Research Engineer, Advanced Manufacturing, IAIC

A*STAR Research Entities (A*STAR); Singapore; On-site; SGD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A*STAR Research Entities (A*STAR) invites applications for a Research Engineer to help develop AI-powered autonomous scientific platforms for advanced manufacturing. You will craft software that integrates AI agents, laboratory automation, robotics, and machine learning to run experiments with minimal human input.

The role centers on building intelligent systems for planning, execution, monitoring, and optimization of laboratory experiments, collaborating with researchers and engineers across

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in CS/AI/Robotics/Engineering or related fields.
• Strong programming in Python.
• Experience with ML frameworks such as PyTorch.
• Experience developing modular software using Git and collaborative workflows.
• Familiarity with laboratory automation or robotics is desirable.
• Experience integrating hardware and software via Serial, TCP/IP, REST APIs, OPC-UA, or vendor SDKs is an advantage.
• Understanding of Bayesian optimization, active learning, RL, or AI-assisted optimization is desirable.
• Experience with AI agent frameworks (e.g., LangGraph, LangChain, AutoGen, CrewAI, Model Context Protocol) is an advantage.
• Experience with FastAPI, Flask, Docker, Linux, cloud platforms, or scientific computing environments is a plus.
• Familiarity with databases (SQLite or PostgreSQL) and scientific data management is desirable.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop software infrastructure for AI-powered Self-Driving Laboratory platforms.
• Design AI agent systems for autonomous scientific workflows.
• Build workflow orchestration for experiment planning, scheduling, execution, monitoring and recovery.
• Integrate laboratory instruments, robotics, and scientific equipment through software interfaces (e.g., Serial, TCP/IP, REST APIs, vendor SDKs).
• Develop autonomous experiment control pipelines by integrating AI models with laboratory hardware and scientific software.
• Implement Bayesian Optimization, active learning, reinforcement learning, or other AI-driven optimization techniques.
• Build experiment data management, provenance tracking, and scientific data pipelines.
• Develop APIs and backend services for laboratory automation platforms.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams working on AI for Science, advanced manufacturing, robotics, and autonomous experimentation

Skills

Python

Git

Lab automation familiarity

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in CS/AI/Robotics/Engineering

Tools

PyTorch

Git

Job description

We are looking for motivated candidates to join the Advanced Manufacturing Research Directorate (AMRD), Institute of Advanced Intelligence and Computing (IAIC), A*STAR as a Research Engineer. The successful candidate will contribute to the development of next-generation AI-powered autonomous scientific platforms for advanced manufacturing. The role focuses on building intelligent software systems that integrate AI agents, laboratory automation, robotics, scientific instrumentation, and machine learning to enable autonomous experimentation and accelerate scientific discovery. You will work closely with researchers, engineers, and domain experts to develop AI-driven systems capable of planning, executing, monitoring, and optimizing laboratory experiments with minimal human intervention.

The key scope of work includes

• Developing software infrastructure for AI-powered Self-Driving Laboratory platforms.
• Designing and implementing AI agent systems for autonomous scientific workflows.
• Building workflow orchestration systems for experiment planning, scheduling, execution, monitoring, and recovery.
• Integrating laboratory instruments, robotics, and scientific equipment through software interfaces (e.g., Serial, TCP/IP, REST APIs, vendor SDKs).
• Developing autonomous experiment control pipelines by integrating AI models with laboratory hardware and scientific software.
• Implementing Bayesian Optimization, active learning, reinforcement learning, or other AI-driven experimental optimization techniques.
• Building experiment data management, provenance tracking, and scientific data pipelines.
• Developing APIs and backend services for laboratory automation platforms.
• Collaborating with interdisciplinary teams working on AI for Science, advanced manufacturing, robotics, and autonomous experimentation

Job Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics,Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related disciplines.
• Strong programming skills in Python with solid software engineering practices.
• Experience with machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch.
• Experience developing modular software systems using Git and collaborative development workflows.
• Familiarity with laboratory automation, scientific instrumentation, workflow automation, or robotics is desirable.
• Experience integrating hardware and software using communication protocols such as Serial, TCP/IP, REST APIs, OPC-UA, or vendor SDKs is an advantage.
• Understanding of Bayesian Optimization, active learning, reinforcement learning, or AI-assisted optimization techniques is desirable.
• Experience with AI agent frameworks (e.g., LangGraph, LangChain, AutoGen, CrewAI, or Model Context Protocol) is an advantage.
• Experience with FastAPI, Flask, Docker, Linux, cloud platforms, or scientific computing environments is a plus.
• Familiarity with databases (e.g., SQLite or PostgreSQL) and scientific data management is desirable.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively in interdisciplinary research teams

Preferred Experience

Experience in one or more of the following areas is advantageous:

• Autonomous Science
• Self-Driving Laboratories
• Laboratory automation
• Scientific instrumentation
• Robotics
• AI agents and multi-agent systems
• Scientific workflow orchestration
• Bayesian Optimization
• Materials discovery
• Advanced manufacturing
• Semiconductor manufacturing

We welcome motivated engineers who are passionate about developing AI systems for autonomous scientific discovery. This role offers the opportunity to build next-generation AI agents that interact with laboratory instruments, robotics, simulation software, and foundation models to accelerate research in advanced manufacturing and beyond.