Research Engineer, Advanced Manufacturing, IAIC

A*STAR RESEARCH ENTITIES; Singapore; On-site; SGD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A*STAR's Advanced Manufacturing Research Directorate seeks a Research Engineer to develop AI-powered autonomous laboratory platforms and software infrastructure in Singapore. You will architect AI agent systems, automate experimental workflows, and integrate robotics with scientific instruments to accelerate discovery.

You will collaborate with researchers and engineers to design scalable backends, experiment planning pipelines, and data management, enabling autonomous experimentation across

Qualifications

• 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

Responsibilities

• 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

Skills

Analytical thinking

Problem solving

Communication

Interdisciplinary teamwork

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/AI/Robotics/Engineering

Tools

Python

PyTorch

Git

FastAPI/Flask

Docker

Linux

REST/OPC-UA

SQL (SQLite/PostgreSQL)

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.

Key Scope of Work

• 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.