Automations Service Engineer in San Diego, California at Helix

Who We Are & What We Do At Helix, our mission is simple: to help everyone improve their lives through their DNA.
Ready to make a real-world impact with your skills? At Helix, we're transforming healthcare by making genomics a standard of care. We partner with health systems and life science companies to accelerate the integration of genomic data into clinical practice. Join us in building a future where healthcare is personalized, proactive, and powered by genomics.
San Diego, CA | On-site | Tuesday–Saturday, 2:00 PM–10:30 PM
What is special about this role?The Automations team at Helix keeps our laboratory automation systems running at peak performance, directly enabling the production team to deliver results at scale. As an Automations Service Engineer, you'll be on the floor where it matters — diagnosing issues in real time, maintaining complex instrumentation, and making sure our automated workflows never miss a beat.
As an Automations Service Engineer, you will:

• Own on-site, immediate diagnostics of laboratory automation equipment issues and errors for the production team.
• Calibrate, maintain, and repair laboratory automation equipment applying judgement alongside established service guides and SOPs.
• Document all service, repair, and maintenance activities in accordance with QA requirements.
• Collaborate with the Automations team to resolve recurring equipment issues.
• Apply knowledge of a broad range of automation instrumentation, including liquid handlers and supporting systems.

About you:

• 1+ year of hands-on experience with laboratory equipment - maintenance, service, independent troubleshooting or basic operation
• Familiarity with basic laboratory procedures, clean room practices, and SOP/documentation processes
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; comfortable working with internal customers
• Mechanically inclined and comfortable using tools and working with technical service documentation
• Calm under pressure - you stay focused and methodical when systems are down and production is waiting

Pluses:

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering or bioscience discipline, or equivalent hands-on experience
• Experience with liquid handlers or other laboratory automation platforms
• Familiarity with AI-assisted troubleshooting or documentation tools (e.g., using AI to parse service manuals, draft incident summaries, or look up equipment history faster)
• Prior experience in a production or manufacturing lab environment

Expected Interview Process:1) Recruiter Screen 2) Manager Screen/Tech Screen 3) Onsite 4) Offer
Expected Pay For This Role:There are 3 distinct parts to your Helix offer: 1) Base Salary 2) Annual Bonus 3) Equity

• Expected Helix Base: $73,000 – $92,500 per year
• Expected Helix Discretionary Annual Bonus: 5% of your annual salary
• Equity: We offer generous equity at Helix. If you receive a Helix offer your recruiter will book dedicated time with you to educate you on our equity model.

Aside from working alongside brilliant, dedicated, passionate, down-to-earth, curious, warm, and thoughtful people, we also provide great benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Insurance with Date of Hire eligibility
  • Above average employer paid premium coverage
• 12 weeks Helix Paid Parental Leave option
• 401(k) with employer matching of up to 3% and 100% Vesting on the Date of Hire
• Comprehensive Well-Being Benefits
• Flexible PTO
• Remote options for many roles and a home office stipend

What To Expect During Your First 90 days:

• First 30 days: you’ll spend time learning the Helix way, completing training and onboarding for your roles, and getting introduced to your team and relevant stakeholders. You’ll also gain a deeper understanding of our customers, our products, the impact we make in the lives of our communities, and how to thrive at Helix through participation in Helix U.
• Day 30 - 60: you’ll spend time contributing to projects, deeply familiarizing yourself with team and company processes, and developing a deeper understanding of Helix’s products, services and capabilities.
• Day 60 - 90: you’ll build your OKRs with your manager, start to take ownership of projects and initiatives on your team, and begin to demonstrate your impact on the Helix mission.

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Helix is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and committed to providing employment opportunities regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected classification, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.
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CompensationThe base pay range for this role is $73,000 – $92,500 per year.