Staff Forward Deployed Engineer, Physical Sciences (Level Flexible)

lilasciences

Cambridge, MA USA · Cambridge

Posted Oct 6, 2025

Full-time
Software

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Job description

Your Impact at LILA

We're seeking extraordinarily talented Forward Deployed Engineers across Engineer, Senior Engineer, and Lead Engineer levels to join our growing team. Our FDEs are high-performing generalists with a broad set of skills, in addition to depth in one or more focus areas. This FDE, Physical Sciences role requires experience in chemistry and materials science in an industrial manufacturing setting.

As an FDE, you'll embed directly with our internal biotech and materials science teams as well as external customers, living their problems and rapidly building solutions that transform their research capabilities. You'll leverage our AI and software platform tools while developing bespoke features that address each customer's unique challenges. This isn't traditional software development—it's high-velocity, AI-fueled, high-impact engineering where you'll ship production code in days, not months.

What You'll Be Building

Developing, wrapping, and adapting domain-specific tools for data analysis, process optimization, molecular modeling, and more
Deploying custom, agentic scientific workflows that integrate with industrial instruments (PLCs, control software) and data systems (ERP, MES, SCADA)
Building real-time data pipelines that transform messy scientific data into actionable insights
Creating intuitive interfaces that make complex AI/ML capabilities accessible to scientists
Architecting solutions that scale from proof-of-concept to enterprise-wide deployment

What You'll Need to Succeed

Domain expertise in chemistry, materials science, or related field
Outstanding communication skills—you'll interface directly with both executives and the manufacturing line
Experience with data engineering, ETL pipelines, and working with complex/messy datasets
Strong full-stack development skills with the ability to work across backend, frontend, and data layers
Exceptional problem-solving abilities and comfort with ambiguous requirements
Knack for product discovery and ability to pass requirements back to the platform
Willingness to travel to customer sites for frequent and extended deployments

Bonus Points For

Previous customer-facing or consulting experience
Depth in controls engineering and machine learning
Experience with scientific computing libraries (NumPy, Pandas, SciPy, RDKit)
Familiarity with ML/AI implementation and deployment
Familiarity with modern web technologies (TypeScript, React)

What Makes a Great FDE

Customer Obsessed: You're energized by understanding customer problems deeply and seeing your solutions drive real impact
Fast Learner: You quickly grasp new scientific domains and translate complex requirements into elegant solutions
Autonomous: You thrive with minimal supervision and take extreme ownership of customer success
Collaborative: You work seamlessly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
Technically Versatile: You're comfortable jumping between technologies and picking up new tools as needed

Ready to Transform Scientific Discovery?

If you're excited about embedding with world-class scientists, shipping impactful solutions at startup speed, and building the future of scientific software, we want to hear from you. Join us in our mission to accelerate breakthrough discoveries that will define the next century of human progress.

Compensation

We offer competitive base compensation with bonus potential and generous early-stage equity. Your final offer will reflect your background, expertise, and expected impact.

U.S. Benefits. Full-time U.S. employees receive a comprehensive benefits program including medical, dental, and vision coverage; employer-paid life and disability insurance; flexible time off with generous company wide holidays; paid parental leave; an educational assistance program; commuter benefits, including bike share memberships for office based employees; and a company subsidized lunch program.

International Benefits. Full-time employees outside the U.S. receive a comprehensive benefits program tailored to their region. USD salary ranges apply only to U.S.-based positions; international salaries are set to local market.

Expected Base Salary Range

$192,000—$256,000 USD

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.