What are the responsibilities and job description for the Software Engineering Manager II position at Automata LLC?

Level : 4

Salary band : $200,000-$230,000

Bonus : 10% performance-based, discretionary

Location : Hybrid - Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA

At Automata, we're on a mission to transform how scientists work by making automation accessible to every lab in the world. We believe that by giving labs the power to automate, we can unlock discoveries that will shape the future of life sciences-from diagnostics and drug discovery to synthetic biology.

But we're more than just a company disrupting the industry-we're a team of innovators, problem-solvers, and creators passionate about empowering scientists. Our LINQ platform combines hardware and software to streamline workflows, making lab automation fast, flexible, and affordable. This means our customers can focus on groundbreaking research, while we take care of the rest.

We're looking for a Software Engineering Manager to kickstart our Boston based engineering team. The right person is excited about furthering a disruptive product in a market ripe for it : labs across the US, and around the world. Ideally, this candidate is both a natural leader and a solid contributor that enjoys solving for high impact technical challenges across the tech stack.

Why Work at Automata?

Impact : Your work will directly contribute to advancements in science and medicine, supporting labs around the globe as they push boundaries in research and innovation.
Innovation : You'll be part of a team solving complex problems (seriously, no one else has figured out how to do this yet), using cutting-edge technology (we have robots).
Growth : We invest in our people. Whether through hands-on experience, professional development, or collaborative projects, you'll grow both professionally and personally.
Community : Join a diverse, passionate team that values collaboration (offsites, launch parties, and of course, many meals together).

About the team

Our engineers are more than just technically skilled; they're driven by curiosity and a growth mindset. They find immense joy in seeing the software power our robots and LINQ bench, transporting plates from instrument to instrument. They understand the profound impact of their work on the life sciences industry, and this fuels their passion.

Our Tech Stack :

Python for our application code, APIs and SDK

Typescript with React

SQL and NoSQL databases : PostgreSQL, Couchbase, DynamoDB

Event-driven architecture, employing technologies such as Kafka, gRPC and Protobuf for event definitions

Solver technology and algorithms to drive our workflow scheduling solver engine

Deployment on AWS to IoT Greengrass, ECS, Lambda and EKS, with infrastructure managed via Terraform and pipelines via CircleCI

Feature flags to enable us to experiment and control when we release new features to customers

In this role, you will be responsible for :

Building our first Engineering team in the US.

Set the tone for a healthy and effective culture that enables your team to do their best work.

Mentor and line managing 5-10 engineers, fostering a healthy team culture and ensuring the team makes technical contributions that align with engineering standards and best practices.

Provide technical leadership, ensuring effective delegation and alignment towards contributing to the overall delivery.

Shipping and building a resilient product with scale and reliability in mind so that we can entrust our product into the hands of our customers with pride, accounting for quality and security.

Putting customers at the heart of what you do by understanding what makes sense for our users and engaging with them with integrity.

Taking pragmatic approaches and keeping it simple by solving problems that we have, not for problems we might encounter.

Building an agile architecture that is expected to evolve and is flexible to adapt.

Code is just one part of the job, but being a team player is a massive part. We prioritise working together with our partners in Product and Design to ensure transparency and alignment in one direction.

What it takes :

Technical leadership and engineering excellence in guiding the team to a high standard, leading technical initiatives through strong architectural understanding, mentorship, and the capacity to align team objectives with strategic technical vision across a modern SaaS edge system.

Production experience across the core technology stack of Python, React and Typescript in an AWS environment, ideally working on data-intensive edge applications, microservices and event-driven architecture. (We also welcome diverse experiences in other languages, such as Golang, Rust, or Dart.)

Effective stakeholder management and confidence managing customer environments.

Delivery-focused and pragmatic in ensuring customer value is delivered efficiently, with necessary trade-offs considered, balancing strategic direction, quality and resiliency.

Have a product mindset, always being keen to understand customer needs. Facilitate product and design discussions, contributing ideas to ensure we do the most impactful work that will improve the product and user experience.

Comfortable dealing with ambiguity, seeking and sharing feedback, challenging the status quo, and iterating.

US team benefits : Healthcare

Competitive healthcare for you and your family

401k

We offer a 401(k) retirement savings plan

Well-being budget

Invest in your own well-being, personal growth, and hobbies

Holiday

30 days 8 public holidays

Additional leave days

Time off for dependents, 'Me days', birthdays and volunteering days off

Birthday trees

Planting a tree for every employee on their birthday, every year

Paid sick leave

10 days paid sick leave to stay home and focus on rest and recovery

Mental health support

Access the therapy for you and your family through Spill

Career progression frameworks

Each department & discipline has a progression framework

We are an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Discrimination of any kind based on race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status is strictly prohibited.

Department Product Engineering & Design Locations Boston Remote status Hybrid

Salary : $200,000 - $230,000

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Software Engineering Manager II

What are the responsibilities and job description for the Software Engineering Manager II position at Automata LLC?

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