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About the Role

We are seeking a Senior Lab Engineer to own the operation, maintenance, and development of our materials synthesis and characterisation lab. You will be the technical backbone of our experimental infrastructure, ensuring complex equipment runs reliably, diagnosing faults, and transforming the lab into a high-throughput, well-instrumented experimental facility. You'll collaborate closely with materials scientists, computational, and AI teams to ensure experimental throughput and data quality meet model requirements. This is a hands-on, senior role with significant ownership within a small, ambitious team.

Responsibilities

Own lab throughput and operational reliability across synthesis, sample preparation, characterisation and data capture workflows.
Identify bottlenecks, reduce downtime, improve instrument utilisation, and increase the number of high-quality experiments the lab can run per week.
Develop and maintain preventive maintenance schedules, SOPs, and risk assessments for all equipment.
Diagnose and resolve complex equipment failures (vacuum leaks, electronic faults, mechanical misalignment), minimising downtime.
Design and run synthesis and characterisation experiments in collaboration with materials scientists, ensuring reproducibility and data integrity.
Onboard and mentor junior lab staff on instrument operation, maintenance practices, and safety.
Evaluate, procure, and commission new equipment and consumables as our lab capabilities expand.
Liaise with vendors and service engineers on repairs, calibrations, and upgrades.
Support the integration of experimental outputs into automated data pipelines feeding our AI platform.
Support the automation of our lab equipment to ensure experimental throughput and data quality can keep pace with what our models require.

Requirements

Substantial hands-on experience maintaining and troubleshooting research-grade laboratory equipment in a professional setting (e.g., national lab, semiconductor fab, scientific instrument company, or equivalent).
Experience improving throughput, uptime, turnaround time or reliability in an instrument heavy lab, pilot line, semiconductor fab, analytical testing facility, manufacturing environment or similar setting.
Practical expertise across high-vacuum equipment, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical characterisation, X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-field magnets, and high-temperature metallurgical synthesis, or closely related sets.
Strong vacuum systems knowledge, including pump maintenance, leak detection, RGA, and bakeout procedures.
Ability to perform component-level diagnostics and repairs (vacuum, electronic, and mechanical) without waiting for factory service representatives.
Familiarity with ionising radiation safety regulations and relevant local licensing requirements.
Rigorous approach to documentation, including SOPs, maintenance logs, and data provenance.
Some CAD experience for fixture design and lab modifications.

Skills

High-vacuum equipment operation and maintenance
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
Optical characterisation
X-ray diffraction (XRD)
High-field magnet operation
High-temperature metallurgical synthesis
Vacuum systems troubleshooting
Component-level diagnostics and repair
Ionising radiation safety
Documentation (SOPs, maintenance logs)
CAD for fixture design
Python or scripting (nice to have)
Instrument integration with automated data capture (nice to have)
Laboratory management systems integration (nice to have)
High-throughput experimental workflows support (nice to have)

Location

London

Work Type

Flexible approach to how and where you work

Experience Level

Senior

Salary/Compensations

Competitive salary

Benefits

Generous equity
Benefits

About the Company

Diffractive is building the AI Material Scientist that autonomously learns from real-world experimentation to push the boundaries of scientific discovery.
We're early, moving fast, and working on problems that genuinely matter.
You'll join a small, high-calibre team where your work has real impact from day one.

Equal Opportunity

Diffractive is an equal opportunities employer.
We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences, and identities.
If you require any adjustments or accommodations at any point during the interview process please let us know - we will be happy to help.