Principal Robotic Automation Engineer

POSITION OVERVIEW

HighRes is seeking a Principal Automation Engineer to join our Automation Engineering team at our headquarters in Beverly, Massachusetts. Reporting to the Associate Director of Lab Automation Engineering, you will set the technical standard for how we deploy and integrate our systems across a growing engineering organization and become a leading voice on both.

The systems we deliver are growing in scale and sophistication, including multi-system integrations with orchestration software, laboratory information management systems (LIMS), electronic lab notebooks (ELN), and third-party software platforms. This role exists to architect how that work gets done: the standards, the integration patterns, and the test methods that govern commissioning across the product line, and to define how new and uncommon products are operated, integrated, and tested before they reach customer sites at scale.

The Principal Robotic Automation Engineer operates differently from other roles in the department. Less time is spent in the field, and more is invested in the work that compounds. When this person does deploy on-site, it is because the technical risk of the project warrants it. This role suits someone who has built deep expertise across laboratory automation, earned credibility through results on the hardest projects, and is ready to bring that expertise to bear at an organizational level.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Deployment Architecture, New Product Introduction, and Escalation

• Define how the department deploys: the standards, integration patterns, and acceptance criteria that govern commissioning across the product line
• Architect the technical approach for multi-system deployments, including integrations with LIMS, ELN, and third-party software platforms
• Establish integration patterns for cross-system workflow orchestration and order-level sample tracking
• Lead the integration of new HighRes products and third-party devices into the department's deployment processes and standards
• Define how new and uncommon products are operated, integrated, and tested, and evaluate new hardware and software platforms for deployment readiness, identifying gaps and building the processes and documentation to close them
• Partner with Product, Applications, Software, and System Design Engineering to define new product introduction requirements from the automation engineering perspective
• Serve as the final technical escalation point for multi-system and integration issues that exceed senior and lead engineer capacity, owning outcomes from diagnosis through resolution and documentation
• Identify patterns across escalations, deployment failures, and quality gaps, and design systemic responses that prevent recurrence
• Own on-site execution selectively, where a deployment's technical risk warrants direct Principal involvement

Capability Building and Cross-Functional Partnership

• Drive technical training programs, standards documentation, and lessons learned processes that raise the technical floor of the entire department
• Develop and maintain internal technical resources that give engineers the tools to handle increasingly complex systems independently
• Serve as a mentor and technical resource to engineers at every level of the department
• Partner with Applications, Software Engineering, Customer Support, and Professional Services on complex integrations and system-level technical decisions
• Represent the automation engineering perspective in cross-functional design reviews, product planning sessions, and escalation forums
• Communicate technical risks, requirements, and recommendations to internal and external stakeholders clearly and with appropriate context

QUALIFICATIONS

This role calls for someone who has built expertise across the full breadth of laboratory automation, has led complex technical work independently, and is ready to operate as the highest technical authority on the individual contributor track. Your success will be built on the following qualifications:

Required

• Bachelor's degree in a technical discipline (Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field) and 8+ years of relevant experience; or Master's degree and 7+ years; or Associate's degree and 10+ years
• Extensive hands-on experience configuring, integrating, troubleshooting, and deploying laboratory automation systems in customer-facing settings
• Experience with laboratory automation scheduling software such as CellarioScheduler, Green Button Go (Biosero), Momentum (Thermo Fisher), Overlord (PAA), or equivalent
• Demonstrated experience architecting or defining deployment standards, integration patterns, or test methodology that an engineering organization adopted
• Proficiency in C# or another object-oriented programming language, with experience in scripting, device integration, or driver development
• Hands-on experience with robotic arm systems, including SCARA and articulated arms
• Strong diagnostic and troubleshooting skills across hardware, software, network, and integration layers
• Demonstrated experience coordinating across internal and external stakeholders, including software teams, support, and customers
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to convey complex technical issues to non-technical audiences with clarity and precision
• Ability to travel up to 20% annually to customer locations domestically and internationally, including unplanned travel for escalations
• Reliable personal transportation for regional travel
• Comfortable working in laboratory and technical environments

Preferred

• Experience integrating laboratory automation with LIMS, ELN, or other third-party software platforms
• Experience leading new product introduction, or integrating novel devices into established deployment processes
• Exposure to GxP environments or validation protocols (IQ/OQ/PQ, FAT/SAT) in pharmaceutical or regulated laboratory settings
• Experience with autonomous mobile robots or order-level sample tracking across integrated systems
• Experience developing technical training content, standards documentation, or organizational knowledge-sharing programs
• Hands-on integration experience with laboratory instrumentation from vendors such as Hamilton, Tecan, Beckman Coulter, Thermo Fisher, Agilent, Revvity, BMG Labtech, or Molecular Devices
• Experience with firmware-level device configuration and troubleshooting across diverse hardware platforms
• Experience with SQL and relational database configuration, and with Python for automation or tooling
• Working knowledge of networking concepts and components in laboratory environments

TRAVEL AND LOCATION

• Primary work location: HighRes headquarters, Beverly, Massachusetts
• Field time by exception, where a deployment's technical risk warrants direct Principal involvement
• Travel up to 20% annually to customer sites domestically and internationally, including unplanned travel for escalations

WHY HIGHRES?

This role puts you at the center of high-stakes automation deployments in some of the most advanced life science and pharmaceutical organizations in the world. You will work with cutting-edge robotic platforms, solve challenging technical problems, and build lasting relationships with customers whose science depends on what you deliver. If you are ready to do meaningful engineering work at the frontier of laboratory automation and grow alongside a team that takes excellence seriously, HighRes is the place to do it.

Salary Range: $135,000-180,000

Work Location: Beverly, MA - Office Headquarters