Research Engineer, Lab Automation

The role

You will work with scientists to translate experimental goals into hardware setups and engineering requirements. You will design and prototype automation workflows connecting thin film deposition, characterization, and data collection.

What you will do

• Work closely with bench scientists to understand experimental goals and turn them into concrete hardware and workflow requirements.
• Evaluate, select, and configure deposition and characterization instrumentation and hardware to support thin film workflows.
• Design and prototype experimental and automation workflows that connect thin film deposition, characterization, and data collection.
• Serve as the technical bridge between scientists and the automation/software engineering team.
• Troubleshoot instrument and workflow issues that require materials domain knowledge to diagnose.
• Collaborate with AI and data scientists to capture experimental conditions and results in formats that support analysis and planning.

Required qualifications

• PhD in Materials Science, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent research experience).
• Hands-on experience in a thin-film lab, including film deposition and characterization.
• Strong working knowledge of deposition equipment and the supporting hardware, such as vacuum systems, gas handling, temperature control, and characterization.
• 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

Nice to have

• Prior experience working alongside automation or software engineers.
• Experience integrating or retrofitting instruments, controllers, or sensors for automated operation.
• 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.
• Experience with closed-loop experimentation, using measurement results to guide subsequent experiments.

Before you apply

• We sponsor visas.

About the company

periodic-labs is an AI and physical sciences company building state-of-the-art models to accelerate breakthroughs across materials, energy, and beyond.