Lila Sciences · 3 hours ago
Research Scientist I/II, AI for Process Engineering
Cambridge, MA
Full-time
Onsite
Mid, Senior Level
$176K/yr - $304K/yrLila Sciences is the world’s first scientific superintelligence platform and autonomous lab for life, chemistry, and materials science. This role focuses on designing intelligent agent-driven systems for AI-accelerated process engineering, requiring the development of methods for AI agents to optimize complex physical and chemical processes.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)Foundational AILife ScienceSoftware
Responsibilities
Architect and implement agentic frameworks that support end-to-end process engineering workflows, including process setup, simulation, optimization, and analysis
Develop AI agents capable of autonomously planning, executing, and iterating on process engineering tasks using existing tools (e.g., steady-state and dynamic simulators, optimizers, and data systems)
Explore agentic approaches for advanced tasks such as process intensification, control co-design, real-time optimization, and closed-loop learning from operational data
Improve robustness, interpretability, and reproducibility of agent-driven process engineering workflows; build internal tooling for debugging, observability, validation, and auditability
Work with interdisciplinary teams to apply agentic process engineering to a broad range of industrial applications
Qualification
Required
PhD or equivalent experience in Chemical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a closely related field
Research experience in method development for process engineering, a strong publication record in this area or established industry experience
Hands-on experience with process simulation and optimization tools (commercial or open-source), including steady-state and dynamic modeling
Proficiency in Python and scientific/engineering computing ecosystems
Experience integrating external engineering tools or simulators into automated workflows via APIs, scripting interfaces, or custom wrappers
Familiarity with distributed systems, HPC environments, cloud platforms, or scalable compute infrastructure
Preferred
Experience developing or integrating agentic frameworks, autonomous planners, or multi-step tool-using AI systems for engineering or scientific domains
Experience building computational pipelines, automation systems, or tool-use frameworks for complex engineering or scientific workflows
Experience with digital twins, real-time optimization, or model-predictive control frameworks
Background in techno-economic analysis (TEA), life-cycle assessment (LCA), or sustainability-driven process design
Contributions to open-source engineering software, ML infrastructure, workflow engines, or agent frameworks
Benefits
Bonus potential
Generous early equity
Company
Lila Sciences
Lila Sciences creates a scientific superintelligence platform and autonomous labs for life sciences, chemistry, and materials science. It is a sub-organization of Flagship Pioneering.
Founded in 2023
201-500 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Lila Sciences has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (8)
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$550.67MKey Investors
ARIANVenturesFlagship Pioneering
2026-01-20Grant· $0.67M
2025-10-14Series A· $115M
2025-09-14Series A· $235M
Recent News
MIT Technology Review
2026-01-22
2026-01-03
2025-12-17
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