Lab Automation - Robotics Engineer

Xaira Therapeutics

$150K — $180K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field.
  • Strong software engineering skills in modern languages such as Python, C++, or C#.
  • Familiarity with robotics software frameworks like ROS2 or MoveIt.
  • Experience with computer vision, perception, and robotic manipulation.
  • Comfort working hands-on with hardware and debugging real systems.
  • Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail.

Responsibilities

  • Build, integrate, and maintain software for robotic arms and laboratory automation devices.
  • Develop motion planning and safety logic for robots in lab environments.
  • Integrate lab instruments using APIs and custom software.
  • Create task execution frameworks for autonomous lab workflows.
  • Benchmark and integrate computer vision methods for robotic systems.
  • Utilize simulation environments for workflow testing and debugging.
  • Collaborate with scientists to automate biological and chemical workflows.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to help build a cutting-edge automated biology laboratory.
  • Hands-on experience in high-throughput, data-generating biological labs.
  • Exposure to AI-enabled experimental systems and data infrastructure.
  • Structured mentorship from experienced leaders in robotics and automation.
  • Collaborative work with an interdisciplinary team on drug discovery projects.
  • Dynamic, innovative, and supportive work environment.
  • Professional growth opportunities in a rapidly growing company.
Full Job Description
About the Role

We are building a next-generation lab automation and robotics platform to transform how biological experiments are executed, monitored, and scaled. This platform will bring together robotic arms, mobile platforms, lab instruments, sensors, computer vision, workflow orchestration, and AI-enabled autonomy to increase the speed, reliability, reproducibility, and scale of experimental biology.

As a Robotics Engineer, Lab Automation, you will help turn real scientific workflows into robust automated systems. You will work closely with biologists, chemists, automation engineers, software engineers, and robotics experts to understand manual laboratory processes and translate them into reliable robotic execution.

This is a hands-on engineering role for someone who enjoys building, integrating, testing, and debugging physical systems. You will contribute to robotic manipulation, instrument integration, perception, task execution, simulation, and multi-station lab automation workflows. You will also have opportunities to grow into more advanced robotics, autonomy, and AI-enabled laboratory automation over time.

What You'll Do
  • Build, integrate, and maintain robotics software for robotic arms, mobile robots, sensors, grippers, and laboratory automation devices.
  • Develop motion planning, manipulation, perception, and safety logic for robotic systems operating in real laboratory environments.
  • Integrate laboratory instruments and devices through APIs, IoT interfaces, schedulers, and custom control software.
  • Help build task execution frameworks using state machines, behavior trees, planners, and recovery logic for autonomous or semi-autonomous lab workflows.
  • Benchmark and integrate computer vision methods for object detection, segmentation, tracking, pose estimation, localization, and scene understanding.
  • Create and use simulation or digital twin environments for motion validation, workflow testing, synthetic data generation, and system debugging.
  • Collaborate with scientists to translate biological and chemical workflows into automated protocols.
  • Support multi-station system integration, automated material handling, sample tracking, validation, logging, and error recovery.
  • Work hands-on with physical hardware to debug real systems, improve reliability, and iterate quickly.
  • Evaluate modern AI, autonomy, foundation-model, reinforcement-learning, or imitation-learning approaches where they can improve real robotic lab execution.

Qualifications (Required):
  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field.
  • Recent graduates with strong robotics, automation, hardware/software integration, or relevant project experience are encouraged to apply.
  • PhD candidates are welcome to apply, particularly if they are excited by hands-on robotic system building, integration, and lab automation.
  • Strong software engineering skills in one or more modern programming languages (e.g., Python, C++, C#), cloud-based workflows, and production software systems.
  • Familiarity with robotics software frameworks such as ROS2, MoveIt, or comparable tools.
  • Familiarity with computer vision, perception, motion planning, robotic manipulation, or sensor integration.
  • Comfort working with physical hardware, debugging real systems, and learning by doing.
  • Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and ability to work across disciplines.
  • Ability to communicate clearly with scientists, automation engineers, software engineers, and robotics experts.

Preferred Qualifications:
  • Experience with 6-axis robotic arms, autonomous mobile robots, grippers, machine vision systems, or automated material handling.
  • Experience with OpenCV, object detection, segmentation, tracking, pose estimation, SLAM, localization, or scene understanding.
  • Experience with Foxglove, Isaac Sim, MuJoCo, Gazebo, or other robotics simulation and debugging tools.
  • Experience integrating laboratory instruments such as liquid handlers, plate hotels, incubators, readers, and microscopes.
  • Experience with agentic AI frameworks (LangGraph, OpenAI Agents SDK, AutoGen, PydanticAI), Model Context Protocol (MCP), or AI systems that integrate language models with external tools and software.
  • Familiarity with biological or chemical assays such as PCR, gel electrophoresis, DNA quantification, microscopy, high-throughput screening, or cell-based assays.
  • Experience with CAD, 3D printing, laser cutting, CNC machining, or rapid prototyping.
  • Exposure to GPU-accelerated inference (CUDA, TensorRT, ONNX), edge deployment, foundation models, reinforcement learning, imitation learning, behavior trees, autonomous task planning, or agentic robotics systems.

What We Offer:
  • The opportunity to help build a state-of-the-art automated biology laboratory from the ground up.
  • Hands-on experience developing robotic systems for high-throughput, data-generating biological labs.
  • Exposure to robotics, lab automation, data infrastructure, and AI-enabled experimental systems.
  • Structured mentorship from experienced robotics, automation, software, and scientific leaders.
  • The opportunity to work with a passionate, interdisciplinary team on ambitious drug discovery projects.
  • A dynamic, innovative, and supportive work environment.
  • Professional growth and development opportunities in a rapidly growing company.


CompensationWe offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, seeking to provide an open, flexible, and friendly work environment to empower employees and provide them with a platform to develop their long-term careers. A Summary of Benefits is available for all applicants. We offer a competitive package that includes base salary, bonus, and equity. The base pay range for this position is expected to be $150,000 - $180,000 annually; however, the base pay offered will vary depending on the market, job-related knowledge, skills and capabilities, and experience.

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