Lab Automation Internship

Adaptyv Bio; Vaud; Hybrid; CHF 20,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

Adaptyv Bio seeks a Lab Automation Intern to join our Lausanne team. You’ll work hands-on with automated systems and robots, writing Python code, developing instrument drivers, and integrating hardware with LabOS.

The role blends software and hardware in a wet-lab environment, with on-site execution and practical prototyping. You’ll contribute to building scalable automated workflows, reverse-engineering device communication, and ensuring protocols run smoothly.

Qualifications

• Enrolled in or recent grad from eng/robotics/mechatronics/CS/biomedical eng.
• Solid software, hardware, and electronics aptitude across software and hardware.
• Self-starter who dives in and gets things done without waiting for instruction.

Responsibilities

• Build and run automated liquid-handling protocols on robots (Hamilton STAR and others).
• Support work-cell operation: loading runs, maintaining instruments, troubleshooting jams.
• Write Python software: drivers, integrations, and tooling to control hardware and move data.
• Reverse-engineer instrument communication to enable control from code.
• Run tests on new protocols, record results, and flag anomalies.
• Document protocols, layouts, and fixes to aid reproducibility.
• Assist with wiring and arranging the work cell, prep plates and reagents.

Skills

Python

Git

APIs

AI-native coding

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in engineering/robotics/mechatronics/CS/biomedical engineering

Tools

PyLabRobot

PyHamilton

Wireshark

Job description

Adaptyv is building an automated lab that lets AI agents run biology experiments.

We're entering the era of agentic science where AI models can now design novel proteins, propose hypotheses, and iterate on experimental results. But they can't run the experiments themselves - that's still a manual, months-long process. We're building the infrastructure that gives AI agents access to the physical world.

We are one of the fastest growing biotech companies, trusted by leading biopharmas, frontier AI labs, and the techbio companies pushing the field forward. This is a rare chance to help advance some of the most important work happening in biotech today.

Our automated lab is powered by a deep software + hardware stack: lab instruments worth millions of USD reverse-engineered into API-controllable hardware, dozens of devices orchestrated through complex workflows, full observability on everything that happens in the lab, processing pipelines for messy physical-world data, and AI systems that troubleshoot production results and accelerate assay development.

We’re growing rapidly and are hiring for talented people to scale and support the massive demand for AI-driven wet lab experimentation.

About the Role

We're scaling our automated lab fast, and the automation team builds and maintains the work cells that make high-throughput biology possible — Hamilton liquid handlers, robot arms, plate readers, BLI/SPR instruments, all orchestrated by LabOS.

We're looking for a Lab Automation Intern to work hands-on with that team in Lausanne: building and running automated protocols, helping bring new instruments online, and keeping production automation healthy. This is a practical, on-site role for someone who likes working where software meets hardware meets wet lab. You'll spend your time at the bench and the keyboard — programming liquid handlers, watching robots run, scripting small integrations, and figuring out why something broke.

What You'll Do

• Help build and run automated liquid-handling protocols on our robots (Hamilton STAR and others), controlled in Python with open-source tooling like PyLabRobot / PyHamilton — with guidance from the automation team

• Support work-cell operation and maintenance: loading runs, swapping consumables, calibrating instruments, and troubleshooting when something jams or misreadsx

• Write real software in Python — instrument drivers, integrations, and tooling that controls hardware and moves data through LabOS, building on open-source libraries like PyLabRobot / PyHamilton

• Help reverse-engineer how an instrument talks — capturing its traffic (e.g. with Wireshark or a USB/serial sniffer) so we can control it in code

• Run tests on new protocols and instruments, record results carefully, and flag anomalies

• Document protocols, work-cell layouts, and fixes so the next person can reproduce them

• Pitch in on the physical side — wiring up a new device, organizing the work cell, prepping plates and reagents for automated runs

What We're Looking For

• Currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a Bachelor's or Master's in engineering, robotics, mechatronics, computer science, bioengineering, or a related field

• A generalist maker — you like building things, taking them apart, and figuring out why they don't work, across software, electronics, and mechanics

• Self-starter — you spot what needs doing and get on with it, rather than waiting to be told

• Solid software skills. This is a software-heavy role, not a lab-assistant gig. You write real Python — you can build a driver, structure code others can read, work with APIs and Git, and debug your way through someone else's library

• AI-native. It's 2026 — you build with coding agents. You use Claude Code (or similar) to write, debug, and ship software faster than you could by hand, and you're hungry to push how far that goes

• Organized and reliable — you keep good notes and don't let things slip through the cracks

• A background in biology isn't required, but you should find it genuinely cool that we're teaching robots to run biology experiments

• Bonus: any maker / hacker experience — 3D printing and CAD, electronics and soldering, microcontrollers (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, ESP32), machining, robotics, or lab automation. Using or contributing to open-source projects (PyLabRobot, PyHamilton, Opentrons, or anything else) is a big plus.

Details

• Location: Lausanne, Switzerland (on-site)

• Commitment: Full-time internship, minimum 3 months (longer preferred)

• Start date: ASAP

Application deadline

We are reviewing applicants on a rolling basis.