Senior Engineer II / Staff Engineer, Electromechanical Technician

Lila Sciences Lila Sciences · AI Frontier · Alewife, Cambridge, MA · Autonomous Science Platform

This role is for an Electromechanical Technician who will be responsible for building, assembling, and troubleshooting custom automated instruments, workcells, and experimental equipment to support frontier research in life and physical sciences. The technician will work from designs provided by engineering, perform mechanical and electrical assembly, participate in system integration and debugging, and provide feedback to engineering teams. The role requires an Associate's degree or equivalent, strong mechanical and electrical skills, familiarity with automation components, and the ability to read technical drawings.

What you'd actually do

  1. Assemble, install, and calibrate custom electromechanical equipment and automated systems from 3D CAD models, blueprints, mechanical drawings, and electrical schematics provided by engineering.
  2. Support engineers and scientists in rapid prototyping test stands, fixtures, and experimental setups, including mechanical assembly, light machine work (e.g., drill presses, chop saws), and hands-on fabrication.
  3. Perform electrical wiring, cable routing, and component mounting for automation panels, instruments, and workcells—including sensors, actuators, control boards, and pneumatic components.
  4. Participate in integration, bring-up, and debugging of automation subsystems (mechanical, pneumatic, electrical, optical), working closely with controls and software engineers on system configuration and troubleshooting.
  5. Execute maintenance, repairs, upgrades, and alignments on complex equipment.

Skills

Required

  • Associate’s degree in electro-mechanical technology, mechatronics, industrial maintenance, or related field — or military technical training/vocational certification.
  • Advanced skill with mechanical assembly and electrical diagnostic work, including use of mechanical hand tools, measuring equipment (calipers, gauges), multimeters, and basic machine tools.
  • Ability to read, interpret, and work precisely from 3D CAD models, mechanical drawings, and 2D electrical schematics.
  • Familiarity with PLCs (e.g., Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Beckhoff), motor controllers, actuators, sensors, and industrial automation components.
  • Experience in assembly and troubleshooting of electrical/cable, pneumatic, fluid, or thermal systems.
  • Practical knowledge of industry safety procedures and compliance requirements (e.g., electrical code, LOTO, OSHA).
  • Strong analytical/troubleshooting ability; highly adaptable in fast-paced, rapidly evolving environments.
  • Clear, practical communicator who collaborates effectively with multiple engineering domains.
  • Excellent time management, able to take initiative and juggle multiple projects or tasks with minimal supervision.

Nice to have

  • Hands-on experience supporting highly interdisciplinary R&D teams: building or modifying prototypes across mechanical, controls, and software domains.
  • Proficiency with 3D CAD modeling or editing (SolidWorks strongly preferred; other platforms welcome).
  • Familiarity with AutoCAD, or tools for drafting/wiring electrical schematics.
  • Experience assembling control panels, wiring PLCs, or working at the panel/component level in automation.
  • Experience with digital maintenance or documentation tools (CMMS, ERP, Kanban, Wikis).
  • 4+ years in an automation, manufacturing, robotics, or laboratory environment.
  • Certifications: CMRT, OSHA 10/30, PLC programming, or other industry-relevant credentials.
  • Experience in a cleanroom, laboratory automation, or regulated R&D context.
  • Prior customer or vendor-facing experience for component sourcing, fabrication, or troubleshooting.

What the JD emphasized

  • Associate’s degree in electro-mechanical technology, mechatronics, industrial maintenance, or related field — or military technical training/vocational certification.
  • Advanced skill with mechanical assembly and electrical diagnostic work, including use of mechanical hand tools, measuring equipment (calipers, gauges), multimeters, and basic machine tools.
  • Ability to read, interpret, and work precisely from 3D CAD models, mechanical drawings, and 2D electrical schematics.
  • Familiarity with PLCs (e.g., Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Beckhoff), motor controllers, actuators, sensors, and industrial automation components.
  • Experience in assembly and troubleshooting of electrical/cable, pneumatic, fluid, or thermal systems.
  • Practical knowledge of industry safety procedures and compliance requirements (e.g., electrical code, LOTO, OSHA).