Automation Engineer II

BigHat; San Mateo (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

BigHat Biosciences is seeking a hands-on Automation Engineer to build and sustain automated workflows powering our high-throughput antibody platform. You will own end-to-end automation projects, collaborate with scientific and production teams, and keep instruments running to enable rapid discovery.

The role reports to the Lab Automation team and requires in-lab presence in San Mateo, CA. Prior hands-on automation experience and strong communication across diverse teams are essential.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of relevant lab automation or liquid-handling experience.
• Hands-on liquid-handler method development with listed platforms.
• Troubleshooting and maintaining liquid handlers; support for users.
• Experience partnering with scientific and production teams.
• Knowledge of experimental design, process docs, and data analysis.
• Strong communication across diverse teams; eager to learn.
• Experience automating high-throughput protein workflows is a plus.
• Willingness to work onsite in a hands-on role.

Responsibilities

• Own automation projects end-to-end from design to production release.
• Collaborate with scientific and production teams to scope workflows.
• Maintain and troubleshoot instruments and automate methods.
• Document procedures and SOPs; support knowledge transfer.
• Collaborate with software teams on integrated workflows.

Skills

Lab automation

Data analysis

Communication

Problem solving

Tools

Hamilton Venus

Tecan FluentControl

Beckman Biomek

Agilent VWorks

Analytik Jena Composer

Hamilton STAR/Vantage

Job description

Automation Engineer II

Department: Lab Science

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: San Mateo, CA

Description

The role: BigHat Biosciences is seeking a hands-on Automation Engineer to build, support, and sustain the automated workflows that power our high-throughput antibody production and characterization platform. We are looking for someone motivated by more than the engineering itself: they want their work to help bring cures to patients faster by leveraging an automated, ML-driven antibody engineering platform.

This position reports directly to Keltoum Boukra and works in close collaboration with the Lab Automation team, alongside scientific, production, and software partners across the platform.

*At BigHat we believe in titles that commensurate with skill set, relative organizational impact, and value contribution; more experienced candidates are encouraged to apply, with the understanding that

responsibilities and title would adjust as appropriate.

Key Responsibilities

• Own automation projects end-to-end: lead the design, build, validation and deployment of new automated workflows, from requirements through production release, taking technical ownership of the result.
• Partner with scientific and production teams to scope projects, translate assay needs into robust automated workflows, and onboard them into routine use.
• Maintain and troubleshoot instruments and automated methods, and support lab users to keep the platform running and operators unblocked.
• Document automation procedures and SOPs, support knowledge transfer, and contribute to the growth of the automation team's know-how.
• Collaborate with software engineering teams on end-to-end integrated workflows leveraging BigHat's software stack.

Skills Knowledge and Expertise

• 3+ years of relevant lab automation or liquid-handling industry experience.
• Hands-on experience in liquid-handler method development (e.g. Hamilton Venus, Tecan FluentControl, Beckman Biomek, Agilent VWorks, Analytik Jena Composer, or similar), with Hamilton STAR or Vantage strongly preferred.
• Hands-on experience troubleshooting and maintaining liquid handlers, and supporting automation users in the lab.
• Experience partnering with scientific and production teams to scope, build, and onboard automated workflows.
• Working knowledge of experimental design, process documentation, and data analysis.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to work across diverse teams (protein scientists, research associates, data scientists, software engineers).
• A genuine drive to contribute, and the curiosity to keep learning and take on unfamiliar problems, adding to the team through fresh problem solving, complementary expertise, or new tools and practices.
• Experience automating high-throughput protein production and characterization workflows, a strong plus though not required.
• Comfort working in a fluid, dynamic start-up environment.
• Willingness to work onsite, as the role is hands-on with instruments and in-lab support, so physical presence is required.

Total Rewards

The salary estimated for this position is $150,000 - $165,000 + bonus + options + benefits. Compensation will vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Actual compensation will be confirmed in writing at the time of the offer.