Research Automation Engineer @ Retro Biosciences

Retro Biosciences is a fast-growing biopharma startup using high-throughput, high-dimensional approaches to develop therapies for diseases driven by the biology of aging. We are looking to expand our exceptional team at our Redwood City location.

We are seeking a highly motivated engineer to join our Research Automation team. The research automation team is a multifaceted group of scientists and engineers who partner with our scientific programs to automate and streamline their processes and accelerate the science. In this role, you will support research operations by automating key research workflows and optimizing the usage of instrumentation and robotics that power Retro’s fully automated reprogramming & -omics workcells.

You will excel in this role if:

You are scrappy and driven to discover new ways of modifying existing tools or building new ones in order to help accelerate Retro’s science. You are excited about working in a startup environment with 10x faster iteration loops that allow you to find the unknown unknowns. You are highly collaborative and can work well with scientific partners to understand, develop, and refine new and existing workflows.

This position is an onsite role based in Redwood City.

In this role you will:

Design and implement robotic workstation methods to automate key experiments and increase research velocity, as well as develop novel assays in-house.
Design, implement, iterate, and validate liquid handling processes on robotic workstations such as liquid handlers and high-throughput equipment.
Work cross-functionally to develop a deep understanding of the scientific processes and identify the key bottlenecks that could be improved with automation.
Research and continually develop your knowledge of state-of-the-art tools that Retro can use to advance our research in innovative ways.

You might thrive in this role if you:

Are knowledgeable in a bio/technical or bioengineering discipline with 2+ years of relevant experience.
Have experience with automated liquid handlers.
Have experience working in a startup environment.
Have experience with lab automation hardware.
Are literate in any major programming language (especially python).
Have experience building complex hardware/software integrations.
( A plus) Have experience with: Robotics and/or integrated work cells, wet lab method development (manual or automated), pylabrobot.

Our team is a group of mission-driven, kind, and thoughtful individuals. We take pride in evolving a work environment that fosters collaboration, open communication, and authenticity. We believe that great results are best delivered by a highly creative group working in concert. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company; we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

In this role you will:

You might thrive in this role if you:

6 month growth

1 year growth

2 year growth