Microfabrication Scientist I/II
Lila Sciences
$108,000 - $170,000 / year
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Description
Your Impact at LILA
As a Microfabrication Scientist on the Vacuum Synthesis team at Lila Sciences, you will serve as the primary contributor to the fabrication of prototype devices used to probe and characterize the properties of novel materials. Your hands-on expertise in cleanroom processing, with strengths in thin-film deposition, lithography, etching, and metrology, will contribute directly to Lila’s materials science programs focused on the predictive design of novel material families and functional thin-film systems.
In this role, you will design and build prototype test structures and devices that enable rapid and accurate assessment of material properties. Development of fabrication process flows may include non-standard approaches that shape how the platform builds and interrogates new material systems. The experimental outputs will feed directly into closed-loop discovery campaigns.
You will partner with materials scientists, device physicists, systems engineers, and machine learning scientists to develop and execute fabrication campaigns with high scientific rigor and velocity.
What You'll Be Building
- Design and fabricate prototype devices and test structures used to evaluate novel materials.
- Develop, optimize, and troubleshoot thin-film deposition recipes across diverse material systems.
- Execute cleanroom processes, including lithography, wet/dry etching, and thin-film deposition.
- Characterize films and devices using profilometry, ellipsometry, SEM, and electrical probing.
- Integrate fabrication processes into automated and high-throughput workflows.
- Translate experimental goals into manufacturable process steps with materials scientists and engineers.
What You'll Need to Succeed
- Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physics, or a closely related field; advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) preferred.
- 5+ years of hands-on cleanroom experience in research, development, or manufacturing.
- Deep expertise in thin-film deposition, including recipe development and troubleshooting.
- Proficiency across photolithography, wet/dry etching, and thin-film deposition.
- Hands-on experience with metrology and characterization tools as part of process development.
- Track record implementing novel fabrication process flows when established recipes do not fit.
Bonus Points For
- Experience with epitaxial deposition techniques.
- Experience with device fabrication for electronic, photonic, MEMS, spintronic, or quantum applications.
- Proficiency in lift-off patterning and process selection for device and material requirements.
- Familiarity with high-throughput or combinatorial fabrication process integration.
- Proficiency in Python for scientific data analysis.
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.
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.
Benefits
- health insurance
- vision insurance
- stock options
- parental leave
- disability insurance
About this role
Lila Sciences is seeking an experienced microfabrication scientist to join their Vacuum Synthesis team in Cambridge, working hands-on in the cleanroom to design and fabricate prototype devices that characterize novel materials. You'll own the full fabrication pipeline—from developing thin-film deposition recipes and executing lithography and etching processes to running metrology and electrical characterization—translating material science goals into manufacturable process steps. The role demands deep technical expertise in cleanroom processing and a track record of troubleshooting non-standard approaches when conventional recipes don't fit the problem.
This position sits at the intersection of materials discovery and AI-driven science. Your experimental outputs feed directly into closed-loop discovery campaigns, and you'll collaborate closely with materials scientists, device physicists, systems engineers, and machine learning researchers to execute fabrication campaigns with both rigor and speed. The work emphasizes rapid iteration and high-throughput integration, so comfort with automation and data analysis (Python is a plus) will strengthen your impact.
The role requires at least five years of hands-on cleanroom experience and strong proficiency across deposition, lithography, etching, and metrology. A bachelor's degree in Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or Physics is the baseline; an advanced degree is preferred. Experience with epitaxial deposition, device fabrication for electronics or quantum applications, or combinatorial processes would be valuable. The salary range is $108,000–$170,000, with equity, comprehensive benefits, and flexible time off.
How this employer is doing
solid
- H1B: Sponsors Visas
- Recently Raised Funding
- Sponsors Visas
In the news
Lila Sciences in talks for $2B funding at $8.5B valuation - Bloomberg, Investing.com
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Pay for this role
$108,000 to $170,000 per year
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