Senior II/ Staff Engineer, Hardware & Controls Engineering, Mechatronic Controls

Location: Cambridge, MA USA

Department: Autonomous Science Platform

Your Impact at Lila

Lila Sciences is seeking a Mechatronics Embedded Engineer to design and deliver the real-time control software that brings our custom lab instruments to life. You’ll translate electro‑mechanical designs into reliable, automation-ready systems through robust embedded controls and integration.

What You'll Be Building

• Embedded Controls Development: Design and implement real-time control logic and firmware on Embedded platforms for electromechanical systems owning the full loop from sensor input through control logic to actuation output.
• Hardware Bring-up & Testing: Lead hardware bring-up, motor tuning, and closed-loop control optimization; diagnose issues across mechanical, electrical, and software domains.
• Prototyping & Testing: Build and iterate on bench setups; develop HW-in-the-loop test fixtures; validate performance against system requirements.
• System Interfaces: Develop and integrate ****interfaces (REST APIs ****and OPC UA endpoints) to bridge the gap between new and existing instrumentation, automation frameworks, and robotics control systems ensuring reliable, cross-platform interoperability.
• Technical Documentation: Create, update, and maintain clear, comprehensive documentation for driver interfaces, APIs, and integration methods, facilitating ease of use by internal teams and end-users.
• Collaboration and Support: Work closely with cross-functional teams, including mechanical and electrical engineers, software developers, product managers, and end-users, to identify requirements and make design decisions.

What You’ll Need to Succeed

• Proficiency in C/C++ and Python programming languages is essential.
• Experience building control software for mechatronic systems or instruments on Embedded Linux (Jetson, Raspberry Pi)
• Familiarity with real-time microcontrollers (STM32 or similar ARM Cortex-M) for low-level control tasks.
• Proven hardware/software troubleshooting and debugging skills;
• Thrives in hands-on, prototype-heavy environments.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams.
• Proficiency with version control systems, especially Git.
• 8-12 years of experience with Bachelor's degree in Engineering field or related discipline.

Bonus Points For

• Experience working directly with end-users (e.g., scientists, laboratory technicians), using feedback to drive product improvements.
• Experience or Familiarity with developing and designing PCBs & firmware.
• Experience developing and integrating control systems with PLC systems, especially the Beckhoff ecosystem, including TwinCAT PLCs, EtherCAT I/O.
• Exposure to 2D/3D machine vision: camera selection, calibration, vision-guided motion
• Experience with OPC UA based communication.
• Functional safety exposure (ISO 13849/IEC 62061), FMEA, and fault-tolerant design
• Experience developing HMI or other user interfaces (UI).

About Lila

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. Learn more about this mission at  www.lila.ai

If this sounds like an environment you’d love to work in, even if you only have some of the experience listed below, we encourage you to apply.

We’re All In

Lila Sciences is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

Information you provide during your application process will be handled in accordance with our Candidate Privacy Policy.

A Note to Agencies

Lila Sciences does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to Lila Sciences or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Lila Science’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of Lila Sciences, and Lila Sciences will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.