Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc. · 14 hours ago
Software Engineer II, Automation Systems Engineering
California, United States
Full-time
Hybrid
Mid Level
$95K/yr - $133K/yr
3+ years expGinkgo Bioworks is focused on making biology easier to engineer, addressing global challenges in health, energy, food, and materials. They are seeking a highly motivated Software Engineer to develop, test, and support low-level software drivers for laboratory automation hardware.
BiopharmaBiotechnologyChemical
Responsibilities
Design, implement, and maintain robust, high-performance software drivers using Python and/or C#/.NET for a diverse range of lab automation hardware (e.g., robotic arms, liquid handlers, plate readers)
Deeply understand and implement various low-level hardware communication protocols, including RS-232, USB, and TCP/IP
Develop drivers with a focus on reliability
Contribute to the design of the device abstraction layer to create intuitive and robust interfaces for high-level application developers
Collaborate closely with scientists and quality assurance teams to perform joint functional testing and validate driver performance against scientific requirements
Develop and maintain sophisticated automated unit and integration tests
Design and build hardware simulation environments to enable comprehensive driver testing and rapid iteration without relying on physical instrument access
Ensure the drivers include comprehensive error handling, logging, and fault-tolerance mechanisms to guarantee graceful recovery from communication timeouts and hardware failures
Act as a Tier 3 technical resource, providing rapid diagnosis and resolution to software and communication errors occurring at critical customer laboratory sites
Utilize remote diagnostic tools, system logs, and protocol analyzers to troubleshoot complex field issues quickly and effectively
Develop and document workarounds and permanent solutions to maintain high customer uptime
Proactively observing usage of our drivers and proposing improvements to the user experience/reliability
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience
3 years of experience in a software development role, with a focus on hardware integration, embedded systems, or driver development
Experience with Python
Strong communication and collaboration skills
Familiarity with laboratory automation, robotics, or scientific instrumentation is highly beneficial
Preferred
Experience in a fast-moving, deep-tech company
Experience or understanding of laboratory automation and lab automation user personas
Strong understanding of Operating System fundamentals (threading, synchronization, memory management) and real-time constraints
Excellent communication, patience, and the ability to translate complex technical issues for non-software stakeholders (scientists, customers)
Proficient with Git and experience working within agile methodologies and CI/CD pipelines
Advanced skills in debugging low-level code, including use of protocol sniffers, logic analyzers, and remote debugging tools
Experience with C#
Experience with Windows
Experience or background in a life science or chemistry laboratory
Benefits
Company stock awards
A comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental & vision coverage
Health spending accounts
Voluntary benefits
Leave of absence policies
401(k) program with employer contribution
8 paid holidays in addition to a full-week winter shutdown
Unlimited Paid Time Off policy
Company
Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc.
At Ginkgo, we use biology to grow the future.
501-1000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc. 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 (13)
2024 (38)
2023 (25)
2022 (27)
2021 (27)
2020 (8)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$1.58BKey Investors
Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationCenters for Disease Control and PreventionAgriculture and Food Research Initiative
2024-04-10Grant
2023-12-13Grant
2023-10-05Grant
Leadership Team
Reshma Shetty
Co-founder
Austin Che
Founder
Recent News
Food Business News
2026-02-07
Research & Development World
2026-02-06
Investing.com
2026-02-06
Company data provided by crunchbase