Lab Operations Specialist I (Contract)

Lab Operations Specialist I (Contract)

Cambridge, MA USA

Lila Sciences is seeking a Lab Operations Specialist I to support second-shift operations within our AI Science Factory (AISF) environments. This role is critical to maintaining the operational backbone of our laboratories, ensuring that scientific workflows, automation platforms, and experimental teams can operate continuously and without interruption.

Working within a high-throughput, rapidly scaling environment, you will help translate operational needs into reliable day-to-day execution by maintaining organized lab spaces, supporting material flow, and ensuring that laboratory systems remain ready for ongoing work.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone interested in laboratory operations, logistics, and supporting advanced scientific and automation systems in a fast-paced research environment.

What You'll Be Building

• Maintain operational readiness of laboratory environments during second shift, ensuring spaces support ongoing scientific and automated workflows
• Manage consumables and material flow, including restocking, inventory monitoring, and staging materials for upcoming experiments
• Support laboratory service programs, including glasswash coordination, waste handling, and lab coat management
• Assist with receiving, organizing, and distributing materials, samples, and small equipment across lab spaces
• Identify and resolve routine operational issues, escalating more complex problems to appropriate teams (LabOps, Sustained Engineering, EHS)
• Document work and communicate updates to ensure continuity between shifts and visibility into ongoing lab operations
• Work within established systems (e.g., inventory platforms, ticketing tools) to support tracking and coordination of lab activities
• Collaborate cross-functionally with scientific, engineering, and operations teams to support day-to-day laboratory needs

What You'll Need to Succeed

• 1–3 years of experience in a laboratory, operations, or similar hands-on environment
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills
• Ability to work independently during second-shift hours in a lower-support environment
• Clear communication skills for documenting work and coordinating across shifts
• Comfort working in a fast-paced, evolving environment

Bonus Points For

• Experience working in shift-based or extended-hour operations
• Experience in lab operations, facilities, or scientific support environments
• Experience in Life Science and/or Physical Science fields
• Exposure to automated laboratory environments or high-throughput workflows
• Familiarity with inventory systems, CMMS, or ticketing tools

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.