Contractor, Support Engineer I, Automation (2nd shift)

Your Impact at LILA

Lila Sciences is hiring a Support Engineer I, Automation to keep second-shift operations humming on the AI Science Factory (AISF), the automated platform driving our work in drug discovery, bioengineering, and advanced materials. You will work 2–10 PM alongside the Integration Engineering and Research Operations teams, picking up where the day shift leaves off and keeping experiments moving into the evening.

The work is hands-on and varied. You triage issues on the workcells as they come up, recover stalled runs, knock out routine maintenance, and partner with on-shift Research Ops scientists to keep their work on track. At the end of the night, you hand the system back to the day team with a clear status report so tomorrow's science can start without surprises.

You will work closely with the engineers who designed the AISF — its schedulers, liquid handlers, robotics, and the software tying them together. This is a contract position, on site in Cambridge, MA.

What You'll Be Building

• Monitor and maintain AISF workcells during second shift, triaging instrument faults, software errors, and run failures as they surface.
• Coordinate with on-shift Research Operations scientists to prioritize recovery efforts and keep active experiments moving when multiple issues compete for attention.
• Troubleshoot electro-mechanical and software systems, using judgment about when to resolve in-shift versus stabilizing and handing off to day-shift engineers for fixes that need vendor support, parts, or extended downtime.
• Surface recurring failure patterns to the engineering team so root causes get addressed, not just symptoms.
• Run routine maintenance, setup, and teardown to keep workcells reliable across shifts.
• Document each shift's events, decisions, and outstanding issues so the day team inherits a clear picture and can plan accordingly.

What You'll Need to Succeed

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Biology, Chemistry, Materials Science, or a related field, or equivalent hands-on experience.
• 1+ years of hands-on experience with lab automation, lab instrumentation, or production operations in a life sciences or physical sciences environment.
• Ability to troubleshoot electro-mechanical equipment and software systems independently — on second shift, you're the automation engineer on site.
• Strong written communication, particularly for shift handoff documentation the day team can act on without follow-up questions.
• Willingness and availability to work a 2–10 PM weekday schedule on site in Cambridge, MA.

Bonus Points For

• Experience with liquid handlers, plate-based workflows, or high-throughput screening instrumentation.
• Familiarity with lab scheduling or workflow orchestration software (Cellario or similar).
• Scripting or light programming ability (Python, C#, or similar) for log analysis or quick diagnostic work.
• Exposure to robotic integration platforms or multi-instrument workcell environments.
• Background in a 24/7 or multi-shift operations environment where structured handoffs were part of the workflow.