Senior Engineer II / Staff Engineer, Electromechanical Technician

About the role

Lila Sciences is seeking a Contract Electromechanical Technician to join our Hardware & Controls Engineering team. This role involves building, assembling, and troubleshooting custom automated instruments, workcells, and experimental equipment that advance frontier research in life and physical sciences. The position requires a strong technical background and hands-on experience in mechanical assembly and electrical diagnostics.

Responsibilities

• Assemble, install, and calibrate custom electromechanical equipment and automated systems from 3D CAD models, blueprints, mechanical drawings, and electrical schematics.
• Support engineers and scientists in rapid prototyping test stands, fixtures, and experimental setups, including mechanical assembly, light machine work, and hands-on fabrication.
• Perform electrical wiring, cable routing, and component mounting for automation panels, instruments, and workcells, including sensors, actuators, control boards, and pneumatic components.
• Execute maintenance, repairs, upgrades, and alignments on complex equipment.
• Provide real-time feedback to engineering teams during builds regarding design issues or opportunities for improvement.
• Maintain up-to-date documentation on builds, repairs, troubleshooting, and component history.
• Ensure safe working conditions and adherence to lab and industry standards during all fabrication, assembly, and testing.

Requirements

• Associate’s degree in electro-mechanical technology, mechatronics, industrial maintenance, or related field — or military technical training/vocational certification.
• Advanced skill with mechanical assembly and electrical diagnostic work, including use of mechanical hand tools, measuring equipment, multimeters, and basic machine tools.
• Ability to read, interpret, and work precisely from 3D CAD models, mechanical drawings, and 2D electrical schematics.
• Familiarity with PLCs (e.g., Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Beckhoff), motor controllers, actuators, sensors, and industrial automation components.
• Experience in assembly and troubleshooting of electrical/cable, pneumatic, fluid, or thermal systems.
• Practical knowledge of industry safety procedures and compliance requirements (e.g., electrical code, LOTO, OSHA).
• Strong analytical/troubleshooting ability; highly adaptable in fast-paced, rapidly evolving environments.
• Clear, practical communicator who collaborates effectively with multiple engineering domains.
• Excellent time management, able to take initiative and juggle multiple projects or tasks with minimal supervision.

Bonus Points

• Hands-on experience supporting highly interdisciplinary R&D teams: building or modifying prototypes across mechanical, controls, and software domains.
• Proficiency with 3D CAD modeling or editing (SolidWorks strongly preferred; other platforms welcome).
• Familiarity with AutoCAD, or tools for drafting/wiring electrical schematics.
• Experience assembling control panels, wiring PLCs, or working at the panel/component level in automation.
• Experience with digital maintenance or documentation tools (CMMS, ERP, Kanban, Wikis).
• 4+ years in an automation, manufacturing, robotics, or laboratory environment.
• Certifications: CMRT, OSHA 10/30, PLC programming, or other industry-relevant credentials.
• Experience in a cleanroom, laboratory automation, or regulated R&D context.
• Prior customer or vendor-facing experience for component sourcing, fabrication, or troubleshooting.

Pay

We offer competitive base compensation with bonus potential and generous early-stage equity. Your final offer will reflect your background, expertise, and expected impact.

Schedule

Full-time position.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Employer-paid life and disability insurance.
• Flexible time off with generous company-wide holidays.
• Paid parental leave.
• An educational assistance program.
• Commuter benefits, including bike share memberships for office-based employees.
• A company-subsidized lunch program.

About LILA

Lila Sciences is building Scientific Superintelligence™ to solve humankind's greatest challenges. We combine advanced AI models with proprietary AI Science Factory™ instruments into an operating system for science that executes the entire scientific method autonomously, accelerating discovery at unprecedented speed, scale, and impact across medicine, materials, and energy.