Forward Deployed Engineer (Level Flexible)

About Lila Sciences

Lila Sciences is the world’s first scientific superintelligence platform and autonomous lab for life, chemistry, and materials science. We are pioneering a new age of boundless discovery by building the capabilities to apply AI to every aspect of the scientific method. We are introducing scientific superintelligence to solve humankind’s greatest challenges, enabling scientists to bring forth solutions in human health, climate, and sustainability at a pace and scale never experienced before. Learn more about this mission at www.lila.ai

At Lila, we are uniquely cross-functional and collaborative. We are actively reimagining the way teams work together and communicate. Therefore, we seek individuals with an inclusive mindset and a diversity of thought. Our teams thrive in unstructured and creative environments. All voices are heard because we know that experience comes in many forms, skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. If this sounds like an environment you’d love to work in, even if you only have some of the experience listed below, please apply.

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 molecular modeling, 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

• Background in chemistry, materials science, or related scientific 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 more