Scientist II/Senior Characterization Scientist, Condensed Matter

Lila Sciences; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 128,000 - 198,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base compensation

Bonus potential

Generous early-stage equity

Job summary

Lila Sciences in Cambridge, MA is seeking a Scientist II/Senior Scientist to drive advanced characterization workflows for magnetic and superconducting materials. You'll contribute to our autonomous science platform, collaborating with experts to accelerate materials discovery.

The ideal candidate holds a PhD in a relevant field and has experience with VSM/SQUID techniques. Competitive base compensation starts at $128,000, with generous equity options.

Qualifications

• PhD with 1–5 years of postdoctoral or industry experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in characterization of magnetic or superconducting materials.
• Strong understanding of the physics of magnetism and superconductivity.

Responsibilities

• Design and optimize characterization workflows for superconducting materials.
• Analyze complex datasets to extract materials properties.
• Collaborate with experimentalists and ML scientists.

Skills

Characterization of magnetic or superconducting materials

Data analysis and interpretation

Communication skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Proficiency with VSM/SQUID

Education

PhD in Materials Science, Physics, or Chemistry

Tools

VSM

SQUID magnetometry

Python

Job description

Your Impact at LILA

As a Scientist II/Senior Scientist on the PS Experiment team at Lila Sciences, you will drive the development and implementation of advanced characterization workflows for magnetic and superconducting materials. You will be a core contributor to Lila's autonomous science platform, designing and executing high-throughput experiments that yield critical structural, magnetic, and transport data to guide materials discovery. Working at the intersection of experimental science, robotics, and AI, you will collaborate with experimentalists, systems engineers, and machine learning scientists to build scalable characterization workflows that accelerate the path to scientific superintelligence in superconductivity and magnetism.

What You’ll Be Building

• Design, execute, and optimize characterization workflows for magnetic and superconducting materials using techniques such as magnetometry (VSM/SQUID), transport measurements, and AC susceptibility.
• Analyze and interpret complex datasets to extract materials properties including critical temperatures, field-dependent behavior, and magnetic ordering.
• Collaborate with experimentalists, systems engineers, and ML scientists to integrate characterization outputs into closed-loop autonomous experimental workflows.
• Develop and maintain protocols for sample preparation, instrument calibration, and quality control across diverse material types and form factors.
• Troubleshoot characterization workflows and instrumentation to sustain high-throughput operational performance.
• Maintain accurate laboratory records and ensure compliance with safety and regulatory standards.

What You’ll Need To Succeed

• PhD in Materials Science, Physics, Chemistry, or a related field, with 1–5 years of postdoctoral or industry experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in characterization of magnetic or superconducting materials, including proficiency with one or more of: VSM, SQUID magnetometry, PPMS, or equivalent platforms.
• Strong understanding of the physics of magnetism, superconductivity, or related condensed matter phenomena.
• Experienced in making measurements on materials and prototype devices.
• Proficient in quantitative data analysis and interpretation of structure-property relationships in solid-state materials.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills with a track record of cross-functional collaboration.

Bonus Points For

• Familiarity with complementary characterization techniques such as XRD, TEM, SEM, or spectroscopy.
• Proficiency in Python or similar tools for data analysis and workflow automation.
• Experience in custom instrumentation.
• Wide breadth of exposure to different types of functional materials and applications.
• Exposure to automated, high-throughput, or autonomous laboratory environments.
• Background in multiple material classes (e.g., oxides, intermetallics, thin films, or 2D materials).
• Comfort working in fast-paced, interdisciplinary research settings.

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.

Expected Base Salary Range: $128,000 USD - $198,000 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.

We’re All In

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 would love to work in, even if you don’t meet every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply.

Equal Employment Opportunity

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.

Candidate Privacy

Information you provide during your application process will be handled in accordance with our Candidate Privacy Policy.

A Note to Agencies

Lila Sciences does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to Lila Sciences or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Lila Science’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of Lila Sciences, and Lila Sciences will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.