Advisor - Lab Automation Software Engineer, AI-Integration
Eli Lilly and Company
7 months ago
Remote friendly (San Diego, CA)
United States
IT
Advisor Lab Automation Software Engineer
In This Role, You Will Have The Opportunity To
Lab Automation Integration
- Lead the design and implementation of reliable software integrations between orchestration layers and physical lab systems (liquid handlers, plate readers, robotic workstations, analytical instruments)
- Own and evolve the translation layer between high-level workflow logic and low-level instrument control
- Partner with automation engineers and biologists to ensure integrations are robust, maintainable, and production-ready
Platform & Infrastructure
- Deploy and maintain containerized services using Docker and Kubernetes with GitOps and CI/CD practices
- Integrate cloud-based orchestration frameworks with laboratory control systems and LIMS infrastructure
- Build scalable, production-grade Python applications and data pipelines connecting experimental readouts with downstream analysis tools
AI & Intelligent Automation
- Collaborate to explore and prototype how AI-driven decision-making can be incorporated into existing automation workflows
- Contribute to autonomous orchestration approaches by applying software engineering rigor to early-stage AI integration
- Stay current with LLM tooling and agent frameworks; help evaluate what is practically applicable to the lab environment
Technical Leadership
- Serve as a technical authority and mentor within the automation engineering team (software, integration, emerging AI systems)
- Influence the broader technical roadmap for autonomous discovery systems at the San Diego site
- Evaluate tools, frameworks, and vendor solutions for strategic fit with the team’s long-term vision
Basic Qualifications
- Ph.D. (Computer Science, Software Engineering, Bioengineering, or related) with 3+ years relevant industry experience, OR
- M.S. (related) with 5+ years relevant industry experience, OR
- B.S. (related) with 8+ years relevant industry experience
- Demonstrated experience integrating software systems with laboratory automation platforms (required)
Preferred Skills & Attributes
Software Engineering & Infrastructure
- Strong Python skills with experience building/maintaining production applications (FastAPI, Redis, Flask, pytest, etc.)
- Hands-on Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines in production environments
- Experience with cloud orchestration frameworks such as Argo on Kubernetes
Lab Automation & Integration
- Direct experience integrating software control systems with lab automation platforms (liquid handlers, analytical instruments, robotic workflows)
- Hands-on familiarity with biologics discovery instrumentation (liquid handlers such as Beckman/Hamilton/HighRes, micro-dispensers, plate readers, integrated robotic workstations)
- Familiarity with scheduling/execution software used in integrated lab environments (Cellario, Green Button Go, Director, SAMI, VWorks, Genera, or similar)
- Experience with LIMS platforms, ELN systems, or laboratory data pipelines
AI & Emerging Technologies
- Curiosity and some hands-on experience with LLMs, agent frameworks, or AI-driven workflow automation
- Familiarity with orchestration tools such as LangChain or LangGraph (plus)
- Demonstrated willingness to learn and experiment with new technologies
- Proven ability to move between architectural thinking and hands-on engineering
- Strong collaboration skills across software, automation, and biological science teams
- Genuine curiosity about biologics discovery and desire to understand the science well enough to build effective systems
Benefits (explicitly listed)
- Eligible employees may participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension
- Vacation benefits
- 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
- Well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs/activities)
- Full-time equivalent employees also may be eligible for a company bonus (depending on company and individual performance)
Compensation
- Anticipated wage: $141,000 - $206,800
In This Role, You Will Have The Opportunity To
Lab Automation Integration
- Lead the design and implementation of reliable software integrations between orchestration layers and physical lab systems (liquid handlers, plate readers, robotic workstations, analytical instruments)
- Own and evolve the translation layer between high-level workflow logic and low-level instrument control
- Partner with automation engineers and biologists to ensure integrations are robust, maintainable, and production-ready
Platform & Infrastructure
- Deploy and maintain containerized services using Docker and Kubernetes with GitOps and CI/CD practices
- Integrate cloud-based orchestration frameworks with laboratory control systems and LIMS infrastructure
- Build scalable, production-grade Python applications and data pipelines connecting experimental readouts with downstream analysis tools
AI & Intelligent Automation
- Collaborate to explore and prototype how AI-driven decision-making can be incorporated into existing automation workflows
- Contribute to autonomous orchestration approaches by applying software engineering rigor to early-stage AI integration
- Stay current with LLM tooling and agent frameworks; help evaluate what is practically applicable to the lab environment
Technical Leadership
- Serve as a technical authority and mentor within the automation engineering team (software, integration, emerging AI systems)
- Influence the broader technical roadmap for autonomous discovery systems at the San Diego site
- Evaluate tools, frameworks, and vendor solutions for strategic fit with the team’s long-term vision
Basic Qualifications
- Ph.D. (Computer Science, Software Engineering, Bioengineering, or related) with 3+ years relevant industry experience, OR
- M.S. (related) with 5+ years relevant industry experience, OR
- B.S. (related) with 8+ years relevant industry experience
- Demonstrated experience integrating software systems with laboratory automation platforms (required)
Preferred Skills & Attributes
Software Engineering & Infrastructure
- Strong Python skills with experience building/maintaining production applications (FastAPI, Redis, Flask, pytest, etc.)
- Hands-on Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines in production environments
- Experience with cloud orchestration frameworks such as Argo on Kubernetes
Lab Automation & Integration
- Direct experience integrating software control systems with lab automation platforms (liquid handlers, analytical instruments, robotic workflows)
- Hands-on familiarity with biologics discovery instrumentation (liquid handlers such as Beckman/Hamilton/HighRes, micro-dispensers, plate readers, integrated robotic workstations)
- Familiarity with scheduling/execution software used in integrated lab environments (Cellario, Green Button Go, Director, SAMI, VWorks, Genera, or similar)
- Experience with LIMS platforms, ELN systems, or laboratory data pipelines
AI & Emerging Technologies
- Curiosity and some hands-on experience with LLMs, agent frameworks, or AI-driven workflow automation
- Familiarity with orchestration tools such as LangChain or LangGraph (plus)
- Demonstrated willingness to learn and experiment with new technologies
- Proven ability to move between architectural thinking and hands-on engineering
- Strong collaboration skills across software, automation, and biological science teams
- Genuine curiosity about biologics discovery and desire to understand the science well enough to build effective systems
Benefits (explicitly listed)
- Eligible employees may participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension
- Vacation benefits
- 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
- Well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs/activities)
- Full-time equivalent employees also may be eligible for a company bonus (depending on company and individual performance)
Compensation
- Anticipated wage: $141,000 - $206,800