Sr. Principal or Engineering Advisor - Agentic Lab Automation Integration

Scorpion Therapeutics; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 87,000 - 222,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company bonus

Comprehensive benefits including 401(k

Vacation and well-being benefits

Job summary

Scorpion Therapeutics seeks an engineer to integrate agentic AI with lab automation, connecting robotic platforms and analytical instruments to data pipelines. You will design agent workflows that reason over experimental data, trigger automated actions, and surface insights to scientists.

Role involves prototyping, productionizing, and collaborating with chemists, biologists, and automation engineers, plus deploying services with Docker/Kubernetes and interfacing with Hamilton, Tecan, and

Qualifications

• PhD (or MS + 2 yrs / BS + 5 yrs) in Chemical/Mechanical Eng., Robotics, Computer Eng., or related field.
• Demonstrated wet-lab automation experience and lab automation knowledge.
• Experience integrating software control/AI with lab automation platforms.

Responsibilities

• Engineer integrations between agentic AI and lab systems, connecting robotics, instruments, and data pipelines.
• Design agent workflows to reason over data, trigger automated actions, and surface insights to scientists.
• Prototype rapidly, productionize what works, and collaborate with chemists, biologists, and automation engineers.
• Build multi-agent systems with orchestration, state management, and error recovery.
• Deploy containerized services using Docker and Kubernetes (GitOps, CI/CD).
• Interface agent architectures with lab automation platforms for closed-loop execution.
• Publish, talks, and scout trends in AI for lab automation.

Skills

Python programming

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Education

PhD or MS + 2 yrs / BS + 5 yrs in relevant field

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Redis

FastAPI/Flask/Streamlit

pytest

Job description

Position Summary

• Engineer integrations between agentic AI and physical lab systems, connecting robotic platforms, analytical instruments, and data pipelines.
• Design agent workflows that reason over experimental data, trigger automated actions, and surface insights to scientists.
• Prototype rapidly, productionize what works, and collaborate with chemists, biologists, and automation engineers.

Research & Innovation

• Build multi-agent systems with orchestration, state management, error recovery, and tool integration.
• Prototype/iterate on planning strategies, memory systems, and human-in-the-loop patterns.
• Interface agent architectures with lab automation platforms (Hamilton, Tecan, Opentrons) for closed-loop execution.

Solution Deployment

• Transition prototypes into reliable lab operations with automation engineers and scientists.
• Deploy/maintain containerized services using Docker and Kubernetes (GitOps, CI/CD).
• Integrate cloud orchestration (e.g., Argo on Kubernetes) with lab control systems.

External Engagement

• Publish, give talks, review papers, and scout emerging trends in AI@Lilly/external communities.
• Evaluate vendors/open-source/academic collaborations.

Basic Qualifications

• PhD (or MS + 2 yrs / BS + 5 yrs) in Chemical/Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Computer Engineering, or related field; demonstrated wet-lab automation experience.
• Experience with laboratory automation and LIMS engineering.
• Integration experience for software control/AI with lab automation platforms.
• Docker and Kubernetes orchestration in production.
• Scalable Python apps (e.g., Redis, FastAPI/flask/streamlit, pytest).

Preferred

• LLM post-training/fine-tuning/RLHF; AI/algo decision systems for lab automation.

Compensation & Benefits

• Anticipated wage: $87,000–$222,200; eligible for company bonus.
• Comprehensive benefits including 401(k), pension, vacation, medical/dental/vision/prescription coverage, flexible benefits, life insurance, time off/leave, and well-being benefits.