Contractor, Robotics Engineer

Cambridge, MA USAPosted 8 weeks ago

Role Overview

Lilasciences is hiring a Contractor, Robotics Engineer. This is a contract role in Cambridge. Full responsibilities, required qualifications, and the apply link are listed in the description below.

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Job description

Your Impact at LILA

Lila's Autonomous Science Platform is building a closed-loop, AI-driven scientific facility, and inter- and intra-cell transport in the AISF is a critical bottleneck on that path. We're bringing on a Robotics Engineer on a temporary basis to help unblock it.

Sitting on the Next Gen Robotics team and based at Alewife, you'll work hands-on across the robotics stack — physical hardware and simulation — to integrate, tune, and debug systems that have to run reliably in production. The work spans ROS2 development, motion planning, and real-world hardware integration, with upstream science projects (including 1023-009-GRIDv1) gated on what you ship. This is a 3-month contract with potential to extend and potential to convert to full-time based on performance and ongoing need.

What You'll Be Building

Develop ROS2 nodes, launch files, and message/service/action interfaces to support inter- and intra-cell transport workflows
Bring up and integrate physical robotic systems — including arms, AMRs, or mobile manipulators — into the AISF environment
Build and maintain simulation environments in Isaac Sim and/or Gazebo to de-risk hardware deployments before they hit the floor
Debug hardware and software integration failures end-to-end: kinematics, calibration, timing, and sensor issues
Contribute domain depth in motion planning, navigation, localization, perception, or sensor fusion as the team's needs evolve
Document configurations, failure modes, and operating procedures so the team can scale and maintain what you deploy

What You’ll Need to Succeed

Bachelor's degree or higher in Robotics, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field, or equivalent hands-on industry experience
Strong experience with ROS2: node development, launch files, message/service/action interfaces
Solid understanding of robot kinematics — forward/inverse kinematics, Jacobians, transforms
Proficiency in at least one robotic simulation platform: NVIDIA Isaac Sim and/or Gazebo
Demonstrated experience working with physical robots — robotic arms, AMRs, and/or mobile manipulators
Depth in at least one of: motion planning (MoveIt2, trajectory generation), autonomous navigation (Nav2), localization (SLAM, AMCL), perception (object detection, depth sensing), or sensor fusion (IMU, LiDAR, camera integration)

Bonus Points For

Experience deploying robotic systems to production or field environments
Strong Python and/or C++ in a ROS2 context
Ability to debug hardware/software integration issues independently
Experience in lab automation or scientific environments

About LILA

Lila Sciences is building Scientific Superintelligence™ to solve humankind's greatest challenges. We believe science is the most inspiring frontier for AI. Rather than hard-coding expert knowledge into tools, LILA builds systems that can learn for themselves.

LILA combines advanced AI models with proprietary AI Science Factory™ instruments into an operating system for science that executes the entire scientific method autonomously, accelerating discovery at unprecedented speed, scale, and impact across medicine, materials, and energy. Learn more at www.lila.ai.

Guided by our core values of truth, trust, curiosity, grit, and velocity, we move with startup speed while tackling problems of historic importance. If this sounds like an environment you'd love to work in, even if you don't meet every qualification listed above, 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.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I apply for the Contractor, Robotics Engineer position at Lilasciences?

Use the Apply button above to submit your application directly to Lilasciences. Most applications take less than 5 minutes if your resume and contact details are ready, and you'll be routed to the employer's official application system to finish.

Where is the Contractor, Robotics Engineer position at Lilasciences located?

This position is based in Cambridge. Lilasciences has not indicated remote or hybrid options for this role, so candidates should plan for on-site work.

What does a Contractor, Robotics Engineer at Lilasciences earn?

Lilasciences has not disclosed a salary range in this posting. Many employers share specifics later in the interview process; you can also ask during a recruiter screen if compensation transparency is important to you.

When was the Contractor, Robotics Engineer role at Lilasciences posted?

This role was posted on May 14, 2026 (56 days ago). It's still listed as actively hiring; we re-confirm openings against the source system multiple times per day and remove closed roles.