Automation Scientist

California Institute of Technology; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 113,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision insurance

Retirement savings plans

Paid time off

Job summary

California Institute of Technology announces an opening for Automation Scientist to design automated electron microscopy and sample-prep workflows for ELECTRA. You will translate scientific questions into executable experiments, build control routines, and contribute to AI-driven design across PCL nodes.

The role requires PhD/MSc levels, experience in automation, and strong coding and collaboration skills, with on-site and remote user support across diverse institutions.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in chemistry, materials science, structural biology, chemical engineering, physics, or a related field plus 1 year of related experience (or Master's Degree with at least 3 years of related experience).
• Track record of publishing work.
• Hands-on experience with a structural characterization method.
• Experience automating laboratory workflows or running high-throughput experimentation.
• Proficiency in coding and data processing.
• Strong collaboration and written communication skills, and genuine interest in supporting users at institutions with fewer resources than ours.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and validate automated and semi-autonomous electron microscopy and sample-preparation workflows, including closed-loop, active-learning strategies that improve hit rates with less human intervention.
• Express experimental logic as reviewable protocols and machine-readable specifications, and establish the acceptance criteria, calibration routines, validation standards, and failure/recovery definitions that make a remotely executed experiment trustworthy.
• Analyze and interpret experimental datasets, and curate high-quality datasets, including metadata and failure cases, to inform workflow design and support AI-driven experiment design and cross-node standards.
• Collaborate with the team to translate experimental logic into instrument-control routines, scheduling constraints, and user-facing interfaces, and co-develop common experimental-design and laboratory protocols with counterparts at other PCL nodes.
• Provide expert technical support to onboarded users, on-site and remote, helping them translate scientific questions into executable ELECTRA experiments.
• Contribute to recruitment and onboarding workshops, user documentation, and facility tours; mentor students and junior staff; and contribute to publications and technical reports.

Skills

Automation workflows

High-throughput experiments

Coding & data processing

Collaboration & communication

Electron diffraction experience

Education

PhD or MSc in chemistry / materials science / structural biology / chemical engineering / physics

Tools

XDS

DIALS

PHENIX

Job description

Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering institute that marshals some of the world's brightest minds and most innovative tools to address fundamental scientific questions. We thrive on finding and cultivating talented people who are passionate about what they do. Join us and be a part of the diverse Caltech community.

About ELECTRA

Caltech has been awarded funding under the National Science Foundation's Programmable Cloud Laboratories (PCL) Test Bed program to establish ELECTRA, a remotely accessible, AI-enabled automated laboratory for electron diffraction (MicroED) and structural elucidation. ELECTRA is one node in a planned nationwide network of PCL Test Bed facilities that will let researchers anywhere, including at institutions with limited access to advanced instrumentation, submit and run real experiments over the cloud. We are hiring the founding team that will help build and operate the node. The cross-disciplinary team is composed of scientists and engineers from academia and the private sector. This project will directly impact various scientific fields, including chemistry, biology, and materials science, with applications in tech and medicine. (See https://www.nsf.gov/tip/updates/nsf-announces-400m-investment-new-national-network-ai.)

As Automation Scientist, you will design the scientific logic behind ELECTRA's automated experiments, from electron microscopy and sample-prep workflows to the acceptance criteria that make a remotely run experiment trustworthy, and support the users who run them.

Job Duties

• Design, build, and validate automated and semi-autonomous electron microscopy and sample-preparation workflows, including closed-loop, active-learning strategies that improve hit rates with less human intervention.
• Express experimental logic as reviewable protocols and machine-readable specifications, and establish the acceptance criteria, calibration routines, validation standards, and failure/recovery definitions that make a remotely executed experiment trustworthy.
• Analyze and interpret experimental datasets, and curate high-quality datasets, including metadata and failure cases, to inform workflow design and support AI-driven experiment design and cross-node standards.
• Collaborate with the team to translate experimental logic into instrument-control routines, scheduling constraints, and user-facing interfaces, and co-develop common experimental-design and laboratory protocols with counterparts at other PCL nodes.
• Provide expert technical support to onboarded users, on-site and remote, helping them translate scientific questions into executable ELECTRA experiments.
• Contribute to recruitment and onboarding workshops, user documentation, and facility tours; mentor students and junior staff; and contribute to publications and technical reports.

Minimum Qualifications

• Ph.D. in chemistry, materials science, structural biology, chemical engineering, physics, or a related field plus 1 year of related experience (or Master's Degree with at least 3 years of related experience).
• Track record of publishing work.
• Hands-on experience with a structural characterization method.
• Experience automating laboratory workflows or running high-throughput experimentation.
• Proficiency in coding and data processing.
• Strong collaboration and written communication skills, and genuine interest in supporting users at institutions with fewer resources than ours.

Preferred Qualifications

• Electron diffraction experience, including low-dose data collection and sample preparation.
• Experience with self-driving labs, materials acceleration platforms, active learning, or Bayesian experimental design.
• Fluency with crystallography pipelines (XDS, DIALS, CCP4, PHENIX, SHELX, or equivalents).
• Robotic sample handling or liquid-handling automation.
• Experience supporting external users at a shared instrument facility, beamline, or core.

Required Documents

• Resume
• Cover letter explaining relevant experience

Hiring Range

$79,700 - $112,500 Per Year
The salary of the finalist(s) selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, internal equity, experience, education, specialty and training.
As one of the largest employers in Pasadena, CA, Caltech is committed to providing comprehensive benefits to eligible employees and their eligible dependents. Our benefits package includes competitive compensation, health, dental, and vision insurance, retirement savings plans, generous paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick time, parental leave, bereavement, etc.), tuition reimbursement, and more. Non-benefit eligible employees will have access to some benefits such as onsite counseling and sick time. Learn more about our benefits and staff perks.

EEO Statement

Caltech is an equal opportunity employer and, as a federal contractor, takes affirmative action to employ qualified individuals with disabilities and protected veterans. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Disability Accommodations

Caltech complies with the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We consider reasonable accommodation measures that may be necessary for eligible applicants and employees to perform the essential functions of a position.

If you would like to request an accommodation to complete this application, interview, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please contact Caltech Recruiting at [e-mail].

Additionally, if you do not meet the basic qualifications of a role but believe you can perform the essential functions of the job with reasonable accommodation, please reach out to Caltech Recruiting at [e-mail].