Sr. Scientist - Lab Automation Scientist

Eli Lilly and Company; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 71,000 - 187,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company bonus

401(k) plan

Health, dental, vision benefits

Paid time off

Job summary

Lilly is seeking an Associate Lab Automation Scientist in San Diego to support early-stage discovery and screening of protein therapeutics. You will operate, maintain, and troubleshoot diverse automated systems, collaborating with automation engineers to keep platforms reliable and up-to-date.

You will work with protein discovery, engineering, and expression groups to optimize workflows, contribute to integrated robotic workstations, and help validate new automation technologies.

Qualifications

• MS/BS with relevant engineering degree and industry experience
• Experience with automated liquid handling and lab robotics is a plus

Responsibilities

• Operate, maintain, and troubleshoot lab automation equipment
• Collaborate with automation engineers on instrument upkeep and scripting
• Support and improve automation-driven research workflows with other teams
• Contribute to design, implementation, and validation of new automation equipment

Skills

Collaborative mindset

Eagerness to learn

Attention to detail

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

MS in engineering (bio/biomed/chemical/mech)

BS in engineering (bio/biomed/chemical/mechanical)

Tools

Beckman liquid handler

Hamilton liquid handler

Cellario scheduling

Green Button Go

Director

SAMI

VWorks

Genera

Benchling ELN

LabGuru ELN

PostgreSQL

Genedata

Job description

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We're looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

The Biologics Automation and High-throughput Technologies Group at the Lilly Biotechnology Center in San Diego is seeking an Associate Lab Automation Scientist to support early-stage discovery and screening of protein therapeutics. Our team is working toward a vision of closed-loop autonomous discovery — where robotic platforms, lab digitalization, and AI-driven orchestration work together to accelerate how medicines are found. Getting there starts with a strong foundation: reliable instrumentation, connected workflows, and clean data flowing from the physical lab into the digital world. You'll play a hands-on role in maintaining and advancing that foundation, while growing alongside a team that is actively building toward the next generation of autonomous laboratory systems. If you're excited about being part of that journey, we want to hear from you.

You will have the opportunity to:

• Operate, maintain, and troubleshoot lab automation equipment used in biotherapeutic discovery, including stand-alone liquid handlers, micro-dispensers, plate readers and washers, protein quantification instruments, colony/plaque pickers, sequencing instruments, and a fleet of diverse fully integrated robotic systems.
• Work alongside automation engineers on day-to-day instrument and robotic platform upkeep, reliability, operational scripting, and scheduling software.
• Collaborate with protein discovery, engineering, and protein expression groups at the San Diego site to support and improve automation-driven research workflows.
• Contribute to the design, implementation, and validation of new automation equipment, integrated robotic workstations, and lab digitalization technologies in partnership with vendors and internal teams.

Basic Qualifications

• M.S. in Bioengineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline with a minimum of 2 years of relevant industry experience, or
• B.S. in Bioengineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline with a minimum of 5 years of relevant industry experience
• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role, including but not limited to F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, or L-1.

Additional Skills and Preferences

Liquid Handling & Benchtop Automation

• Experience with liquid handlers such as Beckman, Hamilton, HighRes
• Experience with micro-dispensers such as BioTek, Thermo, Formulatrix, or Let's Go Robotics
• Familiarity with microplate washers, readers, and high-throughput antibody quantification instruments
• Any exposure to E. coli colony plating/picking systems (e.g. QPix) is a bonus

Integrated Robotic Systems

• Some experience operating or working alongside integrated automation workstations
• Any familiarity with scheduling software (Cellario, Green Button Go, Director, SAMI, VWorks, Genera, or similar) is a plus
• Any background in robotics engineering or systems integration is a bonus

Software & Data Tools

• Basic scripting or programming experience in Python, Java, C#, or SQL is a plus — curiosity and willingness to learn matters more than expertise
• Familiarity with data analysis or visualization tools such as JMP, Tableau, Power BI, or Spotfire

Lab Informatics

• Experience with an Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) such as Benchling or LabGuru
• Any exposure to LIMS platforms or database tools (e.g. PostgreSQL, Genedata) is a plus

General

• Strong attention to detail and good record-keeping habits
• A collaborative mindset and comfort working across scientific and engineering teams
• Eagerness to learn, take ownership, and grow in a fast-moving, technology-driven research environment
• Background in life sciences, pharmaceutical research, or high-throughput screening environments is beneficial

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, Black Employees at Lilly, Chinese Culture Network, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), PRIDE (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN), Women's Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL), enAble (for people with disabilities). Learn more about all of our groups.

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate's education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is

$71,250 - $187,000

Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

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