Platform Scientist: Functional Materials Instrumentation

Lila Sciences, Inc.; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 108,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Competitive benefits

Company lunch program

Job summary

Lila Sciences, Inc. in Cambridge, MA, is seeking a Platform Scientist I/II to design and build custom instruments and hardware for functional materials fabrication, characterization, and device testing.

You will integrate instrumentation into autonomous lab and AI-driven workflows, advancing lab capabilities and accelerating programs. Requires PhD or equivalent and hands-on experience with solid-state synthesis, materials characterization, and high-throughput R&D.

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent experience in applied physics, materials science, chemistry, or a related field.
• Expertise in functional materials (semiconductor, photonics, superconducting materials, etc.).
• Expertise in solid-state syntheses and characterization for functional materials.
• Proven ability to build and integrate hardware for high-throughput experimentation.
• Experience working in fast, data-driven R&D environments.

Responsibilities

• Establish fabrication and measurement workflows for functional materials.
• Specify, source, assemble, and validate custom synthesis and characterization systems with optical emphasis.
• Lead integration of instrumentation into autonomous lab and AI-driven workflows.
• Diagnose, iterate, and improve instrument designs based on experimental feedback.
• Collaborate with computational, synthesis, and characterization teams to plan next hardware capabilities.

Skills

Functional materials

Solid-state synthesis

Material characterization

Hardware integration

High-throughput experimentation

Education

PhD or equivalent experience in applied physics, materials science, chemistry, or a related field

Tools

CAD

Machining/3D printing

Rapid prototyping

Controls software

AI/ML-driven workflows

Class 4 lasers

Job description

Lila Sciences, Inc. in Cambridge, MA, is seeking a Platform Scientist I/II to design and build custom instruments and hardware for functional materials fabrication, characterization, and device testing.

You will integrate instrumentation into autonomous lab and AI-driven workflows, advancing lab capabilities and accelerating programs. Requires PhD or equivalent and hands-on experience with solid-state synthesis, materials characterization, and high-throughput R&D.