Research Engineer, Lab Automation

Periodic Labs; Menlo Park (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Periodic Labs is building an autonomous lab in Menlo Park to accelerate materials discovery. As a Research Engineer, you’ll translate bench science into hardware setups, instrument sequences, and automation requirements that enable rapid experimentation.

You will work closely with scientists to align goals with practical automation workflows, while coordinating with engineering and data teams to ensure robust, scalable data and instrumentation integration.

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent research experience as minimum.
• Ability to communicate fluently with scientists and engineers and translate scientific intent into technical requirements.
• Comfort writing Python to interact with instruments, manipulate data, and prototype automation workflows.

Responsibilities

• Translate experimental goals into hardware and workflow requirements for automation.
• Evaluate and configure lab instrumentation to support materials R&D workflows.
• Design automated workflows for materials synthesis and characterization that withstand bench realities.
• Act as the technical bridge between scientists and software/automation teams to ensure accurate specs.
• Troubleshoot instrument/workflow issues requiring materials domain knowledge.
• Collaborate with AI and data scientists to shape data structures for analysis and planning.

Skills

Communication

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Lab hardware familiarity

Education

PhD in Materials Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field

Tools

Python

Job description

We're an AI and physical sciences company building state-of-the-art models to accelerate breakthroughs across materials, energy, and beyond. Backed by world-class investors and growing rapidly, we operate at the pace the frontier requires. Our team brings deep expertise, genuine ownership, and an insatiable drive to push the boundaries of what's scientifically possible.

About The Role

Join our team of scientists and engineers building a lab where AI and automation speed up materials discovery.

We're building an autonomous lab to speed up materials discovery, and we need someone who understands materials R&D from the inside — someone who's run the experiments, fought with the instruments, and knows what "the workflow" actually means at the bench. As our Research Engineer, you'll work directly with scientists to understand what they're trying to learn, then translate that into the hardware setups, instrument sequences, and engineering requirements that make it possible to automate.

What You'll Do

• Work closely with bench scientists to understand experimental goals and turn them into concrete hardware and workflow requirements.
• Evaluate, select, and configure lab instrumentation and hardware to support new and existing materials R&D workflows.
• Design experimental and automation workflows that hold up to the realities of materials synthesis and characterization.
• Serve as the technical bridge between scientists and the automation/software engineering team, making sure integration specs reflect how the science actually works.
• Troubleshoot instrument and workflow issues that require materials domain knowledge to diagnose.
• Collaborate with AI and data scientists to help shape how experimental data is structured and used for analysis and planning.

You Will Thrive in This Role If You Have

• PhD in Materials Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent research experience).
• Strong working knowledge of common materials lab hardware (e.g. furnaces, fluid/gas handling manifolds, characterization tools, synthesis equipment) and the workflows built around them.
• Ability to communicate fluently with both scientists and engineers, and to translate scientific intent into clear technical requirements.
• Comfort writing Python to interact with instruments, manipulate experimental data, and prototype automation workflows

Especially Strong Candidates May Also Have

• Prior experience working alongside automation or software engineers.
• Experience with electronic lab notebooks, LIMS, or other lab data systems.
• A track record of designing or adapting experimental protocols for higher-throughput or automated execution.

Mechanics

• Minimum education: PhD or equivalent combination of education and hands-on research experience
• Location: Menlo Park, CA (Soon: San Francisco, too)
• Compensation: $200,000-$250,000 + equity
• Visa sponsorship: Yes, we sponsor visas.