Lab Manager - Robotics & Scientific Operations

Description:

Build and run the laboratory operations that enable the generation of massive, high-quality experimental datasets for AI agents that predict human drug outcomes. Own the systems, equipment, supplies, and processes that keep advanced cell biology and automated workflows running reliably at scale.

About Axiom:

Axiom’s mission is to eliminate unexpected drug toxicity and unlock an abundance of ultra safe medicines. We are starting with the liver, where toxicity remains a leading cause of drug failure. Our high-throughput human liver safety platform combines advanced human cell systems with imaging, transcriptomics, mass spectrometry, and drug metabolism measurements. Our AI agents integrate these data with chemical structure, human exposure, and thousands of clinical reference compounds to predict whether a drug will be toxic in humans, why, and how to make it safer.

We work with seven of the world’s top twenty pharmaceutical companies to design safety into molecules from the earliest stages. This applied work feeds directly into our partnerships with leading frontier AI labs, turning real discovery challenges and experimental feedback loops into scientific skill trees and reinforcement learning environments that train increasingly superhuman scientists. We then deploy these frontier models to make cancer therapies safer, unlock treatments for chronic diseases that demand exceptional safety, revive promising drugs abandoned because of toxicity, and much more.

Our ultimate ambition is to build a superhuman AI agent that predicts how a drug will behave across all major human organ systems before the first patient receives it. With insanely accurate safety predictions, we aim to enable rapid, high-throughput testing of novel drugs in humans with zero risk of toxicity. This is the key to unlocking an abundance of ultra safe, effective medicines.

What you will do:

• Build and run Axiom’s laboratory operations, enabling scientists and robotics engineers to generate massive, exceptionally high-quality datasets for AI models that predict human drug outcomes.

• Help bring our new lab online, coordinating equipment installation, utilities, vendor services, commissioning, and operational readiness across cell culture, imaging, automation, and mass spectrometry.

• Own procurement, inventory, and supply planning for cells, compounds, reagents, labware, and consumables, anticipating demand and preventing shortages from interrupting experiments.

• Keep instruments and robotic workcells running reliably through preventive maintenance, calibration, service contracts, spare parts, and rapid coordination of repairs.

• Coordinate experiment schedules, instrument capacity, staffing, and material preparation to support continuous, high-throughput operations alongside new assay development.

• Establish rigorous systems for receiving, storing, tracking, and handling primary human cells, advanced cell systems, and sensitive reagents, with complete traceability across donors, lots, plates, and experiments.

• Own day-to-day laboratory safety and facilities coordination, working with EH&S specialists on permitting, biosafety, chemical handling, waste disposal, and emergency preparedness.

• Partner with software and automation engineers to build inventory systems, barcode tracking, environmental monitoring, dashboards, and agent-assisted workflows that reduce manual coordination and catch problems early.

• Track uptime, throughput, turnaround time, cost, and operational failures; investigate recurring problems and improve the systems that let the lab scale without sacrificing experimental quality.

What we look for:

• Exceptional laboratory operations experience, with a track record of keeping complex labs productive, organized, and reliable as they scale.

• High agency and ownership: you anticipate what scientists need, spot problems early, and drive them to resolution.

• Obsessive attention to detail, with strong judgment about how reagent handling, equipment performance, environmental conditions, and recordkeeping affect experimental quality.

• Experience supporting high-throughput workflows, laboratory automation, or integrated robotic systems, and enthusiasm for making increasingly autonomous labs work in practice.

• Familiarity with cell culture and the operational demands of primary human cells, organoids, or other advanced biological systems.

• Strong planning and quantitative skills: you can forecast demand, coordinate shared resources, manage budgets, and use operational data to improve throughput and uptime.

• A talent for building practical systems, SOPs, and training programs that make complex work reproducible and easy for others to execute.

• Hands-on resourcefulness with instruments and facilities, including troubleshooting problems and coordinating vendors, service engineers, and EH&S specialists.

• Clear communication and the ability to earn trust across scientists, engineers, technicians, and external partners.

• Technical curiosity and excitement about building a lab where robotics, software, and AI agents help scientists run better experiments at extraordinary scale.

Technical skills we value:

• Laboratory operations: Procurement, inventory management, demand forecasting, vendor coordination, budgeting, and laboratory setup.

• Automation and throughput: Liquid handlers, robotic arms, automated incubators, plate logistics, and integrated workcells.

• Cell culture operations: Aseptic technique, primary human cells, multicellular systems, cryogenic storage, and contamination prevention.

• Instrument reliability: Equipment commissioning, preventive maintenance, calibration, troubleshooting, and service management.

• Scientific workflows: High-throughput screening, high-content imaging, cell-based assays, and LC-MS sample preparation.

• Sample and data traceability: LIMS, electronic lab notebooks, barcode systems, compound and reagent tracking, and experimental metadata.

• Quality systems: SOP development, training, assay qualification support, deviation tracking, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions.

• Safety and facilities: Biosafety, chemical hygiene, hazardous waste, cold-chain monitoring, laboratory utilities, and EH&S coordination.

• Operational analytics and automation: Dashboards, advanced spreadsheets, workflow automation, and AI tools; Python or SQL experience is a plus.