Staff Systems Integration Engineer

Cellanome; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 145,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Health plans

401(k)

Job summary

Cellanome in San Diego is seeking a Staff Systems Integration Engineer to automate and troubleshoot prototype instrument hardware and protocols, collaborating with engineers and scientists to advance our in-house platform.

You will design experiments, transfer molecular biology protocols to the new instrument, and develop AI-assisted tooling to accelerate optimization and troubleshooting with active collaboration across teams.

Qualifications

• Typically requires a minimum of 8 years of related experience with a bachelor’s degree; or 6 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD with 3 years of experience.
• Degree in relevant Engineering discipline or Biologic/Physical Sciences.
• Previous experience as part of commercial development teams.
• Experience working in instrumentation development and troubleshooting low-level hardware issues.
• Familiarity with wet lab molecular biology protocols and sample prep protocols.
• Solid data analysis and visualization skills.
• Working proficiency in Python (or equivalent) for scripting, data analysis, and automation.
• Hands-on use of AI tools to accelerate engineering or laboratory work.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Attention to detail and problem-solving mindset.

Responsibilities

• Designing experiments to test prototype hardware.
• Troubleshooting issues arising at the hardware, software, consumables, and workflow interface.
• Transferring existing molecular biology and cell biology protocols to a first of its kind instrumentation platform.
• Working in close collaboration with the Engineering and Scientific teams to troubleshoot protocols and software/hardware/assay issues.
• Gathering requirements for the Engineering and Service teams.
• Using AI coding assistants to write and maintain automation, data-analysis, and instrument-control code.
• Building AI-assisted tooling to accelerate optimization, design, and failure-mode triage.
• Applying AI/ML-assisted analysis to instrument and assay data to detect drift and classify failure modes.
• Ability to lift up to 40 lbs for ~10% of day.
• Ability to travel up to 20% of working time, including overnight/weekend/international travel.

Skills

Python scripting

Data analysis

Automation tooling

AI tools experience

Communication skills

Problem solving

Documentation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Biologic/Physical Sciences

Master's degree in related field

PhD in related field

Tools

Instrumentation hardware

Data visualization tools

Job description

We’re a well-funded start-up. You’ll get a chance to wear many hats, be a part of a growing team, and have the potential for exciting financial and career growth.

Here’s what sets us apart. We’ve set our sights on some of the biggest challenges facing biology today. We’re amassing a world class team of engineers, scientists, team builders and problem solvers to tackle these challenges heads-on. We’re passionate about developing the next generation technologies that will unravel the complexities of biology.

This is a unique opportunity to build, be part of an exciting start-up and be surrounded by good humans who are super capable, humble and down-to- earth.

Staff Systems Integration Engineer is a core member of the Product Development team and will work in close collaboration with other Engineers and Scientists to automate and troubleshoot existing protocols onto a prototype instrument developed in-house, and to create new ones. We are looking for someone that has the right experience to drive the integration of biological protocols with novel hardware and can hit the ground running. We encourage the use of AI coding assistants and automation tooling to accelerate optimization and troubleshooting. This role reports to the VP of Product Development.

Essential Duties include:

• Designing experiments to test prototype hardware.
• Troubleshooting issues arising at the hardware, software, consumables, and workflow interface.
• Transferring existing molecular biology and cell biology protocols to a first of its kind instrumentation platform.
• Working in close collaboration with the Engineering and Scientific teams to troubleshoot protocols and software/hardware/assay issues.
• Gathering requirements for the Engineering and Service teams.
• Using AI coding assistants to write and maintain automation, data-analysis, and instrument-control code.
• Building AI-assisted tooling (scripted LLM workflows, agents, and internal copilots) that accelerates optimization, experiment design, and failure-mode triage.
• Applying AI/ML-assisted analysis to instrument and assay data to detect drift, classify failure modes, and shorten troubleshooting cycles.
• Ability to lift up to 40 lbs for approximately 10% of typical working day.
• Ability to travel up to 20% of working time away from work location, may include overnight/weekend and international travel at times.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Typically requires a minimum of 8 years of related experience with a bachelor’s degree; or 6 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD with 3 years of experience.
• Degree in relevant Engineering discipline or Biologic/Physical Sciences.
• Previous experience as part of commercial development teams.
• Experience working in instrumentation development and troubleshooting low-level hardware issues.
• Familiarity and basic competence with standard wet lab molecular biology protocols and sample prep protocols.
• Solid data analysis and visualization skills.
• Working proficiency in Python (or equivalent) for scripting, data analysis, and automation.
• Hands-on use of AI tools (LLM coding assistants, agentic workflows, or similar) to accelerate engineering or laboratory work.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Attention to detail and problem-solving mindset.
• Demonstrated ability to perform the Essential Duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodations.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with Python/C#.
• Experience building AI-assisted tooling (prompt engineering, retrieval over technical documentation, or agentic scripting) for engineering or laboratory workflows.
• Experience integrating AI/ML models into production labs or manufacturing workflows.
• Experience working with biological workflows.

the estimated base salary range for this position is $145,000 - $170,000/year. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

What you can expect from us:

You’ll feel the energy when you walk in our door - we work hard, we have fun and we have ambitious plans to grow. Cellanome offers a comprehensive employment package that includes a competitive salary, generous stock options, great individual, and family health plans, a 401(k) and flexibility to balance work and life.

We embrace and celebrate the diversity of our employees. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, national origin, gender, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital or parental status, disability, veteran status, or other class protected by applicable law. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.