Engineer II/ Senior Engineer, Robotics Platform Evaluation

📋 Job Overview

Lila is building a dedicated platform evaluation function within our robotics organization. The team tests and benchmarks alternative robotics platforms, including mobile manipulators, AMRs and AGVs, and other form factors, against our current production baseline. Consistent methodology across platforms is the point: results have to be directly comparable to be useful.

🏢 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.

🎯 The Role

As a Robotics Platform Evaluation Engineer, you own robots end to end. You unbox and commission new hardware, integrate it with our software stack and infrastructure, execute the full test program, and turn the results into decision-ready comparisons that inform which platforms we adopt.

✅ Key Responsibilities

• Commission new robotics platforms from unboxing through integration with our stack
• Own end-to-end evaluation of assigned platforms, from test plan to benchmark report
• Run test suites spanning navigation, manipulation, perception, and controls
• Integrate platforms with ROS2 and Nav2, adapting drivers, configurations, and interfaces
• Characterize manipulator, gripper, and AMR/AGV performance against comparable baselines
• Extend the shared evaluation framework and tooling for future platform assessments
• Flag integration issues, safety concerns, and platform limitations early and clearly

📌 Required Qualifications

• Professional experience deploying robotics platforms in production, commercial, or applied R&D settings
• Hands-on ROS2 and Nav2 experience in real deployments, not simulation alone
• Experience with manipulation and pick-and-place, including motion planning and grasp execution
• Experience with controls for robot arms or mobile bases
• Experience integrating and calibrating camera or lidar perception pipelines
• Direct experience with AMRs/AGVs or 6 to 7 DoF arms, including grippers and end effectors
• Track record turning test results into clear, decision-ready comparisons

⭐ Desirable Experience

• Evaluated or compared multiple robotics platforms or vendors head to head
• Experience with mobile manipulators, meaning an arm mounted on a mobile base
• Experience with robotics simulation tools (Isaac Sim, Gazebo, or similar) for platform validation
• Built internal tooling or frameworks for standardized robot testing
• Background in industrial, warehouse, logistics, or manufacturing automation

🎁 Benefits

We offer competitive base compensation with bonus potential and generous early-stage equity. Your final offer will reflect your background, expertise, and expected impact.

U.S. Benefits. Full-time U.S. employees receive a comprehensive benefits program including medical, dental, and vision coverage; employer-paid life and disability insurance; flexible time off with generous company wide holidays; paid parental leave; an educational assistance program; commuter benefits, including bike share memberships for office based employees; and a company subsidized lunch program.

International Benefits. Full-time employees outside the U.S. receive a comprehensive benefits program tailored to their region. USD salary ranges apply only to U.S.-based positions; international salaries are set to local market.

🛂 Visa & Eligibility

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.