Research Engineer II - Materials Discovery Research Institute

Job Description

The Materials Discovery Research Institute (MDRI), a division of Underwriters Laboratories Research Institutes (ULRI), is seeking a Research Engineer II to join the Accelerated Methodologies Research Team. The engineer will be responsible for designing, programming, and implementing automated lab sequences using hardware and software systems to support high-throughput experimentation. You will collaborate closely with chemists, materials scientists, and instrumentation experts to bridge manual lab operations with robotic and digital systems. This position plays a vital role in advancing our vision of a self-driving laboratory that accelerates material discovery for a sustainable and safer world.

UL Research Institutes:

At UL Research Institutes, we expand the boundaries of safety science to create a more secure and sustainable world. For more than a century, we have studied the unintended consequences of innovation, designed solutions to mitigate risk and shared our findings with academia, scientists, manufacturers, and policymakers across industries. We identify critical safety and sustainability issues, asking the tough questions because we believe a safer world begins with knowledge.

Build a safer, more secure, and sustainable future with us. Join us and work with our Materials Discovery Research Institute team who conduct the research required to produce that knowledge and put into practice.

What you'll learn and achieve:

As the Research Engineer II, you will play a key role in the rapid growth of UL as you:

• Translate wet chemistry workflows into automated sequences by integrating robotic systems and lab instrumentation.

• Collaborate with scientific teams to implement automation for synthesis, handling, and characterization tasks.

• Work closely with data team to enable control, scheduling, and monitoring of automated lab systems; familiarity with scripting and automation logic is expected.

• Interface instruments, sensors, and robotic components to enable coordinated, high-throughput lab operations.

• Troubleshoot and optimize system performance to ensure safe, reproducible, and efficient automation.

• Develop and maintain documentation, including standard operating procedures (SOPs) and workflow diagrams.

• Collaborate with chemists, engineers and instrumentation experts to align automation solutions with scientific objectives.

• Stay up to date on emerging technologies, tools, and methods in lab automation and robotics integration.

What you'll experience working at UL Research Institutes: We have pursued our mission of working for a safer, more secure, and sustainable world for nearly 130 years, embedding conscientious stewardship into everything we do.

• People: Our people make us special. You'll work with a diverse team of experts respected for their independence and transparency and build a network, because our approach is collaborative. We collaborate across disciplines, organizations, and geographies to build the global scientific response that today's global challenges require.

• Interesting work: Every day is different for us here. We see what's on the horizon and use our expertise to build the foundations of a safer future. You'll have the opportunity to push the boundaries of human understanding as part of a team working to advance the public good.

• Grow and achieve: We learn, work, and grow together through targeted development, reward, and recognition programs.

• Values. Four core values guide our work: collaboration, respect, integrity, and beneficence. By living our values, we inspire the trust essential to fulfilling our mission and foster the partnerships that enable us to pursue a beneficent future in which we all can thrive.

• Total Rewards: All employees at UL Research Institutes are eligible for bonus compensation. We offer comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans and a generous 401k matching structure of up to 5% of eligible pay. Moreover, we invest an additional 4% into your retirement saving fund after your first year of continuous employment. Depending on your role, you may be able to discuss flexible working arrangements with your manager. We also provide employees with paid time off, including vacation, holiday, sick, and volunteer days.

What makes you a great fit:

While no one candidate will embody every quality, the successful candidate will bring many of the following professional competencies and personal attributes:

• Demonstrated expertise in robotic system integration, with a focus on deploying and configuring robotic components within laboratory environments.

• Proven ability to integrate robotics with scientific instrumentation to enable automated workflows in wet chemistry or materials labs.

• Working knowledge of programming or scripting languages (e.g., Python, C#, LabVIEW) to support automation logic and interface with control systems.

• Familiarity with lab workflow orchestration tools and control systems; able to collaborate with data and software teams on implementation.

• Strong troubleshooting and debugging skills for resolving hardware/software integration challenges in multidisciplinary lab settings.

• Experience working in wet chemistry labs, with a solid understanding of lab safety, instrumentation, and experimental workflows.

• Excellent collaboration skills, with a demonstrated ability to work across engineering, scientific, and informatics domains.

• Highly organized, with the ability to manage multiple automation projects, maintain documentation, and ensure system reliability.

• Curious, adaptable, and motivated to contribute to the development of self-driving lab capabilities.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly document processes and contribute to technical discussions.

Professional education and experience requirements for the role include:

• Ph.D. degree in Chemistry, Engineering (e.g., Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical) or a related technical field or;

• Master's degree in Chemistry, Engineering (e.g., Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical) or a related technical field plus 2 years of directly related experience or

• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Engeering (e.g., Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical) or a related technical field plus 6 years of directly related experience or

• At least 2 years of experience integrating robotic or automation systems into laboratory environments.

• Demonstrated experience automating processes in wet chemistry or materials science labs using automation tools.

About UL Research Institutes and UL Standards & Engagement

UL Research Institutes and UL Standards & Engagement are nonprofit organizations dedicated to advancing safety science research through the discovery and application of scientific knowledge. We conduct rigorous independent research and analyze safety data, convene experts worldwide to address risks, share knowledge through safety education and public outreach initiatives, and develop standards to guide safe commercialization of evolving technologies. We foster communities of safety, from grassroots initiatives for neighborhoods to summits of world leaders. Our organization employs collaborative and scientific approaches with partners and stakeholders to drive innovation and progress toward improving safety, security, and sustainability, ultimately enhancing societal well-being.

Our affiliate, UL Solutions, stands alongside us in working for a safer and more sustainable world. UL Solutions conducts testing, verification and certification, and provides training and advisory services, along with data-driven reporting and decision-making tools, for customers around the world.

To learn more, visit our websites UL.org and ULSE.org.

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