Automation Engineer

The Carnegie Mellon Cloud Lab (CMU Cloud Lab) is the world's first academic Cloud Lab offering a 24/7/365 remote-access facility with over 200 scientific instruments.

Based on the concept pioneered by two CMU alumni through their company, Emerald Cloud Lab ( ECL ), the CMU Cloud Lab is located in Pittsburgh in the Bakery Square neighborhood in close proximity to CMU’s main campus. The Carnegie Mellon Cloud Lab is powered by the same software running ECL’s facility in Austin, TX, making all operations executable in either facility.

The CMU Cloud Lab provides researchers full control over laboratory processes, data inputs, outputs and sharing. All processes are fully traceable, end-to-end, and enhanced with auxiliary sensor data and sample/asset tracing, creating rich and comprehensive datasets that researchers can investigate and learn from using thousands of powerful functions for data visualization, analysis, and simulations.

As an Automation Engineer for the CMU Cloud Lab, also known as the Scientific Operations (SciOps) team, you play a pivotal role in providing on-site technical support, encompassing both hardware and software, to ensure the seamless execution of experiments within the lab. Your efforts enable a broad range of clients — from pharmaceutical companies to startups and academic institutions — to conduct groundbreaking scientific research. This role demands intellectual agility, critical problem-solving skills, scientific acumen, and the ability to troubleshoot complex issues across multiple domains. Successful team members will develop a deep understanding of the 200 unique instrument types available at Emerald, as well as the core infrastructure that powers experimental protocols. To support this, all SciOps team members receive extensive training in the Wolfram Language and Emerald’s Symbolic Lab Language (SLL), equipping them with the technical proficiency required to excel in lab operations.

We are looking for individuals who are passionate about transforming the way scientific research is conducted, eager to learn new skills, and ready to tackle the technical challenges that come with driving this innovation forward.

Who You Are:

• 4 years of experience in a GxP or Life Sciences environment.
• Proficiency in applying rigorous deductive reasoning to solve ambiguous and complex issues that emerge during troubleshooting.
• Ability to work fixed, but non-traditional hours – including a specific night shift.
• You are a data driven individual with strong quantitative skills.
• Eagerness to learn programming and software development (prior experience is a plus, but not required).
• Extensive experience in troubleshooting scientific instrument hardware and software.
• Enthusiasm for learning a wide variety of instruments and techniques.
• Ability to thrive in a fast paced, laboratory operations environment.

As a Scientific Operations team member, you would …

• Apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to address challenges encountered during experiment execution (software and instrumentation).
• Identify and resolve code bugs, software glitches, and instrumentation setup errors promptly and effectively.
• Collaborate extensively with cross functional teams to enhance the overall quality and performance of the cloud lab, fostering effective cross-functional teamwork.
• Continuously develop and maintain a deep understanding of the Wolfram Language and its application in interfacing between customers and the physical laboratory.
• Gain expertise in all experiments and instruments offered by Emerald, including familiarity with the associated software and hardware used in lab experiments.

You might resonate with the culture at ECL if ...

• You are passionate about science, technology, and medicine.
• You are impressively empathetic. You can argue the rationale you disagree with as convincingly as the one you agree with.
• You are intellectually fearless. Stretching yourself well out of your comfort zone across multiple disciplines is more the rule than the exception at Emerald.
• You are curious. When first-principles reasoning illuminates a path that diverges from the standard assumptions, you feel compelled to see where it leads.
• You have a keen interest in developing unique skills in an unconventional setting that traditional laboratories cannot provide.

$105,000 - $115,000 a year

Only Night shift available

About the CMU Cloud Lab and ECL:

https://cloudlab.cmu.edu/

The Carnegie Mellon Cloud Lab (CMU Cloud Lab) is the world's first academic Cloud Lab offering a 24/7/365 remote-access facility with over 200 scientific instruments.

Based on the concept pioneered by two CMU alumni through their company, Emerald Cloud Lab ( ECL ), the CMU Cloud Lab is located in Pittsburgh in the Bakery Square neighborhood in close proximity to CMU’s main campus. The Carnegie Mellon Cloud Lab is powered by the same software running ECL’s facility in Austin, TX, making all operations executable in either facility.

The CMU Cloud Lab provides researchers full control over laboratory processes, data inputs, outputs and sharing. All processes are fully traceable, end-to-end, and enhanced with auxiliary sensor data and sample/asset tracing, creating rich and comprehensive datasets that researchers can investigate and learn from using thousands of powerful functions for data visualization, analysis, and simulations.

Applying

We’d love to hear from you! Please follow the "Apply" link below, and include your resume and a remark or two about where you are coming from and why you are interested in Emerald and this role.