Staff / Principal Industrial Engineer
Lila Sciences is seeking an Industrial Engineer to design and oversee the physical layout of our AI Science Factories. This role involves integrating laboratory instrumentation and robotics into an efficient factory design. The position requires close collaboration with hardware engineering, scientific teams, robotics, facilities, and operations to develop layouts that are safe, scalable, and optimized for high-throughput autonomous research. This role is central to translating complex cross-functional requirements into a factory environment that enables Lila's next-generation scientific capabilities.
Key responsibilities include owning the end-to-end factory layout, encompassing spatial planning, adjacency mapping, and utility requirements. The engineer will integrate lab instrumentation layouts from diverse scientific and engineering domains into a unified, high-performance factory design. Collaboration with hardware, robotics, science, automation, safety, and facilities teams is essential to incorporate requirements for utilities, safety, accessibility, maintenance, and environmental controls. The role also involves building and maintaining accurate 2D and 3D CAD models of the full factory layout, driving version control and change management for layout updates. Additionally, the engineer will work with robotic teams to run simulations and scenario analyses to assess throughput, operational efficiency, and bottlenecks, and partner with construction, facilities, and external vendors to ensure physical buildouts reflect the intended design and can scale with future demand. Developing standards, documentation, and layout guidelines for new lab instrumentation and factory expansions is also a key aspect of the role.
Candidates should possess a BS/MS degree in Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related field. Experience in designing factory, lab, or production layouts in high-complexity environments is required. Proficiency with CAD tools such as AutoCAD, REVIT, or SolidWorks is essential. A strong understanding of workflow optimization, material flow, ergonomics, and spatial systems is necessary. The ability to collaborate across multidisciplinary engineering and scientific teams, along with clear communication and documentation skills, is also required.
The expected base salary for this role ranges from $163,400 to $228,000 per year, along with bonus potential and generous early equity. The final offer will reflect the candidate's unique background, expertise, and impact.
Lila Sciences is the world's first scientific superintelligence platform and autonomous lab for life, chemistry, and materials science. We are pioneering a new age of boundless discovery by building the capabilities to apply AI to every aspect of the scientific method. We are introducing scientific superintelligence to solve humankind's greatest challenges, enabling scientists to bring forth solutions in human health, climate, and sustainability at a pace and scale never experienced before. If this sounds like an environment you'd love to work in, even if you only have some of the experience listed, we encourage you to apply.