Principal Automation Engineer

Company Summary:

Metaphore Biotechnologies, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company building the next generation of biological therapeutics. Inspired by nature, our mission is to transform patient lives by unlocking the power of biological therapeutics with a new mimic-discovery platform.

Flagship Pioneering is a biotechnology company that invents and builds platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health or sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in more than $90 billion in aggregate value. Many of the companies Flagship has founded have addressed humanity’s most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture.  Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE’s “Change the World” list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies, and has been twice named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Learn more about Flagship at www.flagshippioneering.com.

Position Summary:

We seek a Principal Automation Engineer to implement scalable molecular biology and cell-based screening workflows on integrated robotics systems. In this role, you will contribute to the automation vision and execute that vision to enable AI/ML-enabled mimic protein engineering at Metaphore.

You will be able to collaborate and learn from all teams and functions across Metaphore working on the interface of wet-lab, software, and engineering. Your success will depend on your passion for applying technology to experimental problems at scale. During the first year, you will work on workflows spanning from barcoded library cloning through binder discovery and engineering to utilizing mammalian cell reporter assays for function-first screening campaigns.                                                

Responsibilities:

The successful candidate will work both independently and as part of a collaborative team to:

• Drive development of end-to-end workflows and scalable laboratory automation systems
• Enable process optimization on robotic systems and serve as the internal subject matter expert for all automation-related activities
• Inform project prioritization and development of timelines for the release of automated workflows and systems to production (design, procurement, integration, commissioning, testing)
• Engage with the teams developing discovery, molecular biology, and screening assay workflows and adapt them to automation, inclusive of liquid handling robots and integrated workcells
• Collaborate with the Computational Biology team on programmatic data capture, ensuring complete integration with LIMS capturing clean data
• Enable cell-based assay automation and optimization from simple plate reader-based assays through NGS to high-content screening
• Contribute hands-on to therapeutic discovery programs, enabling the execution of high throughput screening campaigns on robotic systems
• Manage external relationships with vendors in the lab automation space
• Develop SOPs for the operation of instrumentation, method execution, and IQ/OQ as necessary for critical equipment
• Make recommendations on specifications and hardware purchases, design and assemble components necessary for complete walk-away solutions
• Communicate, as appropriate, efforts and progress to project and program teams

Qualifications:

• B.A. or M.S. in Software Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering or related field with +10 years of experience in Biotech/Pharma space
• Experience with automated workflow design, optimization, and troubleshooting
• Experience with robotic workcell design and larger liquid handler workstations
• Experience with schedulers eg. Cellario, Green Button Go, Momentum, Genera preferred and workflow orchestration software eg. Artificial, Agilent, Sapio; driver development knowledge is a plus
• Experience with LIMS systems Benchling, CORE LIMS
• Expert in method development on at least one major liquid handling platform: Hamilton, Tecan, Beckman, etc.
• Programming skills: Python, C#, C++, .NET, SQL
• A strong self-starter, technically minded, with an entrepreneurial mindset
• Experience in supporting and working with scientists on assay development tasks
• Ability to organize and communicate technical concepts clearly and concisely to key stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, excellent problem-solving skills

At Flagship, we recognize there is no perfect candidate. If you have some of the experience listed above but not all, please apply anyway. Experience comes in many forms, skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. We are dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and look forward to learning more about your unique background.

Recruitment & Staffing Agencies:  Flagship Pioneering and its affiliated Flagship Lab companies (collectively, “FSP”) do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates.  The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to FSP or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Flagship Pioneering’s internal Talent Acquisition team.   Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of FSP, and FSP will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.