Senior Software Engineer Lab Automation

F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG; Basel; Vor Ort; CHF 110.000 - 150.000; Vollzeit

Zusammenfassung

Roche Basel seeks a senior lab automation software engineer to bridge software and hardware in high-throughput laboratory environments. You will design, implement, and test orchestration systems and instrument drivers to enable unattended operation.

You will collaborate with automation scientists and hardware engineers to translate scientific needs into robust engineering solutions, leveraging APIs, SDKs, and CAD tools. A strong biology/wet-lab background is advantageous.

Qualifikationen

• 5+ years of software engineering experience with hardware integration.
• Experience programming liquid-handling or laboratory automation platforms and integrating robotic manipulators.
• Proficient in C# or Python for building software/integration frameworks.
• Familiar with wet lab workflows and translating scientific needs into engineering solutions.
• Prototyping design experience including CNC milling and laser cutting.

Aufgaben

• Design, program and troubleshoot high-throughput lab workflows.
• Build orchestration systems, hardware abstraction layers, and instrument drivers for unattended operation.
• Implement logging, metrics, and alerts across hardware and software.
• Address root causes with software or vision models.
• Create a digital representation of the lab including sample identity and instrument state.
• Integrate instruments with LIMS and ELNs.

Kenntnisse

Software engineering

Hardware integration

C# or Python

APIs/SDKs

Computer vision

Ausbildung

Biology background

Tools

Liquid-handling automation platforms

Robotic manipulators

CAD

Jobbeschreibung

At Roche you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections, where you are valued, accepted and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters.

The Position Advances in AI, data, and computational sciences are transforming drug discovery and development. Roche’s Research and Early Development organisations at Genentech (gRED) and Pharma (pRED) have demonstrated how these technologies accelerate R&D, leveraging data and novel computational models to drive impact. Seamless data sharing and access to models across gRED and pRED are essential to maximising these opportunities. The new Computational Sciences Center of Excellence (CoE) is a strategic, unified group whose goal is to harness this transformative power of data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assist our scientists in both pRED and gRED to deliver more innovative and transformative medicines for patients Worldwide. Within the CoE organisation, the Data and Digital Catalyst (DDC) organisation drives the modernisation of our computational and data ecosystems and integration of digital technologies across Research and Early Development to enable our stakeholders, power data-driven science and accelerate decision-making.

As a senior lab automation software engineer, you will be the essential link to the automation scientists in the lab. Using your background in both software development and hardware integration, you will work with a team of software‑focused engineers to build, test and do what is needed to bring the software and hardware layers into production.

The Opportunity To excel in this role, you will bridge the gap between complex software engineering and laboratory research in drug discovery through the following responsibilities:

• Design, program and troubleshoot high-throughput lab workflows.
• Build orchestration systems, hardware abstraction layers, and instrument drivers that manage retries and allow unattended operation.
• Implement logging, metrics, and alerts across hardware and software to identify failures.
• Fix root causes using software or vision models instead of relying on manual workarounds or vendor support.
• Build systems to maintain a digital representation of the lab, including sample identity, instrument state, and resource availability.
• Connect instruments via APIs and integrate with LIMS and ELNs.
• Manage hardware requirements, site constraints, reagent selection, and work cell integration from initial design to deployment.
• Work directly with software engineers, automation scientists, and hardware engineers to turn scientific processes into technical architectures.

Who You Are

• You have 5+ years of experience in software engineering and hardware integration.
• Experienced in programming commercial liquid-handling or laboratory automation platforms and integrating robotic manipulators.
• Proficient in C# or Python for building software and integration frameworks.
• Familiar with molecular biology, biochemistry, or wet lab workflows to help translate scientific needs into engineering solutions.
• Prototyping design experience, including CNC milling, laser cutting, and CAD.
• A clear communicator who collaborates with scientists and multidisciplinary teams to build complete solutions.
• Skilled at using APIs and SDKs to interact with complex laboratory software ecosystems.
• Experienced in designing workflow orchestration or scheduling systems that manage shared resources, dependencies, and priorities.

Preferred skills and experience

• Skilled with computer vision models (such as OpenCV, YOLO, or SAM) for automated error handling and object or anomaly detection.
• Experienced in training, evaluating, or adopting AI/ML models, including reinforcement or imitation learning for robotics.
• Capable of building and evaluating AI-enabled systems, defining evals, establishing guardrails for determinism versus nondeterminism, and measuring reliability.
• Knowledgeable about sensors, microcontrollers, and task-and-motion planning.
• Familiar with cloud infrastructure and digital twin simulation.

A cover letter is not necessary, you will be required to fill a questionnaire.

Where pay transparency applies, details are provided based on the primary posting location. For this role, the primary location is Basel. If you are interested in additional locations where the role may be available, we will provide the relevant compensation details later in the hiring process.

Who we are

A healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life‑changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact. Let’s build a healthier future, together. Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe it’s urgent to deliver medical solutions right now – even as we develop innovations for the future. We are passionate about transforming patients’ lives. We are courageous in both decision and action. And we believe that good business means a better world. That is why we come to work each day. We commit ourselves to scientific rigor, unassailable ethics, and access to medical innovations for all. We do this today to build a better tomorrow. We are proud of who we are, what we do, and how we do it. We are many, working as one across functions, across companies, and across the world. We are Roche.