Back to jobs

Lab Automation - Robotics Engineer

South San Francisco, California, United States

About Xaira Therapeutics

Xaira is an innovative biotech startup focused on leveraging AI to transform drug discovery and development. The company is leading the development of generative AI models to design protein and antibody therapeutics, enabling the creation of medicines against historically hard-to-drug molecular targets. It is also developing foundation models for biology and disease to enable better target elucidation and patient stratification. Collectively, these technologies aim to continually enable the identification of novel therapies and to improve success in drug development. Xaira is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and London.

About the Role

We are building a next-generation lab automation and robotics platform to transform how biological experiments are executed, monitored, and scaled. This platform will bring together robotic arms, mobile platforms, lab instruments, sensors, computer vision, workflow orchestration, and AI-enabled autonomy to increase the speed, reliability, reproducibility, and scale of experimental biology.

As a Robotics Engineer, Lab Automation, you will help turn real scientific workflows into robust automated systems. You will work closely with biologists, chemists, automation engineers, software engineers, and robotics experts to understand manual laboratory processes and translate them into reliable robotic execution.

This is a hands-on engineering role for someone who enjoys building, integrating, testing, and debugging physical systems. You will contribute to robotic manipulation, instrument integration, perception, task execution, simulation, and multi-station lab automation workflows. You will also have opportunities to grow into more advanced robotics, autonomy, and AI-enabled laboratory automation over time.

What You’ll Do

  • Build, integrate, and maintain robotics software for robotic arms, mobile robots, sensors, grippers, and laboratory automation devices.
  • Develop motion planning, manipulation, perception, and safety logic for robotic systems operating in real laboratory environments.
  • Integrate laboratory instruments and devices through APIs, IoT interfaces, schedulers, and custom control software.
  • Help build task execution frameworks using state machines, behavior trees, planners, and recovery logic for autonomous or semi-autonomous lab workflows.
  • Benchmark and integrate computer vision methods for object detection, segmentation, tracking, pose estimation, localization, and scene understanding.
  • Create and use simulation or digital twin environments for motion validation, workflow testing, synthetic data generation, and system debugging.
  • Collaborate with scientists to translate biological and chemical workflows into automated protocols.
  • Support multi-station system integration, automated material handling, sample tracking, validation, logging, and error recovery.
  • Work hands-on with physical hardware to debug real systems, improve reliability, and iterate quickly.
  • Evaluate modern AI, autonomy, foundation-model, reinforcement-learning, or imitation-learning approaches where they can improve real robotic lab execution.

Qualifications (Required):

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field. 
  • Recent graduates with strong robotics, automation, hardware/software integration, or relevant project experience are encouraged to apply.
  • PhD candidates are welcome to apply, particularly if they are excited by hands-on robotic system building, integration, and lab automation.
  • Strong software engineering skills in one or more modern programming languages (e.g., Python, C++, C#), cloud-based workflows, and production software systems.
  • Familiarity with robotics software frameworks such as ROS2, MoveIt, or comparable tools.
  • Familiarity with computer vision, perception, motion planning, robotic manipulation, or sensor integration.
  • Comfort working with physical hardware, debugging real systems, and learning by doing.
  • Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and ability to work across disciplines.
  • Ability to communicate clearly with scientists, automation engineers, software engineers, and robotics experts.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Experience with 6-axis robotic arms, autonomous mobile robots, grippers, machine vision systems, or automated material handling.
  • Experience with OpenCV, object detection, segmentation, tracking, pose estimation, SLAM, localization, or scene understanding.
  • Experience with Foxglove, Isaac Sim, MuJoCo, Gazebo, or other robotics simulation and debugging tools.
  • Experience integrating laboratory instruments such as liquid handlers, plate hotels, incubators, readers, and microscopes.
  • Experience with agentic AI frameworks (LangGraph, OpenAI Agents SDK, AutoGen, PydanticAI), Model Context Protocol (MCP), or AI systems that integrate language models with external tools and software.
  • Familiarity with biological or chemical assays such as PCR, gel electrophoresis, DNA quantification, microscopy, high-throughput screening, or cell-based assays.
  • Experience with CAD, 3D printing, laser cutting, CNC machining, or rapid prototyping.
  • Exposure to GPU-accelerated inference (CUDA, TensorRT, ONNX), edge deployment, foundation models, reinforcement learning, imitation learning, behavior trees, autonomous task planning, or agentic robotics systems.

What We Offer:

  • The opportunity to help build a state-of-the-art automated biology laboratory from the ground up.
  • Hands-on experience developing robotic systems for high-throughput, data-generating biological labs.
  • Exposure to robotics, lab automation, data infrastructure, and AI-enabled experimental systems.
  • Structured mentorship from experienced robotics, automation, software, and scientific leaders.
  • The opportunity to work with a passionate, interdisciplinary team on ambitious drug discovery projects.
  • A dynamic, innovative, and supportive work environment.
  • Professional growth and development opportunities in a rapidly growing company.

 

Compensation

We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, seeking to provide an open, flexible, and friendly work environment to empower employees and provide them with a platform to develop their long-term careers. A Summary of Benefits is available for all applicants. We offer a competitive package that includes base salary, bonus, and equity. The base pay range for this position is expected to be $150,000 - $180,000 annually; however, the base pay offered will vary depending on the market, job-related knowledge, skills and capabilities, and experience.

Xaira Therapeutics an equal-opportunity employer. We believe that our strength is in our differences. Our goal to build a diverse and inclusive team began on day one, and it will never end.

TO ALL RECRUITMENT AGENCIES: Xaira Therapeutics does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias or employees. Xaira Therapeutics is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Xaira Therapeutics’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 07/31/2029

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.