Co-Op, Autonomous SEM

Co-Op, Autonomous SEM

Cambridge, MA USA

Lila Sciences is seeking a Co-Op, Autonomous SEM to join the Materials Science team within the Autonomous Science Platform. This co-op will contribute to autonomous SEM workflows that make characterization more consistent, high-throughput, and less dependent on manual operators. The work sits at the intersection of materials characterization, image analysis, and autonomous laboratory workflows. The co-op will support SEM-based imaging workflows that help instruments identify useful regions, evaluate image quality, adjust acquisition conditions, and generate datasets suitable for downstream analysis and ML training.

This is a hands-on opportunity for a student interested in building practical autonomy for scientific instrumentsturning SEM from a manually driven characterization tool into a system that can navigate samples, make acquisition decisions, and produce richer datasets for materials discovery.

What You'll Be Building

• Support development of autonomous SEM workflow using vendor APIs
• Test navigation logic for locating particles, surfaces, and regions of interest.
• Evaluate image quality using criteria such as focus, contrast, feature visibility, and sampling value.
• Support experiments that connect imaging decisions to downstream analysis and ML training needs.
• Document acquisition behavior, edge cases, and failure modes across sample types.
• Collaborate with ML scientists, experimental scientists, and software partners on instrument-control requirements.
• Help define practical guardrails for autonomous SEM operation, including when to capture, reposition, zoom, or adjust parameters.

What You'll Need to Succeed

• Currently pursuing a PhD or have completed a PhD in Materials Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Physics, Applied Physics, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• Experience building automated scientific or laboratory workflows using Python.
• Deep understanding of electron optics, electron-beam interaction with matter, column alignments, stigmation correction, and source dynamics
• Familiarity with MCP servers, LLM-enabled workflows, or agentic control of scientific instruments.
• Experience with closed-loop learning, active learning, Bayesian optimization, or reward-driven experimental workflows.
• Ability to translate expert instrument operations into clear, testable, and well-documented workflow logic.

Bonus Points For

• Experience with autonomous microscopy, self-driving labs, or agentic scientific workflows.
• Experience with data analysis for scientific images, spectra, or microscopy datasets.
• Experience with image segmentation, particle finding, feature detection, or morphology analysis.
• Interest in building practical autonomy for scientific instruments across real sample types and workflows.

About LILA

Lila Sciences is building Scientific Superintelligence to solve humankind's greatest challenges. We believe science is the most inspiring frontier for AI. Rather than hard-coding expert knowledge into tools, LILA builds systems that can learn for themselves.

LILA combines advanced AI models with proprietary AI Science Factory instruments into an operating system for science that executes the entire scientific method autonomously, accelerating discovery at unprecedented speed, scale, and impact across medicine, materials, and energy. Learn more at

Guided by our core values of truth, trust, curiosity, grit, and velocity, we move with startup speed while tackling problems of historic importance. If this sounds like an environment you'd love to work in, even if you don't meet every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply.

Lila Sciences is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

Information you provide during your application process will be handled in accordance with our Candidate Privacy Policy.

A Note to Agencies

Lila Sciences does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to Lila Sciences or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Lila Science's internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of Lila Sciences, and Lila Sciences will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.