Automation Engineer, Wet Lab

Role summary: At Differential Bio, our mission is to unlock the potential of the bioeconomy by fixing how biological R&D and scale-up are done. Today, bioprocess development is slow, expensive, and limited by the economics of lab hardware. A typical system runs 4, 8, or 24 bioreactors in parallel, and a single run can cost anywhere from hundreds to several thousand dollars. Our ambition is different: 100 parallel bioreactor runs at around $10 per run. Why does that matter? Because radically reducing the cost per insight changes what is possible. Instead of running a handful of carefully selected experiments, we can generate dense, standardized datasets across thousands of conditions. That data is at the core of Differential Bio. First, we automate high-throughput data generation. Then we use our proprietary datasets to train AI models that understand how bioprocesses behave across conditions and scales - with the long-term goal of building a digital twin of fermentation at any scale. We have already built two end-to-end automated fermentation pods that operate continuously and generate experimental data every week. Being vertically integrated all the way down to the physical lab has proven to be a major advantage for us. Now we are hiring the first role dedicated entirely to lab automation. You will take over this domain from our founder and CTO, Martin, report directly to him, and own how our automation platform develops from here. This is, in many ways, the role we always wished existed: high autonomy, genuinely difficult engineering problems, the freedom and resources to solve them properly, and a mission worth the hard work. This is not a role for someone who wants to select the next six-figure laboratory automation system from a catalogue. We want someone who looks at a €500,000 solution and asks: Why does this cost €500,000? What problem are we actually solving? And could we achieve the same outcome - or a better one - for a fraction of the cost and at 10x the scale? Sometimes the answer will be an established lab instrument. Sometimes it will be an industrial robot, a €50 sensor, a 3D-printed part, and some clever engineering. Your opportunity is to help us completely rethink how lab automation is done and build the infrastructure that makes biological R&D dramatically faster and cheaper. Key responsibilities: • Own lab automation at Differential Bio end-to-end, from creating individual components to developing complete new automated fermentation systems, including technical decisions, experimentation, suppliers, and budget. • Drive our ambition to dramatically increase experimental density while reducing the cost per experiment and cost per insight. • Translate wet-lab workflows into reliable, scalable automation together with our scientists, software engineers, and ML engineers. • Make pragmatic build vs. buy vs. modify decisions instead of defaulting to expensive, closed laboratory automation platforms. • Prototype and build yourself: fermentation pods and small bioreactors, using 3D printing & our workshop. • Evaluate and integrate robots, liquid handling systems, and emerging automation technologies, working directly with manufacturers to adapt or co-develop around our requirements. • Continuously improve reliability, throughput, maintainability, and cost as our automation platform scales. Qualifications: We care more about how you solve engineering problems than about a specific degree or career path. You should: • Have evidence of excellence: 4+ years of experience in lab automation, robotics, or other automation projects involving real hardware - or an equivalent track record of serious hobby projects where you have built, modified, automated, and debugged physical systems yourself. • Be a tinkerer: someone who enjoys opening the box, understanding how something works, modifying it, and building something better when necessary. • Be comfortable with robotics, sensors, actuators, mechanical design, electronics, embedded systems, or related technologies. • Be able to move quickly between disciplines and collaborate with wet-lab scientists, automation specialists, software engineers, and ML engineers. • Be comfortable with ambiguity and high autonomy. We define outcomes; you have substantial freedom to determine how to achieve them. • Combine creative engineering with a strong focus on reliability and repeatability. Experience with laboratory automation, bioreactors, liquid handling, CAD, 3D printing, Python, PLCs, machine vision, or industrial automation is a plus - but not a requirement. This is a demanding job. The problems are hard, the ownership is real, and there will not always be a playbook to follow. We are looking for someone who enjoys that responsibility rather than avoids it. We want to see the fire in you: the curiosity, energy, and determination to keep digging until something works. Benefits: • Build something fundamentally new: Help move lab automation away from boutique, over-engineered systems toward high-density biological data factories. • High ownership: Own our lab automation stack, technical direction, suppliers, and significant parts of the automation budget. • Real freedom to build: We have 3D printers, workshop capabilities, testing space, and the budget to buy robots and hardware when experimentation requires it. • Direct impact: Work closely with our founder and CTO and shape one of Differential Bio's core technological advantages. • Competitive compensation through salary + stock options. • eGym WellPass membership. Find Jobs in Germany on Arbeitnow