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Role description

Lead/ Senior Automation Engineer

Insitro logoInsitro
TypeFull-time
WorkplaceOn-site
SenioritySenior
Salary$147,000–$183,000

Company info

Insitro logo

Insitro

insitro is the physical AI company built on causal biology.

insitro is the physical AI company unlocking causal human biology, founded and led by AI pioneer Daphne Koller. By generating the world’s largest integrated multi-modal corpus of human and cellular data, we’ve built the Virtual Human™ – a genetically anchored causal AI engine that reveals how disease begins, progresses, and can be resolved. Our platform enables us to precisely identify causal genetic drivers and deploy our TherML™ AI platform to design optimal medicines, advancing a broad pipeline of therapeutics for neuroscience and metabolic diseases. This industrialized architecture creates a self-learning loop: with every biology we onboard, our predictive models grow smarter, accelerating discovery across scales of biology. Join us in transforming the future of medicine!

Private companySeries CIn the news
Founded2018
HQSan Francisco, United States
Location
South San Francisco, CA
Posted7/15/2026
Engineering

The Opportunity

insitro is a physical AI company dedicated to unlocking causal human biology and accelerating the delivery of better medicines to patients. Our unique Virtual Human™ platform identifies novel, high-impact genetic intervention points, which our TherML™ platform translates into therapeutics—whether small molecules, biologics, or oligos. With multiple programs in metabolic disease and neuroscience advancing toward the clinic, and our first IND submission slated for the second half of this year, we are at a pivotal inflection point.

As a Lead/Senior Automation Engineer, you will collaborate with scientists, software engineers, and microscopy engineers to build and develop high quality automated systems and protocols. You will be a member of the Automation team and report to the Director, Process Engineering. This is an onsite role expected to be in the office at least 4 days/week in our South San Francisco Headquarters.

Join us, and help make a difference to patients!

Responsibilities

  • Embed with folks within the scientific teams to define workflows, develop process specific QC metrics, and drive the translation of workflows onto automation systems

  • Design, develop and qualify new workcells and liquid handling protocols to enable new platform capabilities

  • Collaborate closely with the LIMS team to develop and implement automated data capture and LIMS integration to ensure seamless data flow from the robot to our AI/ML pipelines.

  • Work with the Systems Engineering team to diagnose and resolve complex mechanical, software, and system integration issues to minimize equipment downtime and maintain operational continuity

  • Collaborate with folks from our machine learning, software engineering and scientific groups to solve questions ranging from technology onboarding, minimizing batch effects, or process improvements

  • Identify opportunities in how we develop, test and deploy automation solutions more efficiently

  • Work with automation leadership to create a census of automation, its current usage, and develop and implement a plan for areas of retirement, growth, or re-deployment.

About You

  • Bachelor's degree or higher in Robotics, Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Software or Bioengineering, or Physics, Chemistry or Biology

  • B.S, with 8+ years, M.S with 6+ years, or Ph.D. with 3+ years of professional experience working with automation hardware

  • Proficiency in automation and systems development/integration within the life sciences industry, specifically with robotics and liquid handling platforms

  • Proficiency in software programming (Python, SQL, and/or C#) and data handling (including database work) is highly preferred

  • You understand existing capabilities of the lab automation industry and have a track record showing technical depth in automation systems of varying scale

  • You are comfortable completing work independently on complex projects and can also give guidance to others on daily work

  • You have experience in managing the relationship to other engineering functions (eg. third party service providers and vendors or internal mechanical or software engineering teams)

  • You have experience automating scientific workflows (ex. Cell Culture, Genomic Screening or DNA-encoded Library processes)

Compensation & Benefits at insitro

Our target starting salary for successful US-based applicants for this role is $147,000 - $183,000. To determine starting pay, we consider multiple job-related factors including a candidate's skills, education and experience, market demand, business needs, and internal parity. We may also adjust this range in the future based on market data.

This role is eligible for participation in our Annual Performance Bonus Plan (based on company targets by role level and annual company performance) and our Equity Incentive Plan, subject to the terms of those plans and associated policies.

In addition, insitro also provides our employees:

  • 401(k) plan with employer matching for contributions

  • Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage as well as mental health and well-being support

  • Open, flexible vacation policy

  • Paid parental leave of at least 16 weeks to support parents who give birth, and 10 weeks for a new parent (inclusive of birth, adoption, fostering, etc)

  • Quarterly budget for books and online courses for self-development

  • New hire stipend for home office setup

  • Monthly cell phone & internet stipend

  • Access to free onsite baristas and daily lunch for employees who are either onsite or hybrid

  • Access to a free commuter bus network that provides transport to and from our South San Francisco HQ from locations all around the Bay Area

insitro is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

We believe diversity, equity, and inclusion need to be at the foundation of our culture. We work hard to bring together diverse teams–grounded in a wide range of expertise and life experiences–and work even harder to ensure those teams thrive in inclusive, growth-oriented environments supported by equitable company and team practices. All candidates can expect equitable treatment, respect, and fairness throughout the interview process.

#LI-Onsite

Please be aware of recruitment scams: we never request payments, all recruitment communications are from @insitro.com, and if in doubt, contact us at info@insitro.com.

About insitro

insitro is a drug discovery and development company using machine learning (ML) and data at scale to decode biology for transformative medicines. At the core of insitro’s approach is the convergence of in-house generated multi-modal cellular data and high-content phenotypic human cohort data. We rely on these data to develop ML-driven, predictive disease models that uncover underlying biologic state and elucidate critical drivers of disease. These powerful models rely on extensive biological and computational infrastructure and allow insitro to advance novel targets and patient biomarkers, design therapeutics and inform clinical strategy. insitro is advancing a wholly owned and partnered pipeline of insights and therapeutics in neuroscience and metabolism. Since launching in 2018, insitro has raised over $700 million from top tech, biotech and crossover investors, and from collaborations with pharmaceutical partners. For more information on insitro, please visit www.insitro.com.

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Size
258 employees
IndustryBiotechnology Research
Latest fundingSeries C · Mar 15, 2021
Investors
CPP Investments
News
  • The AI Moment in Drug Discovery: Daphne Koller on The Long Run

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