Software Engineer – Lab Automation

About the role

Adaptyv is building an automated laboratory where AI agents design and run biology experiments. As a Software Engineer you will create the software that orchestrates physical lab instruments, ensuring experiments run reliably and efficiently.

Key responsibilities

• Develop orchestration software to coordinate liquid handlers, plate readers, incubators, and robot arms, handling timing, state, and error recovery.
• Reverse‑engineer instrument protocols (serial, USB, TCP/IP) and build clean driver abstractions.
• Design and execute complex multi‑step protocols across multiple devices, adding robust error‑recovery logic.
• Create monitoring and observability dashboards for instrument health, run progress, and error rates.
• Collaborate with lab automation engineers, software team, and scientists to debug hardware‑software issues.

Required profile

• Strong software engineering background with production‑grade Python and/or TypeScript code.
• Experience or strong interest in working at the hardware‑software boundary, debugging flaky connections and timing issues.
• Self‑starter who can define needed solutions from real lab workflows.
• Reliability‑mindset for 24/7 lab operations.

Required skills

• Python
• TypeScript
• PostgreSQL (Supabase)
• Modal compute platform
• PyLabRobot or PyHamilton (or similar lab‑automation tooling)