeking a motivated and detail-oriented Associate Engineer to join our high-throughput Research Operations team. In this role, you will focus on hands on material formulation preparation using characterization techniques relevant to rheology and mechanical properties

You will gain hands-on experience with state-of-the-art automation technologies while contributing directly to projects that drive our company’s growth.

This is an excellent opportunity for candidates excited to learn engineering principles, work with advanced laboratory automation, and develop a strong foundation in scientific operations in a dynamic, shift-based environment.

What You'll Be Building

• Perform wet-lab materials synthesis and formulation of materials including coatings, solutions, and elastic materials
• Prepare reagents, solutions/electrolytes, samples, and consumables to ensure seamless continuation of experiments across shifts
• Conduct rheology of formulations, and mechanical testing such as tensile, peel, and shear tests
• Follow detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure accuracy, reproducibility, and throughput
• Monitor workflow performance, troubleshoot common issues, and escalate when necessary to ensure continuity between shifts
• Record, organize, and maintain experimental data with high attention to detail
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency and streamline processes across shift operations
• Flag unusual features or results for scientist review
• Collaborate with scientists and engineers to support diverse projects across life sciences and physical sciences

What You'll Need to Succeed

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Physics, Chemical/Materials Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent laboratory experience)
• Attention to detail and strong organizational skills
• >1 year of experience with bench top and wet lab environments in an industrial setting with high throughout performing: pipetting, chemical handling, solution and sample preparation
• Hands-on experience synthesizing and testing materials such as coatings, solutions, adhesives, paints, and elastic materials
• Experience working and disposing of acids and bases, synthesis in fume hoods, and handling powders
• Curiosity to learn new skills and techniques relevant to materials science

Bonus Points For

• Additional familiarity with: mechanical testing (e.g., tensile and peel tests), rheology, polymer-based systems
• Experience working in high-throughput production environments with a focus on scalability, efficiency, and accuracy
• Basic engineering skills for troubleshooting synthesis tools such as centrifuges, pipettes, ovens, chemical handlers, glove box, and pumps
• Familiarity with automated workflows and techniques to operate and generate custom scripts
• Experience with characterization methods for analyzing morphology and chemical compositions

About LILA

Lila Sciences is building Scientific Superintelligence™ to solve humankind's greatest challenges. We believe science is the most inspiring frontier for AI. Rather than hard-coding expert knowledge into tools, LILA builds systems that can learn for themselves.

LILA combines advanced AI models with proprietary AI Science Factory™ instruments into an operating system for science that executes the entire scientific method autonomously, accelerating discovery at unprecedented speed, scale, and impact across medicine, materials, and energy. Learn more at www.lila.ai.

Guided by our core values of truth, trust, curiosity, grit, and velocity, we move with startup speed while tackling problems of historic importance. If this sounds like an environment you'd love to work in, even if you don't meet every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply.

We’re All In

Lila Sciences is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

Information you provide during your application process will be handled in accordance with our Candidate Privacy Policy.

A Note to Agencies

Lila Sciences does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to Lila Sciences or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Lila Science’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of Lila Sciences, and Lila Sciences will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.