Lab Automation Internship

About the Role

We're scaling our automated lab fast, and the automation team builds and maintains the work cells that make high-throughput biology possible — Hamilton liquid handlers, robot arms, plate readers, BLI/SPR instruments, all orchestrated by LabOS.

We're looking for a Lab Automation Intern to work hands-on with that team in Lausanne: building and running automated protocols, helping bring new instruments online, and keeping production automation healthy. This is a practical, on-site role for someone who likes working where software meets hardware meets wet lab. You'll spend your time at the bench and the keyboard — programming liquid handlers, watching robots run, scripting small integrations, and figuring out why something broke.

What You'll Do

• Help build and run automated liquid-handling protocols on our robots (Hamilton STAR and others), controlled in Python with open-source tooling like PyLabRobot / PyHamilton — with guidance from the automation team
• Support work-cell operation and maintenance: loading runs, swapping consumables, calibrating instruments, and troubleshooting when something jams or misreadsx
• Write real software in Python — instrument drivers, integrations, and tooling that controls hardware and moves data through LabOS, building on open-source libraries like PyLabRobot / PyHamilton
• Help reverse-engineer how an instrument talks — capturing its traffic (e.g. with Wireshark or a USB/serial sniffer) so we can control it in code
• Run tests on new protocols and instruments, record results carefully, and flag anomalies
• Document protocols, work-cell layouts, and fixes so the next person can reproduce them
• Pitch in on the physical side — wiring up a new device, organizing the work cell, prepping plates and reagents for automated runs

What We're Looking For

• Currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a Bachelor's or Master's in engineering, robotics, mechatronics, computer science, bioengineering, or a related field
• A generalist maker — you like building things, taking them apart, and figuring out why they don't work, across software, electronics, and mechanics
• Self-starter — you spot what needs doing and get on with it, rather than waiting to be told
• Solid software skills. This is a software-heavy role, not a lab-assistant gig. You write real Python — you can build a driver, structure code others can read, work with APIs and Git, and debug your way through someone else's library
• AI-native. It's 2026 — you build with coding agents. You use Claude Code (or similar) to write, debug, and ship software faster than you could by hand, and you're hungry to push how far that goes
• Organized and reliable — you keep good notes and don't let things slip through the cracks
• A background in biology isn't required, but you should find it genuinely cool that we're teaching robots to run biology experiments
• Bonus: any maker / hacker experience — 3D printing and CAD, electronics and soldering, microcontrollers (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, ESP32), machining, robotics, or lab automation. Using or contributing to open-source projects (PyLabRobot, PyHamilton, Opentrons, or anything else) is a big plus.

Details

• Location: Lausanne, Switzerland (on-site)
• Commitment: Full-time internship, minimum 3 months (longer preferred)
• Start date: ASAP