Reliability Engineer

About Periodic Labs

We are an AI + physical sciences lab building state of the art models to make novel scientific discoveries. We are well funded and growing rapidly. Team members are owners who identify and solve problems without boundaries or bureaucracy. We eagerly learn new tools and new science to push forward our mission.

About the Role

Join a world-class team of scientists and engineers pushing the boundaries of materials research in a groundbreaking lab where AI and automation unlock discoveries at unprecedented speed and scale.

The Periodic Labs team is developing AI that can both simulate science as well as verify its predictions to train on the full scientific method. As part of this mission, the team is building a high throughput experimental materials science lab. For this facility, we are seeking a hands-on Reliability Engineer to drive uptime and throughput across our experimental platforms. You’ll lead maintenance operations, plan and manage the associated machine shop buildout, and design and integrate custom labware and fixtures to improve experimental efficiency and repeatability.

Responsibilities

• Establish preventive and predictive maintenance programs for lab and automation systems and associated CMMS.

• Lead root cause analysis and develop corrective actions for system failures or bottlenecks.

• Build and manage a machine shop for fabricating custom components.

• Design, prototype, and test custom labware tailored to automated experimental workflows.

• Collaborate with automation, controls, and scientific teams to integrate fixtures into processes.

• Track and improve equipment uptime, MTBF, and OEE.

• Build and train a world-class maintenance team of technicians to support the above systems

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in an engineering field.

• 5+ years experience in reliability, mechanical, or systems engineering, especially related to supporting materials science/solid-state chemistry and/or thin-film processing research equipment

• Familiarity with precision machining, mechatronics, or custom part design.

• Experience with CAD (SolidWorks/Fusion), shop tooling, and rapid prototyping.

• Strong knowledge of preventive maintenance systems.

• Comfortable collaborating across engineering, automation, and scientific teams.

• Certification and preferably contribution to accredited standards or bodies relevant to your field - e.g. SMRP, IEEE Reliability Society, relevant ASTMs.

Bonus Qualifications

• We’d love to hear about your accomplishments in globally recognized competitions relevant to your field (e.g. NASA Lunabotics, ASME’s competitions, etc.)