Automation Engineer
Periodic Labs
Automation Engineer
Periodic Labs
AI-driven materials discovery and design
We’re an AI and physical sciences company building state-of-the-art models to accelerate breakthroughs across materials, energy, and beyond. Backed by world-class investors and growing rapidly, we operate at the pace the frontier requires. Our team brings deep expertise, genuine ownership, and an insatiable drive to push the boundaries of what’s scientifically possible.
Join our team of scientists and engineers building a lab where AI and automation speed up materials discovery.
We’re building an autonomous lab to speed up materials discovery, and we need someone who loves making instruments, robots, and data systems run together smoothly. As our Automation Engineer, you’ll turn scientific workflows into working software and integrations by designing clear data models, connecting instruments and automation to our lab information systems, and making sure everything stays in sync, safely, and reliably.
Collaborate with bench scientists to translate experiments and lab workflows into clear integration specs and data models.
Work with integrators to design and build automated workcells for materials R&D.
Build and maintain services that connect instruments and robots to lab information systems.
Develop instrument drivers that automate lab workflows by generating command sequences and invoking vendor API/SDK methods.
Collaborate with AI and data scientists to tightly integrate the autonomous lab with AI models for analysis and planning of experiments.
BS in EE/CS/ME/Controls or equivalent.
5+ years in lab automation, integration, or industrial automation software.
Hands-on experience with robotic lab automation systems.
Strong experience with scripting/programming (Python preferred).
Familiarity with APIs, databases, and enterprise software integration.
Hands-on experience with information management and execution systems, such as LIMS or MES.
Experience with containers, CI/CD, and Git-based workflows.
Background in lab informatics or scientific data management.
Minimum education: Bachelor’s degree or similar experience
Location: Menlo Park, CA
Compensation: $200,000-$250,000 + equity
Visa sponsorship: Yes, we sponsor visas.
AI-driven materials discovery and design
Periodic Labs uses artificial intelligence to model, predict, analyze, and design new materials. Its platform learns from large scientific datasets to suggest viable material compositions, structures, and processing methods that meet performance targets. The team combines AI expertise from OpenAI and DeepMind, applying it specifically to materials science to offer data-driven material design for energy, electronics, and manufacturing. The company aims to accelerate materials discovery, enabling clean energy, better semiconductors, and stronger supply chains by reducing the time and cost of traditional research.
Explore more opportunities at Periodic Labs