Laboratory Automation & Robotics Engineer

Overview

At PNNL, our core capabilities are divided among major departments referred to as directorates within the Lab, focused on a specific area of scientific research or other function, with its own leadership team and dedicated budget. Our Science & Technology directorates include National Security, Earth and Biological Sciences, Physical and Computational Sciences, and Energy and Environment. In addition, we have an Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy, Office of Science user facility housed on the PNNL campus.

The Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate (EBSD) leads critical research in four areas:
Atmospheric, Climate & Earth Sciences, Biological Sciences, Environmental Molecular Sciences, and Global Change. Our vision is to develop a predictive understanding of biological and Earth systems in transition. We aim to understand energy and material flows within the integrated Earth system; to understand, predict, and control the response of biosystems to environmental and/or genomic changes; and to model the Earth system from the subsurface to the atmosphere.

The Environmental Molecular Sciences Division is comprised of 18 interdisciplinary research teams focused on deciphering molecular-level interactions driving biological and environmental processes across temporal and spatial scales. Through computational analysis and modeling, these findings contribute to predictive understanding of how systems respond to environmental perturbations, thus enabling solutions to the nation’s energy, environmental, and human health challenges. The division also manages the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy, Office of Science user facility housed on the PNNL campus that accelerates the research of scientists around the world by providing access to world‑class expertise, instrumentation, and computational resources.

This position is within the Instrument Development and Automation Laboratory (IDAL) at PNNL’s Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory. As a Laboratory Automation Engineer/Scientist you will join a team of talented scientists, engineers and technicians working on the newly commissioned Anaerobic Microbial Phenotyping Platform (AMP2) to explore questions about anaerobic microorganisms, which grow in an oxygen‑free environment and play important roles in industrial processes to make chemicals, fuels and biomaterials.

You will develop and support cutting‑edge instrumentation down to the component level and up to multi‑device custom and commercial platforms.

• Collaborate effectively with staff with a diversity of expertise and experiences.
• Map and convert manual laboratory processes into automated workflows.
• Develop process and design requirements in collaboration with research staff.
• Design robotic systems and/or automated platforms to solve a variety of scientific challenges.
• Program robotic systems and instruments to perform experiments.
• Strategically select approaches and tools to balance robustness, cost, and timelines according to project needs.
• Continuously improve and/or resolve system performance issues.
• Independently manage multiple project deliverables within timeline, scope, and budget.
• Stay current with new technologies and evaluate them for use in new or existing systems.
• Contribute to publishing and presenting results in journals, conferences, and to sponsors.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior staff and students.

This position is on‑site in Richland, WA.

Minimum Qualifications:

• BS/BA and 5+ years of relevant experience — OR —
• MS/MA and 3+ years of relevant experience — OR —
• PhD with 1+ year of relevant experience

Preferred Qualifications:

• Degree or coursework in biology, chemistry, and/or engineering (e.g., chemical, biomedical, electrical, mechanical, robotics)
• Experience with robotics or laboratory orchestration software e.g. Robot Operating System (ROS), Green Button Go, Cellario
• Expertise developing scripts for laboratory equipment like liquid handlers e.g. Tecan Fluent, Hamilton STAR
• Experience with programming languages e.g. Python, C#
• Familiarity with engineering quality management…