The Opportunity

insitro is a physical AI company dedicated to unlocking causal human biology and accelerating the delivery of better medicines to patients. Our unique Virtual Human™ platform identifies novel, high-impact genetic intervention points, which our TherML™ platform translates into therapeutics—whether small molecules, biologics, or oligos. With multiple programs in metabolic disease and neuroscience advancing toward the clinic, and our first IND submission slated for the second half of this year, we are at a pivotal inflection point.

As a Lead/Senior Automation Engineer, you will collaborate with scientists, software engineers, and microscopy engineers to build and develop high quality automated systems and protocols. You will be a member of the Automation team and report to the Director, Process Engineering. This is an onsite role expected to be in the office at least 4 days/week in our South San Francisco Headquarters.

Join us, and help make a difference to patients!

Responsibilities

Embed with folks within the scientific teams to define workflows, develop process specific QC metrics, and drive the translation of workflows onto automation systems

Design, develop and qualify new workcells and liquid handling protocols to enable new platform capabilities

Collaborate closely with the LIMS team to develop and implement automated data capture and LIMS integration to ensure seamless data flow from the robot to our AI/ML pipelines.

Work with the Systems Engineering team to diagnose and resolve complex mechanical, software, and system integration issues to minimize equipment downtime and maintain operational continuity

Collaborate with folks from our machine learning, software engineering and scientific groups to solve questions ranging from technology onboarding, minimizing batch effects, or process improvements

Identify opportunities in how we develop, test and deploy automation solutions more efficiently

Work with automation leadership to create a census of automation, its current usage, and develop and implement a plan for areas of retirement, growth, or re-deployment.

About You

Bachelor's degree or higher in Robotics, Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Software or Bioengineering, or Physics, Chemistry or Biology

B.S, with 8+ years, M.S with 6+ years, or Ph.D. with 3+ years of professional experience working with automation hardware

Proficiency in automation and systems development/integration within the life sciences industry, specifically with robotics and liquid handling platforms

Proficiency in software programming (Python, SQL, and/or C#) and data handling (including database work) is highly preferred

You understand existing capabilities of the lab automation industry and have a track record showing technical depth in automation systems of varying scale

You are comfortable completing work independently on complex projects and can also give guidance to others on daily work

You have experience in managing the relationship to other engineering functions (eg. third party service providers and vendors or internal mechanical or software engineering teams)

You have experience automating scientific workflows (ex. Cell Culture, Genomic Screening or DNA-encoded Library processes)

Compensation & Benefits at insitro

Our target starting salary for successful US-based applicants for this role is $147,000 - $183,000. To determine starting pay, we consider multiple job-related factors including a candidate's skills, education and experience, market demand, business needs, and internal parity. We may also adjust this range in the future based on market data.

This role is eligible for participation in our Annual Performance Bonus Plan (based on company targets by role level and annual company performance) and our Equity Incentive Plan, subject to the terms of those plans and associated policies.

In addition, insitro also provides our employees:

401(k) plan with employer matching for contributions

Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage as well as mental health and well-being support