Lab Process Automation Engineer

At Personalis, we are transforming the active management of cancer through breakthrough personalized testing. We aim to drive a new paradigm for cancer management, guiding care from biopsy through the life of the patient. Our highly sensitive assays combine tumor-and-normal profiling with proprietary algorithms to deliver advanced insights even as cancer evolves over time. Our products are designed to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) and recurrence at the earliest timepoints, enable selection of targeted therapies based on ultra-comprehensive genomic profiling, and enhance biomarker strategy for drug development. Personalis is based in Fremont, California.

Summary:

The Senior Process Automation Engineer within the Research, Product Development and Technology Transfer Group contributes to the development and implementation of automation systems and workflows to support the processing of samples in a clinical diagnostics and research laboratory environments.  This individual collaborates within a team of scientists and engineers upon projects to conceptualize, design, develop, and implement solutions designed to optimize the performance and increase the efficiencies of the laboratory processes.

Responsibilities:

• Principal responsibilities of this position include automation projects leadership.
• Lead the development and integration of the automation systems and related software tools, preparing the documentation for equipment validation and operating procedures.
• Develop scripts for liquid handling robots and other lab automation instruments.
• Building rapport with end-users, lab supervisors and process owners, and coordinate with cross functional teams to ensure the successful implementation in the labs.
• Define and lead the automation systems development, testing and qualification requirements.
• Support the documentation efforts for equipment validation and operating procedures.
• Lead troubleshooting efforts, analyze data and help drive key process related decisions.
• Collaborate with external vendors to assess and implement new solutions.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering/biochemistry field and a minimum of 5 years of experience, or Advanced degree in engineering/biochemistry field and a minimum of 3 years of experience in NGS lab as an automation programmer. 
• Technical proficiency and experience in automation systems development and integration for the life science industry; especially with robotics and liquid handling systems is required.
• Hamilton Venus 4 or 6 programming experience is required.
• Experienced in deploying automation methods using GitHub/GitLab.
• Good Project management, organizational and written and verbal communication skills.