Platform Scientist, Soft Materials

Lila Sciences; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 108,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Flexible time off

Paid parental leave

Educational assistance program

Company subsidized lunch program

Job summary

Lila Sciences in Cambridge, MA, is looking for a Platform Scientist with a focus on soft materials to lead the development of innovative experimental strategies and workflows. Candidates should hold an MS or PhD in Materials Science, Chemistry, or related fields, and possess hands-on experience with techniques such as SAXS and rheology. This position offers competitive salary between $108,000 and $150,000, alongside a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical coverage and flexible time off.

Qualifications

• MS or PhD in a relevant field focusing on soft or complex materials.
• Demonstrated experience in collaborative scientific environments.
• Hands-on experience with techniques like SAXS or rheology.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with teams to develop strategies for soft complex materials.
• Lead development of characterization and performance workflows.
• Design and prototype custom scientific apparatus and software.

Skills

Collaboration across scientific disciplines

Programming skills (Python, C++, etc.)

Hands-on experience with SAXS, SANS, rheology

Experience with experimental workflows

Excellent communication skills

Education

MS or PhD in Materials Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Physics

Tools

3D printing

Microfluidics

Job description

Lila Sciences is seeking Platform Scientists, Soft Materials Focus to ideate, prototype, and transfer new experimental concepts for AI Science Factories targeting complex and soft material systems. In this role, you will work at the forefront of scientific ideation—partnering with a broad range of chemistry, materials, and AI teams to define new approaches to formulation, structure–property relationships, and performance evaluation. You will translate these concepts into scalable experimental workflows, custom apparatus, and software-enabled systems for autonomous research.

What You'll Be Building

• Collaborate with diverse scientific teams to ideate new experimental strategies for soft and complex materials, including formulations, colloids, polymers, gels, and biological or hybrid systems
• Lead conceptual development of characterization and performance workflows leveraging techniques such as SAXS, SANS, rheology, and formulation performance assays
• Design, prototype, and validate custom apparatus, experimental methods, and software tools to realize these concepts
• Develop and refine workflows that connect structure, dynamics, and performance across multiple length and time scales
• Transfer successful prototypes into production-ready systems within Lila’s AI Science Factory platform, enabling autonomous experimentation

What You’ll Need to Succeed

• MS or PhD in Materials Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Physics, or a related field, with a focus on soft or complex materials
• Demonstrated experience collaborating across scientific disciplines to generate and refine experimental concepts
• Hands‑on experience with one or more of the following: SAXS, SANS, rheology, formulation performance or functional assays
• Experience designing and implementing custom experimental workflows and/or scientific software
• Strong programming skills (e.g., Python, C++, or similar) applied to data analysis, automation, or experiment control
• Excellent communication skills and comfort operating in a fast‑paced, exploratory R&D environment

Bonus Points For

• Experience with lab automation, high‑throughput experimentation, or instrument control software
• Background in formulation science (e.g., consumer products, coatings, energy materials, bio‑soft matter)
• Experience linking scattering, rheological, and performance data to predictive or ML‑driven models
• Familiarity with prototyping tools such as 3D printing, machining, microfluidics, or custom sample environments
• Industry or national lab experience working on soft materials or complex fluids

Compensation

We offer competitive base compensation with bonus potential and generous early‑stage equity. Your final offer will reflect your background, expertise, and expected impact.

U.S. Benefits

Full‑time U.S. employees receive a comprehensive benefits program including medical, dental, and vision coverage; employer‑paid life and disability insurance; flexible time off with generous company wide holidays; paid parental leave; an educational assistance program; commuter benefits, including bike share memberships for office based employees; and a company subsidized lunch program.

International Benefits

Full‑time employees outside the U.S. receive a comprehensive benefits program tailored to their region. USD salary ranges apply only to U.S.-based positions; international salaries are set to local market.

Expected Base Salary Range

$108,000 - $150,000 USD

About LILA

Lila Sciences is building Scientific Superintelligence to solve humankind's greatest challenges. We believe science is the most inspiring frontier for AI. Rather than hard‑coding expert knowledge into tools, LILA builds systems that can learn for themselves.

LILA combines advanced AI models with proprietary AI Science Factory instruments into an operating system for science that executes the entire scientific method autonomously, accelerating discovery at unprecedented speed, scale, and impact across medicine, materials, and energy. Learn more at www.lila.ai.

Guided by our core values of truth, trust, curiosity, grit, and velocity, we move with startup speed while tackling problems of historic importance. If this sounds like an environment you'd love to work in, even if you don't meet every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply.

Lila Sciences is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

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