Lab Software Engineer

QuantumCell; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

QuantumCell is seeking a Lab Software Engineer to build the software layer powering our automated workcells. You will create automation control and scheduling tools, develop device drivers, and integrate instrument data into our pipelines.

This hands-on role spans low-level instrument communication, orchestration of multi-day workflows, and data pipelines that enable AI-driven decisions in neuroscience drug discovery.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in CS/Software Eng/Bioengineering or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 3+ years of professional software development experience with strong Python skills.
• Experience controlling hardware or communicating with devices over serial, TCP/IP, gRPC, REST, or vendor SDKs.
• Experience building reliable, long-running services using asynchronous or event-driven programming.
• Experience designing data models, relational databases, and APIs.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to translate lab workflows into software requirements.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain automation control and scheduling software that coordinates liquid handlers, robotic arms, incubators, centrifuges, and imagers.
• Develop orchestration logic for multi-instrument, multi-day workflows, including event handling, error recovery, and resource and labware tracking.
• Orchestrate multi-day workflows end to end, building scheduling logic that plans around protocol constraints such as incubation windows and hold times to prioritize samples and keep time-sensitive runs on schedule.
• Extend and integrate vendor control software and open-source frameworks to fill gaps in commercial scheduling tools.
• Build operator-facing tools for run setup, monitoring, alerting, and status reporting, and support troubleshooting on the lab floor.
• Develop device drivers and software interfaces for laboratory instruments, including devices without existing vendor or open-source support.
• Implement standards-based interfaces such as SiLA2 so every instrument can be controlled consistently by a central orchestrator.
• Build simulation and test harnesses to validate drivers and workflows before running on hardware.
• Build scalable pipelines to capture, parse, and process data from high- and low-throughput experiments, including imaging and mass spectrometry.
• Collaborate with computational and experimental teams to define data models and schemas for samples, labware, runs, and results.
• Develop APIs and tools that aggregate instrument data for analysis, visualization, and machine learning.
• Support the configuration and integration of our LIMS and ELN systems with workcell software.

Skills

Python

Device control

Asynchronous programming

API design

Software development

Education

CS/Software Eng or related field

Tools

SiLA2

Benchling

Green Button Go

Hamilton/Tecan/Beckman instrumentation

Job description

QuantumCell is an early-stage life sciences company building automated laboratory platforms for neuroscience drug discovery. Our work spans iPSC-derived neuron production, downstream proteomics, and the automation systems that connect them. We are building toward a long-term vision of autonomous lab operations, where AI-driven scheduling and closed-loop systems run our experimental workflows end to end.

The Role

We are seeking a Lab Software Engineer to build the software layer that runs QuantumCell's automated workcells. You will develop automation control and scheduling solutions, write device drivers for laboratory instruments, and integrate instrument data into our data systems.

This is a hands-on engineering role spanning low-level instrument communication, orchestration of multi-day workflows, and the data pipelines behind them. You will partner closely with automation engineers, lab scientists, and data and AI scientists to turn manual processes into reliable, software-driven operations.

If you enjoy making physical systems run reliably through software and want to help build the foundation for autonomous lab operations, this role was designed for you.

What You Will Do

Automation Control & Scheduling

• Design, build, and maintain automation control and scheduling software that coordinates liquid handlers, robotic arms, incubators, centrifuges, and imagers.
• Develop orchestration logic for multi-instrument, multi-day workflows, including event handling, error recovery, and resource and labware tracking.
• Orchestrate multi-day workflows end to end, building scheduling logic that plans around protocol constraints such as incubation windows and hold times to prioritize samples and keep time-sensitive runs on schedule.
• Extend and integrate vendor control software and open-source frameworks to fill gaps in commercial scheduling tools.
• Build operator-facing tools for run setup, monitoring, alerting, and status reporting, and support troubleshooting on the lab floor.

Device Drivers & Instrument Integration

• Develop device drivers and software interfaces for laboratory instruments, including devices without existing vendor or open-source support.
• Implement standards-based interfaces such as SiLA2 so every instrument can be controlled consistently by a central orchestrator.
• Build simulation and test harnesses to validate drivers and workflows before running on hardware.

Instrument Data Integration

• Build scalable pipelines to capture, parse, and process data from high- and low-throughput experiments, including imaging and mass spectrometry.
• Collaborate with computational and experimental teams to define data models and schemas for samples, labware, runs, and results.
• Develop APIs and tools that aggregate instrument data for analysis, visualization, and machine learning.
• Support the configuration and integration of our LIMS and ELN systems with workcell software.

What You Will Bring

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in computer science, software engineering, bioengineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 3+ years of professional software development experience with strong Python skills.
• Experience writing software that controls hardware or communicates with devices over serial, TCP/IP, gRPC, REST, or vendor SDKs.
• Experience building reliable, long-running services using asynchronous or event-driven programming.
• Experience designing data models, relational databases, and APIs.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to translate lab workflows into software requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with laboratory automation platforms such as Tecan, Hamilton, or Beckman liquid handlers and robotic arms.
• Experience with lab scheduling software such as Green Button Go, Cellario, or Momentum.
• Experience handling imaging or mass spectrometry data, or working with data standards such as Allotrope.
• Experience configuring or integrating LIMS and ELN platforms such as Benchling.

What We Offer

• The opportunity to build the control, scheduling, and data software behind QuantumCell's automated workcells.
• Direct ownership over systems central to the company's path toward autonomous lab operations.