Application Scientist, Lab Automation

At BIIE, our automation team drives the future of scalable science by designing and deploying systems that generate high-quality data at speed and with precision. By combining physical automation, digital integration, and strategic consulting, we enable researchers across the organization to focus on solving complex scientific questions instead of repeating manual tasks (in the wetlab or by the computer). As an Application Scientist in Lab Automation, you will play a vital role in this mission by taking ownership of automation projects and developing automated methods to empower our teams to answer more research questions with greater efficiency and impact.

• Workflow Ownership: Partner closely with scientists to understand their experimental needs and ensure they are met by the automation solutions.
• Method Development: Evaluate and compare different methods and make decisions on the best fitting alternatives to ensure automatability of manual protocols.
• Application Specifications: Write clear and comprehensive Application Specification documentation and collaborate with the Automation Engineers to drive successful implementation of the automation projects.
• Process Optimization & Validation: Test and validate automated workflows to ensure quality, reproducibility, and reliability requirements are met. Identify improvement opportunities for subsequent iterations.
• Collaboration at the Interface: Act as bridge between bench scientists and engineers, ensuring scientific requirements and technical solutions are well-aligned.
• Documentation: Maintain a detailed electronic lab notebook in Benchling, documenting experiments, results, and process optimizations.

• At least a Master’s degree in Biology, Bioinformatics, Computer Science, or a related field (qualifies for title Associate Application Scientist)
• Solid experience with laboratory techniques (molecular biology, cell biology, or related fields).
• At least 2 years of work experience in an interdisciplinary research environment.
• Intermediate skills in python programming and data analysis & visualization.
• Excellent written and spoken communication in English.
• Scientific curiosity to successfully navigate a wide range of different research groups, projects and techniques.
• Ability to adapt to evolving project needs and diverse scientific applications.

The following expertise will be of additional benefit in this role:

• Project management experience in a research or development setting.
• A PhD degree in a relevant field (qualifies for title Application Scientist)
• Experience implementing automated liquid handling protocols.
• Experience working with Venus, Cellario, Benchling, OpenTrons, Prefect or comparable tools in the lab automation space.
• Familiarity with NGS, antibody expression, screening & characterization, compound screening, mass spectrometry or high content imaging techniques.

You will thrive in a highly collaborative, interdisciplinary environment where experimental & computational scientists, engineers, and experts work side by side. We offer opportunities for rapid professional growth, peer learning, and exposure to diverse scientific domains.

At BIIE, you’ll join a mission-driven team that is redefining how immune engineering research is done. In this role, you will not only become an expert in developing and optimizing automated workflows, but also directly shape the future of how scientific discovery is scaled. Your work will contribute to building a foundation of reproducible, high-quality, and data-driven research processes that accelerate breakthroughs across our labs.

Beyond the lab, you’ll be part of a culture that values curiosity, openness, and impact. We encourage bold thinking, foster creativity in problem-solving, and celebrate the achievements that move us closer to our shared goal: advancing immune engineering to transform child & adolescent health world-wide.