Senior Automation Scientist | Medicinal Chemistry

The Position

Join our Medicinal Chemistry team and help shape the future of laboratory automation in drug discovery. We are looking for a passionate and innovative Senior Automation Scientist to drive the scientific, technological, and strategic development of our cutting-edge automation capabilities. As a Senior Automation Scientist, you will design, implement, and maintain automated workflows for synthesis, purification, and analysis. You will collaborate with scientists, automation engineers, and IT teams to orchestrate multi-instrument systems and develop robust processes across leading liquid- and solid-handling and analytical platforms. You will play a key role in advancing innovative solutions that continuously improve the efficiency of in-house workflows. 
Ready to make an impact with automation-driven science? Apply now and help transform the future of drug discovery.

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This position is part time eligible with 80 %.

Tasks & responsibilities

• In your new role, you will design, implement, and maintain orchestration workflows for integrated automation platforms, including scheduler-driven systems, coordinating robotic systems, liquid and solid handlers, analytical instruments, and data systems, covering the entire MAKE cycle from synthesis planning to compound registration.
• Your expertise in laboratory automation enables you to design end-to-end data flow concepts and define the requirements for digital interfaces between automation systems and enterprise data platforms (e.g., ELN, LIMS, data lakes, APIs), ensuring seamless and scalable management of experimental data.
• You will shape the future automation landscape by designing process architectures, defining system and integration requirements, and guiding the development of scalable orchestration concepts for data-driven laboratory workflows.
• You will collaborate closely with chemists, engineers, data scientists, IT and cross-functional teams to translate research challenges into physical prototypes, automated workflows, communicate automation outputs effectively, and translate predictive insights into actionable synthesis and experimental recommendations.
• Moreover, you will continuously monitor scientific literature and emerging methods in laboratory automation, physical prototyping, orchestration platforms, liquid handling, analytical instruments and digital lab integration, incorporating state-of-the-art approaches into our automation and data infrastructure to maintain a leading-edge capability.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in chemistry or related field with > 5 years of experience in laboratory automation, robotics or engineering, and basic knowledge of synthetic organic chemistry.
• Hands-on expertise in liquid handler programming, lab orchestration and scripting spanning multiple major platforms (e.g., Hamilton, Tecan, BioNex, Opentrons)
• Proficiency in modern programming/scripting languages, particularly Python; experience with system integration, APIs, and data interfaces in laboratory environments
• Understanding of drug discovery workflows and laboratory processes; strong troubleshooting and problem-solving capabilities in complex automation systems
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary and cross-functional teams
• Fluent English language skills, both written and spoken; German is a plus

As part of our commitment to transparency and fairness, salary information will be shared during the recruitment process. We also offer a comprehensive benefits and wellbeing package.

Applications from people with severe disabilities are warmly welcomed. In cases of equal qualifications, such applicants will be given preferential consideration in the selection process. 

Ready to contact us?

If you have any questions about the job posting or process - please contact our HR Direct Team, Tel: +49 (0) 6132 77-3330 or via mail: hr.de@boehringer-ingelheim.com

Recruitment process:

Step 1: Online application - The job posting is presumably online until November 26th, 2026. We reserve the right to take the posting offline beforehand.
Step 2: Virtual meeting in the period from mid till end of November
Step 3: On-site interviews beginning of January 2027

Please submit your application documents in English.