Lab Automation Engineer

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We're looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

About The Role
We are seeking a highly skilled Lab Automation Engineer to design, implement, and optimize cutting-edge automation solutions for molecular biology workflows, synthetic chemistry/reaction screening and process development. This role sits at the exciting intersection of engineering, lab automation and biology/chemistry where you will enhance experimental efficiency, reproducibility, accuracy, and innovation in drug discovery.

The ideal candidate brings at least 7 years of hands-on experience in laboratory instrument engineering, laboratory automation and molecular biology/synthetic chemistry, with a passion for integrating robotics, liquid handling, and AI-driven tools into automated biological/chemical workflow systems. If you thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced environment and enjoy solving complex challenges at the lab bench, this role is for you.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, Develop & Implement Automation Solutions: Design, optimize, and deploy automated workflows for biological assays/synthetic chemistry experiments, including but not limited to HTE molecular biology applications, HTE chemistry reaction condition screening.
• Program and Integrate Automation Systems: Work with laboratory instrumentation, liquid handling systems, and robotic platforms to integrate automation solutions into biological/synthetic chemistry workflows, develop custom scripts (Python, MATLAB, or similar) for data analysis and instrument control.
• System Troubleshooting & Maintenance: Provide hands-on troubleshooting, maintenance, and support for automated systems, collaborating with engineers, biologists/chemists, IT and vendors to translate manual protocols into automated, high-throughput processes, provide on time engineer solutions for automated workflows, maintain and optimize existing automation systems to improve reliability and performance.
• Method Development & Validation: Develop, optimize, validate, and refine protocols for automated biological/chemical workflows, ensuring high reproducibility and efficiency.
• Collaboration & Cross-Functional Support: Work closely with external vendors and suppliers, internal engineers, software specialists and automation biologists/chemists, to customize automation solutions for specific research needs.
• Data Management & Analysis: Implement data handling solutions for automated experiments, including integration with laboratory information management systems (LIMS).
• Technology Evaluation & Implementation: Stay up to date with emerging technologies in laboratory automation, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven chemistry, and advanced robotics to enhance lab capabilities.
• Compliance & Safety: Ensure all automated processes comply with safety regulations and best practices in laboratory environments.

Qualifications & Experience

• Education: Master's or Ph.D. in Engineering, or a related field with a focus on biology/chemistry automation.
• Hands-on Laboratory Experience: at least 7+ years of experience in field automation engineer, application engineer
• Automation & Engineering Expertise:
• Experience in the full life cycle of development, build, and delivery of complex biology/chemistry laboratory automation systems.
• Proficiency in liquid handlers, robotic platforms, and automated reactors.
• Strong understanding of hardware and software integration.
• Programming & Scripting: Basic knowledge of Python, MATLAB, or other scripting languages for automation customization.
• Instrumentation Knowledge: Experience with analytical instrumentation (e.g., LC/MS, GC/MS, NMR, UV-Vis) and integration with automated systems is a plus.
• Problem-Solving Skills: Strong analytical and troubleshooting abilities for optimizing automated workflows and resolving technical challenges.
• Collaboration & Communication: Excellent teamwork and communication skills to work effectively across multidisciplinary teams.

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Lilly does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.