Director, Sustaining Engineering & Lab Operations

Your Impact at LILA

Lila is building AI Science Factories (AISFs) — highly automated, AI-directed labs that generate the proprietary experimental data powering our AI platform. As we scale from one AISF to many, the operational infrastructure that keeps those factories running is a first-class strategic capability.

The Director of Sustaining Engineering & LabOps owns that execution layer: fleet reliability, incident response, AISF health, root cause analysis, site-level continuous improvement, and the execution of platform releases and change control at the site — alongside the operational foundation that makes it possible (consumables, reagents, CMMS, asset management, PM, first-response maintenance, multi-shift logistics).

This role will build out Lila’s Local Site Sustaining Engineering capability from the ground up, incorporating Maintenance Engineering (ME) as a sub-function. It reports solid-line to the VP, ASP Strategy and Operations with a dotted line to the Director of Sustaining Engineering (Global / Cambridge Core Engineering) for platform standards, change control, and equivalence evidence. The function executes within centrally defined platform constraints and feeds structured signal back to Global Engineering through the operating cadences defined in the ASP Engineering operating model.

You’ll define the operating model, lead its expansion to new sites, drive AI-enabled innovation in equipment health and lab operations, and author the standards that travel with every AISF we open. You’ll be a principal contributor to the Blueprint program — the global deployment framework defining how Lila builds and runs AISFs at scale.

What You’ll Be Building

Local Site Sustaining Engineering (incl. Maintenance Engineering)

The site-level execution layer described in the ASP Engineering operating model — executes within centrally defined platform constraints and feeds structured signal back to Cambridge Core Engineering.

• Build the Local Site Sustaining Engineering function from scratch in partnership with HCE and Global Engineering; incorporates Maintenance Engineering (instrument PM, calibration, first-response troubleshooting) as a sub-capability
• Own fleet reliability, incident response, and AISF health at the site — on-call rotations, severity policy, incident playbooks, RCA library
• Own deployment, commissioning, and operational readiness; partner with the Deployment Project team during stand-up and own steady-state post-handoff
• Execute the two-lane change model: route platform-critical changes (Lane A) through Global Change Control; manage bounded site-local changes (Lane B) within explicit guardrails; document and time-box emergency-path bypasses
• Provide the site signature for the dual-signoff go-live model (Platform Release Certification + Site/Workcell Commissioning acceptance)
• Drive site-level continuous improvement within platform guardrails; surface candidates for promotion into platform releases
• Triage equipment health data and act on drift signals and re-qualification triggers defined by the Equivalence Review
• Define escalation and handoff protocols between Sustaining, ME, LabOps, Research Ops, and HCE/Automation
• Represent the site in standing cadences: Platform Change Control, Release Readiness Review, Fleet Health Review, Equivalence Review

Operating Model & Governance

• Define and own the operating model across Lila sites — from single-shift pilot to multi-site, continuous operations
• Establish org structure, staffing model, and governance framework
• Set and track KPIs (fleet uptime, MTTR, RCA close-out rate, drift response time, inventory accuracy, stockout rate, PM compliance, asset data integrity, ticket resolution); drive structured improvement cycles

Consumables, Reagents & Supply Chain

• Own end-to-end supply chain continuity for lab consumables, reagents, and PPE across all shifts and sites
• Govern par-level inventory, reorder triggers, cold storage, and expiry tracking
• Lead dual-source qualification for high-risk consumables; build the satellite site supply chain playbook for Blueprint

CMMS & Equipment Asset Management

• Support CMMS implementation and governance; accountable for CMMS data accuracy across commissioned instruments and mobile assets
• Define asset tagging and location tracking standards aligned with Blueprint’s taxonomy
• Own PM coordination and calibration access; ensure CMMS feeds the broader system-of-record (PLM + release model) maintained by Global Engineering

AI Integration & Continuous Improvement

• Lead Lila’s thinking on AI-enabled site operations and equipment health (predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, AI-assisted RCA, predictive inventory, asset tracking)
• Bring external best practices from biotech and industrial reliability into Lila’s operating model

Vendor & Logistics

• Own vendor relationships for lab supplies, service contracts, and logistics within approved frameworks; partner with Finance/Corp Dev on contract strategy
• Oversee lab-side receiving, space readiness for instrument deployments, waste/hazmat scheduling, gas management, and cold storage
• Manage the support ticket system as the single intake for lab supply, equipment, space, and site engineering requests

Team Leadership

• Lead, grow, and develop the team across shifts and sites; build the Local Site Sustaining Engineering team from first hire through a fully operational multi-site capability
• Define staffing models, hiring roadmaps, and capability plans for each sub-function
• Build a culture of engineering rigor, operational discipline, proactive problem-solving, and continuous improvement

Blueprint & Multi-Site Scaling

• Author and own the Site Sustaining Engineering and LabOps chapters of Blueprint — processes, system requirements, staffing models, vendor frameworks, sustaining-readiness criteria
• Pilot the Site Launch Readiness Scorecard for each new facility; feed findings back into Blueprint
• Partner with the Director of Sustaining Engineering (Global) to keep local execution consistent with platform-level standards and to channel field learnings into platform evolution

What You’ll Need to Succeed

• 12–15+ years of engineering and operations experience with a primary background in sustaining engineering, reliability engineering, or site-level engineering execution for complex hardware-software integrated systems (automation, robotics, semiconductor, aerospace, medical devices, advanced manufacturing, or similar)
• Demonstrated track record of owning fleet reliability, incident response, and root cause analysis at scale — severity policies, RCA cadences, MTBF/MTTR programs, durable corrective actions
• Experience operating within (or building) a structured change control model — versioned releases, change boards, traceability of “what’s running where” across sites
• Track record of defining and scaling sustaining or site-level engineering systems — built operating models and governance, not just inherited them
• Strong operations instincts — engineering rigor only matters if day-to-day execution (supply continuity, asset management, PM, shift coverage) actually works, and you’re willing to own that scope directly
• Experience building and leading teams across multiple functions, shifts, or sites, including hiring from scratch
• Comfortable in a solid-line / dotted-line accountability structure and partnering with a central engineering authority on standards
• Recognized authority in your domain; comfortable operating as a peer to VPs and senior leaders
• Strong strategic and systems-level thinking

Bonus Points For

• Experience in a biotech or lab-based environment — consumables, reagents, instrument PM, calibration, IQ/OQ/PQ
• Experience building or overseeing a LabOps or instrument Maintenance Engineering function
• Experience with equivalence or drift-based qualification frameworks (golden runs, tolerance bands, re-qualification triggers)
• Experience applying AI or intelligent automation to equipment health and operations workflows
• Experience supporting multi-shift or 24/7 operations and on-call coverage
• Familiarity with QMS-adjacent environments (SOP control, change control, training records)
• Experience contributing to a global site deployment or standardization program
• Deep expertise in CMMS selection, implementation, and governance

Why This Role
Lila is at an inflection point — transitioning from building our first AI Science Factory to operating many, and scientific equivalence across that fleet depends on rigorous site-level engineering execution within tightly defined platform constraints. The Director of Sustaining Engineering & LabOps will be a defining hire in that transition: the engineering leader who builds the site-level reliability foundation, runs the execution layer that keeps the fleet healthy, and ensures every AISF we open runs with the same rigor as the last — while owning the operational scaffolding that makes that execution possible.